Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 217 • Two Sections
From Jacksonville to the Middle East
Council to vote on special plan
By Carole Hawkins Staff Writer
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Pension fight is principle vs. cost
Naturally Smart has roots at UNF and One Spark
By David Chapman Staff Writer
File photo by Max Marbut
Before One Spark 2014, Mark Patterson already had an investor backing his newly launched healthy ice cream company. After handing out 11,000 sample cups, though, he also had a lot more confidence. “We got tons of positive feedback. It was incredible. After that, we knew we were onto something,” said Patterson, company president and founder. Naturally Smart Foods, which today sells in 40 stores in Jacksonville and Gainesville, announced it will begin shipments to Bahrain in the Middle East this month. The export deal is expected to add between $10,000 and $40,000 to company revenue this year and $40,000 to $100,000 next year. It’s a success that reflects on Patterson, of course, but also on business incubation in Northeast Florida. In his journey, Patterson relied on the University of North Florida’s Small Business Development Center, Enterprise Florida, the U.S. Commercial Service and One Spark. Naturally Smart isn’t technically ice cream — it doesn’t have enough butter fat to qualify. Instead, it’s a protein-enriched frozen dessert that tastes as good as ice cream, Patterson said. “You can call it ice cream. I can’t,” Patterson said. Found on grocery shelves somewhere between Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s, Naturally Smart has half the sugar, a third of the fat and up to three times the protein of typical ice cream. The product began in 2013 when Patterson left a 20-year restaurant industry career with the intention of starting some kind of food-processing company. At the same time, his wife was having trouble finding high-protein foods as part of a true vegetarian diet. They tried options on the market, but believed they could do better. They created
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At One Spark 2014, Mark Patterson thought he’d pass out 10,000 samples of his highprotein frozen dessert. He ran out after 11,000 samples. Now sold locally in 40 stores, Patterson will begin shipping Naturally Smart to Bahrain this month.
Pursuing legal action over the creation of an unauthorized pension plan “won’t be a quick turnaround,” says the city’s general counsel. It might end up costing taxpayers up to $1 million, says one City Council member. Yet, despite those real possibilities, many on council believe it’s time to hold the line. “Sometimes we have to stand up for the city ... instead of being allowed to be run over,” said council Vice President Lori Boyer. After taking a step back, a resolution reauthorizing the city’s legal team to pursue litigation over the validity of a much-criticized senior staff voluntary pension plan is heading back to a final vote. The measure was up for a full council vote last Gulliford week before members by a 13-6 vote decided to let the Finance Committee hear it. Finance Chair Bill Gulliford pushed for that move, saying Monday he wanted the entire debate — including the possible city expenditures — framed on what’s become an emotional issue. Gulliford, though, said he isn’t sure it’s worth it. Early figures, he said, show the move costing $500,000 to $1 million. And the process could take at least 21/2 years, he said. For many on the committee, though, it is a matter of principle. The special pension plan was created in 2000 and has three members, including Police and Fire Pension Fund administrator John Keane. It wasn’t discovered by city auditors until 2012, with a binding legal opinion coming Pension
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Site plans outline Southbank apartments
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with multistory apartments fronting both Prudential Drive and the St. Johns River, concealing the parking deck in the center. Alliance Residential Co. Vice President Tim Graff said Monday the company is refining the plans and wants to take those to the Downtown Investment Authority in November for approval.
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Graff said Phoenix-based Alliance Residential is working on rezoning the property. It has not filed a request yet. If the site plans and permits are approved, Graff said Monday that Alliance Residential would like to start construction at the end of the first quarter or early second quarter 2016. Completion would be by early 2018. Alliance Residential wants to develop 255 to 265 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments at the site of the former Crawdaddy’s Mathis continued on Page A-2
A fireplace remains at the Southbank site where Crawdaddy’s Restaurant was demolished in 2004. Alliance Residential Co. wants to redevelop the riverfront site with apartments.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
High-profile Southbank riverfront land slated for apartments is being designed to minimize the look of the site’s most recent purpose — parking — and provide public access to the Riverwalk. The roped-off lot, grass and a fireplace are about all that exist on the almost 3.5-acre parcel along Prudential Drive between the Lexington Hotel & Conference Center Jacksonville Riverwalk and the Duval County School Board building. That is expected to change. The proposed Broadstone River House will fill out the site
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