Daily Record Financial News &
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 248 • Two Sections
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Fidelity adding 300 jobs in city Company to invest $13M, receive $2.6M of incentives
Aaron Bowman has high regard for Fidelity Investments. The City Council member and JAXUSA Partnership executive says the company helps put Jacksonville on the map internationally. A known quantity, proving itself locally for almost a decade. And the possibility of losing an expansion was there. A deal announced Tuesday
instead landed 300 more financial sector jobs along with a $13 million capital investment. The jobs would bring $19.3 million annually in additional payroll and generate $4 million in property taxes over 20 years. In return, the Boston-based company would receive $2.6 million in taxpayer incentives. The city would be responsible for $448,000. That entails a $128,000 Recaptured Enhanced Value grant, generated from the
increase in property taxes from the company’s investment, and a $360,000 Qualified Targeted Industry grant on the created jobs. The state will account for the remaining $2.13 million. The incentives were a large part of Fidelity’s reason for locally expanding, said Fidelity regional manager Harold Stankard — but maybe not the top reason. Having the “right level of talent” available locally to fill anoth-
Smell of BBQ returns to 17th and Main
er 300 licensed positions was key. Area colleges have been good sources, he said, but job changers and military veterans also have been valuable additions. Recruiting for the additional jobs begins immediately with likely hires coming aboard in the first quarter of 2016. The jobs have to be created over a three-year period. The company would stay at its Southside offices and acquire Fidelity continued on Page A-4
Johnnie Brown is back cooking ribs, this time at Fred Cotten’s Landmark BBQ, which opened Oct. 10. Brown worked for the restaurant for nearly 25 years before it closed last year. By Marilyn Young Editor The building at 17th and Main streets had been vacant for nearly a year when Melanie Dosztan first toured it this summer. As soon as she walked in, the smell made it clear what its history had been. “It was just screaming barbecue,” she said. And not just any barbecue. It was the barbecue perfected by Fred Cotten and
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served up by Lucille Baker that counted the city’s most influential politicians among its fans. How could you serve any other barbecue in that building? The legendary recipe is owned by an accountant who bought the restaurant in 2000 from Cotten’s family, then closed it in September 2014. When Johnnie Brown walked into the building during one of Dosztan’s visits, it was clear that wouldn’t be an issue. Brown had worked there for about 25 years and
legal notices begin on page
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Bowman
Cautious optimism to bullish outlook
Photos by Bobby King
By David Chapman Staff Writer
knew how to recreate Cotten’s original sauce and his house salad dressing. That was the beginning of Fred Cotten’s Landmark BBQ restaurant. Dosztan and her fiance’s daughter, Megan Hayes, signed a 20-month lease, then spent a few months getting the building ready. They hired Bobby Brown, who’s been in the barbecue restaurant for decades, to manage the restaurant. “Everything fell into place,” Dosztan said. “It was like a blessing.” Cotten’s continued on Page A-3
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If the commercial real estate market is strengthening, the economy is, too. Based on third-quarter reports from area real estate firms, Northeast Florida’s business climate was doing well as of Sept. 30. In some cases, very well. Office vacancies fell to record lows in some areas and overall to their lowest since this time in 2008, as the recession was really setting in. Industrial vacancies dropped to their lowest levels since 2008, too. So did retail vacancies. The changes reflect an improving area economy experiencing job growth and lower unemployment, although one of the reports cites statewide feelings of “cautious optimism” and uncertainty in the face of international instability. Still, the area commercial real estate markets are looking better than many have in years. “As economic conditions improve across the country, business confidence and hiring have increased significantly over the past year,” reports JLL, known also as Jones Lang LaSalle. Notably, JLL added, “the trend of downsizing has finally ceased.” JLL made news this week with its representation of the owners of the Prominence office park in a lease transaction involving Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers. The grocery chain is relocating its headquarters from Westside to the Baymeadows office park, a 160,000-square-foot deal that isn’t yet reflected in the office statistics. JLL, the CBRE firm, Cushman & Wakefield and Colliers International have been releasing third-quarter market research for the office, industrial, retail and multifamily markets. Some haven’t released all of their reports. Here’s what the released reports said.
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