Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 157 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Barnett: Loan not meant to be repaid Terms of Khan’s $3.16M investment changed, group says
Barnett Bank building
File photo
By David Chapman Staff Writer Shad Khan’s Stache Investments loaned the group buying the Barnett Bank building more than $3 million. But according to a legal filing Friday, it wasn’t a typical loan. Barnett Tower LLC was never supposed to repay the money, the group said in its response to a foreclosure proceeding started by Stache in late May after claiming the group hadn’t made any payments. Barnett Tower’s nine-page
response acknowledges no payments have been made on two loans. Instead, it outlines an arrangement between SouthEast Development Group, led by manager Stephen Atkins, and Stache at the time of the purchase. Initially, the response said, the two sides intended for the Barnett Bank building to be purchased by Atkins’ group and then immediately sold to Desai Ventures — a business Barnett Tower says is partially funded by Stache. Desai operated a charter school in Orlando and plans were for
a school to go into the historic Downtown building, with SouthEast becoming the developer. According to Barnett Tower’s response, the situation changed “immediately prior to the scheduled closing.” Stache told SouthEast it didn’t want Desai to own the property or to locate a charter school there. Instead, the property was to be redeveloped and house businesses Khan had financially supported like One Spark, KYN and CoWork Jax, the response said. Khan pulled funding from KYN in October, saying he was
concerned about the small percentage that he said went to the startups. KYN immediately closed. Vince Desai, owner of the Orlando company, said Monday afternoon he had interest in purchasing the building and trying to put a university there. But, there would have been “a lot of costs” to refurbish and he never ended up making an offer. He didn’t get past the due diligence phase, but said he’d heard the building changed hands. Desai also said Stache isn’t an Barnett continued on Page A-4
One Spark lays off most of its employees Crowdfunding festival undergoing restructuring
A scene for a new feature film, “Romance Complicated,” was filmed along Laura Street Downtown near City Hall and the Main Library.
Photo by Todd Roobin/City of Jacksonville
By Marilyn Young Editor
Bollywood comes to Jacksonville International film production shooting for 12 days
By Max Marbut Staff Writer With an international cast and crew in the midst of 12 days of filming, another title is being added to the list of feature films created, at least in part, in Jacksonville. Director Dhwani Gautam is filming scenes at several locations for “Romance Complicated.” The film stars Delhi-based model and Miss India finalist Divya Misra and Bollywood singers Aishwarya Majmudar and Javed Ali. The production is expected to generate an estimated local economic impact of
Public
$200,000, the city said in a news release. In addition to the India-based cast and crew, 60 local crew members and extras were hired for the scenes filmed in Jacksonville. According to romancecomplicatedthefilm.com, the storyline is a “complicated yet adorable romance between a sweet, innocent, naughty and loveable guy” and an “arrogant, yet charming damsel.” The pair travels from India to America in search of their soul mates with stops in New York City and Florida. Todd Roobin, manager of the Jacksonville Film & Television Office, said for this latest film, Jacksonville is not “standing
legal notices begin on page
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in” for another city as it has in previous productions, but rather is an integral part of the plot line. For example, Hanna Park was depicted as a U.S. Navy Seal training camp in Southern California for “G.I. Jane” starring Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen. Some courtroom scenes were filmed in Jacksonville for “Devil’s Advocate” starring Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron. In “Basic,” starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Connie Nielsen, the area around Cecil Commerce Center became a jungle in Panama. Since June 15, the crew for “Romance Bollywood continued on Page A-4
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Six One Spark staff members were laid off Monday, as the organization undergoes a restructuring. Michael Munz, a member of One Spark’s board, said the layoffs — and an unrelated resignation — leave the startup with four employees. CEO Elton Rivas remains, as do three administrative and technical employees. Munz said the layoffs were the decision of board members, who will remain involved in the restructuring process. The Downtown crowdfunding festival has grown quickly in its first three years, with attendance jumping from 130,000 the first year to 320,000 this year. Prize money has increased, as have potential capital investment funding and sponsorships. At the same time, the nonprofit has struggled financially, according to tax documents. One Spark reported deficits of about $200,000 from July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013 and more than $1 million July 1, 2013June 30, 2014. At the end of this year’s crowdfunding festival in April, organizers said there would be discussions about what’s next, which Munz called One Spark 2.0. He said One Spark leadership’s discussions have included reviewing surveys from a variety of groups, including sponsors, creators and volunteers. “We’re taking all the data and going through it, like any startup would in its third year,” he said. Munz said the 2.0 rollout should come in a few weeks. He declined to share details of the discussions. “I think people are going to be just as excited as they were when we first rolled out the first year,” he said. Last week, Rivas sent an email to staff members, a few of whom he said were asking about the next steps for One Spark 2.0. He said he was awaiting feedback from the board. “Until then we’re in a bit of One Spark continued on Page A-4
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