THURSDAY
September 12, 2019
Basch Report: Fidelity ends effort to acquire Stewart PAGE 4
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REDEVELOPMENT
Florida Coastal School of Law dean resigns
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Scott DeVito notified students and staff Tuesday via email. BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
JACKSONVILLE
Developers say the decision by First Baptist Church to sell nine city blocks Downtown presents a rare opportunity. BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
F
irst Baptist Church’s announcement Sunday that it will downsize its 13.7-acre Downtown campus put developers on notice that nearly 1.3 million square feet of buildings would soon be on the market in the city’s urban core. First Baptist has proposed selling nine city blocks — six contiguous — in response to declining church attendance and a growing multimillion-dollar maintenance bill on its aging 1.5 million-square-foot property. Zoned as Central Business District, or CBD, Jacksonville real estate brokers, developers and city officials say the sale is a rare opportunity.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: PAST AND FUTURE First Baptist Church plans a $30 million redevelopment of the Hobson Auditorium as its worship facility along with new youth and child education and worship facilities and parking. Above, the current facility and below, an artist’s rendering of the redeveloped property.
SEE FIRST BAPTIST, PAGE 12
MORE INSIDE On the rise: Suburban churches offering contemporary experiences growing in Jacksonville. Page 10 For sale: Map, list of First Baptist property headed for market. Page 12
Florida Coastal School of Law Dean Scott DeVito resigned Tuesday after four years in the position. The resignation was effective immediately. “It’s just the right time for me to step down and look at other things I’ve been intending to do,” DeVito said in an interview Wednesday. DeVito notified Florida Coastal students and faculty Tuesday of his resignation via email. In a statement to faculty, DeVito wrote: “It has been a great honor to be a professor at Florida DeVito Coastal for the last eleven years and to have been your dean for the last four. After considerable thought and personal reflection, I have made the decision to resign from Florida Coastal School of Law. I wish you all the best and will greatly miss you.” The American Bar Association in August denied Florida Coastal’s application to convert to a nonprofit law school. DeVito said his resignation was not related to that, but he expects the school to reapply for nonprofit status. A replacement for DeVito was not determined as of Wednesday SEE DEVITO, PAGE 7
THE MATHIS REPORT
Five 1 million-square-foot warehouses in pipeline Plus: Restaurant notes & more PAGE 4 VOLUME 106, NO. 210 • TWO SECTIONS