Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 192 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Will JEA keep its operations Downtown?
Who pays for damages?
City says issues not normal wear and tear
Utility to spend $3M to study its options
By David Chapman Staff Writer
When the Native Choice was recently pulled from the water, it wasn’t in the same condition it was a year ago. There’s a hole in one of the pontoons. A torn nose cone. Dents, dings and scratches throughout. After a year of use as a water taxi, some wear-and-tear is to be expected — but who pays for the repairs has to be determined. It won’t be Harry Frisch, the Beaver Street Fisheries chairman, who stepped up last year to help the city continue the water taxi service amid a public spat between City Council and the mayor on the issue. Frisch spent close to $339,000 on two vessels, with the idea he’d recoup his costs by selling the boats once the city had a longterm plan in place. Without almost $27,000 in work, according to a Tavares-based dealer, Frisch won’t come close. The tab will be paid by the city and/or Lakeshore Marine Services, the operator for the past year. According to the contract, Lakeshore is responsible for $2,500 in normal maintenance and repair of the 102-passenger Native Choice and 50-passenger Sea Charm I leased to the city by Frisch. The city covers the rest, unless it’s determined there was operator negligence. City spokeswoman Pam Roman said when both vessels were removed from the water, the damage to the Native Choice “is not in keeping with the normal wear and tear.” Water Taxi continued on Page A-4
Repairs to the Native Choice will cost about $27,000, according to an estimate provided by a Central Florida dealer. Most of that is to repair damage to pontoons to the boat that was used as a water taxi the past year. The invoice includes pictures showing the damage, such as the starboard splashdown and nose being dented and torn, shown at two angles.
Photos special to the Daily Record
By Max Marbut Staff Writer Repair what it owns, tear it down and build a new one on the site or move. A budget up to $3 million to study the options for JEA’s Downtown campus was approved Monday by the utility’s Finance and Audit Committee. The structure — comprising the JEA Tower, the Customer Service Center and an adjacent parking garage — was built in the early 1960s as the Universal-Marion Building and Ivey’s department store. The buildings were purchased from Charter Oil Co. by JEA in 1982. Based on 2014 property records, the three buildings on 1.88 acres along Church Street between Laura and Ocean streets are assessed at a combined $15.9 million. Over the years, while the structures remained sound, the Dykes plumbing, electrical, fire detection and other building systems deteriorated to what is now a critical point, said Melissa Dykes, JEA chief financial officer. All of the utility’s physical assets are evaluated annually. The progressive deterioration of the Downtown buildings has been noted, she said. However, other capital projects, such as maintaining electric generation capacity, have been higher priorities than repairing pipes and wiring and replacing the HVAC system in JEA’s office building. The three options under consideration are: repairing the systems in the existing buildings, at a cost previously estimated at more than $40 million; demolishing the structures and constructing replacements more suited to JEA’s current needs; or constructing a new building at another site. If the building is renovated, it will be the first major repair project since it opened more than 50 years ago. JEA
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Ace store, Save-A-Lot coming to Beauclerc Village Thompson Ace Hardware and Save-A-Lot will be moving into Beauclerc Village to replace the spaces vacated by the moves of the Goodwill Thrift Store and Bealls Outlet. A leasing brochure by landlord Equity One Inc. shows Ace and Save-A-Lot will occupy a total 26,254 square feet at the shopping center at 9700 San Jose Blvd. Ace will take the 13,144-squarefoot eastern end space, along Old St. Augustine Road, and Save-ALot will take 13,110 square feet of space next to it. The center occupies a wedge of property between San Jose Boulevard and Old St. Augustine Road,
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with Kori Road running behind it to the south. At least 14 Ace Hardware stores operate in Northeast Florida and are owned by individual retailers. John and Jacqueline Thompson will open the Beauclerc Village store around the end of October or early November. Oak Brook, Ill.-based Ace said more than 4,900 Ace Hardware stores are locally owned and operated in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and in about 60 countries. It said it is the largest hardware cooperative in the industry. Save-A-Lot operates at least 10 discount grocery stores in
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Northeast Florida. City Council member Tommy Hazouri said on WJCT 89.9 First Coast Connect last week that another is possible in Northwest Jacksonville. Save-A-Lot spokeswoman Chon Tomlin said Monday the Beauclerc Village store would open in spring 2016 at 9742 Old St. Augustine Road. She had no store on the schedule for a Northwest Jacksonville location.
Save-A-Lot is based in St. Louis and operates more than 1,300 stores across 37 states. It is a subsidiary of grocery giant SuperValu Inc. Beauclerc Village, which totals almost 69,000 square feet of retail space, is anchored by Big Lots. Bealls Outlet moved a few miles east to the University Center, while Goodwill relocated to a new Mandarin location south at 11524 San Jose Blvd.
Bass loan includes local Blue Bell center
Moo Partners L.P., part of the Keystone Group private-equity
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firm, issued a mortgage to Blue Bell Creameries L.P. for its Imeson Road distribution center. The $748,208 loan was recorded Wednesday with the Duval County Clerk of Court. It matures March 31, 2018. The property is assessed for tax purposes at $774,741. It appears to be part of a loan up to $125 million from Texas billionaire Sid Bass to Brenham, Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries as the ice-cream maker works toward resuming production. Blue Bell was linked to a deadly listeria outbreak and recalled its products in April, throwing out Mathis continued on Page A-4
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