WEDNESDAY October 14, 2020
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
THE MATHIS REPORT
Curry wants city to borrow $208.3M for Lot J project
A newDaily vision for Creekside Dinery Record JACKSONVILLE
Bill that finances part of the $445 million project near TIAA Bank Field will be introduced Oct. 13.
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
The owners of Fish House & Oyster Bars plan to tranform the property into St. Augustine Fish House & Oyster Co. Owners of the Fish House & Oyster Bars around Jacksonville are branching into St. Johns County with the purchase of Creekside Dinery. They will convert it into the St. Augustine Fish House & Oyster Co. LLC for a targeted January opening. “We want this to be our flagship store because of how big it is, how many customers it can serve and how beautiful the backdrop is,” said Nathan Stuart, who bought the waterfront property with his wife, Margo Klar. Stuart said they bought the property, at 160 Nix Boat Yard Road, because the owners are retiring. It closed Sept. 26. Stuart called it a “super popular” restaurant. “It’s waterfront. It has absolutely amazing views,” he said. The Stuarts bought the property Sept. 30 through Intracoastal Fisheries LLC from Creekside Dinery Inc. for $1.7 million. The property comprises about 5 acres, with most of that parking, a hot commodity in St. Augustine. The 4,019-square-
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The former Creekside Dinery at 160 Nix Boat Yard Road closed in September. The property is along Gonzales Creek and overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway. It will become St. Augustine Fish House & Oyster Co.
The former Creekside Dinery features a 4,019-square-foot building and about 4,500-square-foot deck. The property is about 5 acres, with most of that parking.
foot building and about 4,500-square-foot deck sit at Gonzales Creek and overlook the Intracoastal Waterway. Stuart expects it will employ about 100 people and he offered jobs to the Creekside Dinery staff. Some are training at other Fish House & Oyster Bar restaurants and some are helping
with converting the property. The couple’s company found a niche in taking over secondgeneration restaurants and houses and converting them. Stuart anticipates a $250,000 refresh of the Creekside Dinery. That will include redoing the deck with composite materials; replacing the roof and win-
Margo Klar and Nathan Stuart are the owners of Creekside Dinery in St. Johns County.
dows; and landscaping. He said the restaurant’s theme will be old Florida, with the building’s dark and stained cypress on the walls and the plank-wood walls. Stuart said the deck’s central fire pit will be used for oyster
Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration wants City Council to authorize borrowing $208.3 million of the city’s $218 million proposed investment in the Jacksonville Jaguars Lot J project. Lot J is a proposed $445 million mixed-use development of offices, apartments, a hotel, retail and entertainment venues west of TIAA Bank Field Downtown. The project is a joint venture of the city, Jacksonville Jaguars affiliate Gecko Investments and The Cordish Companies of Baltimore. A draft version of Ordinance 2020-648 from Council President Tommy Hazouri’s Office would allow Curry’s staff to use fixed-rate debt and the city’s commercial paper program — a short-term liquidity loan option — to finance the city’s share. Hazouri plans to introduce the bill at the Council’s Oct. 13 meeting. The bill offers a more detailed breakdown of the Lot J deal Curry announced Oct. 5 and what the Council will be asked to consider. If approved, the city debt will pay $50 million of the proposed $100 million Live! District entertainment venue that will be owned by the city. The bill says the Live! District will have 75,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space and 40,000 square feet of Class A office space. The city would pay for $77.4 million in site infrastructure improvements including a 700-space surface parking lot built over an existing stormwater retention pond to the
SEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
SEE LOT J, PAGE 2
Stellers Gallery to open in Avondale Stellers Gallery announced Oct. 12 it will open a second location in the Shoppes of Avondale in late October. It said the 700-square-foot gallery will open in the new 8,000-square-foot Southern Grounds & Co. coffeehouse at 3562 St. Johns Ave. The gallery’s existing location is in San Marco. Avondale Stellers Gallery Director Missy Riley said it will offer contemporary works of art as well as decorative and home accessories and gifts. Stellers Gallery is a full-service fine art gallery that offers complimentary consultation, delivery and installation. The gallery represents more than 50 artists.
VOLUME 107, NO. 233 • ONE SECTION