Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 047 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Fort buys land for 400 apartments
A Fort Family Investments company bought almost 22 acres Friday in Flagler Center to develop Palm Bay Club, which would be the Fort group’s eighth area apartment community. Abe Fort, director of development, said Monday he expects designs could be completed by midyear, followed by permitting. He didn’t have a construction timeframe. “Just closing on the dirt is one of a thousand steps,” he said. Fort said the project would comprise a little more than 400 units and would likely be built in two phases. He didn’t have a construction
or final investment estimate. Palm Bay Club Rental Community Two LLC paid almost $7.1 million for the property. It bought the land, between Interstate 95 and Gran Bay Parkway West, from FDG Flagler Land LLC. The Palm Bay LLC is led by Donald Fort, the president of Fort Family Investments Inc. The deeds were executed and recorded Friday. Branch Banking and Trust Co. issued a $3.54 million mortgage Friday. Fort said Fort Family Investments owns six apartment communities, comprising 2,338 units, and is building the 218-unit
Alaqua complex at 13490 Gran Bay Parkway, near the Palm Bay site. The Alaqua apartments are at Gran Bay and Flagler Center Boulevard. Fort said that submarket is showing a lot of growth. The Jacksonville market has shown strength in apartment development. “It’s enabled us to do a lot in the past four or five years,” Fort said.
Palm Bay Club will be a luxury project, but not priced as high of some of Fort’s other communities, Fort said. Alaqua is under construction and some units should be completed by May. The nine-building community should be completed by December, he said. Alaqua comprises three-story buildings as well as some twounit carriage houses, along with a fitness center, club room with big TVs, a pool and grilling areas. Fort expects similar amenities at Palm Bay Club, as well as a dog park. The site is larger. Some buildings at Palm Bay Club might be four stories,
Transition from aide to council member
Marching to honor
Thousands line Downtown streets for MLK parade
Wilson has spent career in government
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
mmarbut@jaxdailyrecord.com (904) 356-2466
Public
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
Alexis Miller and her 3-year-old daughter, Angel, attended the parade for the first time. They walked alongside children enrolled in the Adventurer and Pathfinder clubs, a Bible-based service organization for students Pre-K through high school. See more photos on Page A-3.
Photos by Max Marbut
Warm jackets — and even a few blankets — were the order of the day Downtown on Monday as people lined the streets for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Grand Parade. They were there for one reason: To celebrate the legacy of the civil rights leader and enjoy the federal holiday established in 2000. Most people said they have been attending the parade for years, but for Alexis Miller and her 3-year-old daughter, Angel, it was a firsttime experience. “We’ll be back next year for sure,” she said. The event brought nearly 50,000 people Downtown. A lot of new customers tried the lunch menu at D&G Deli and Grill at 233 E. Bay St. while they watched the bands and floats move past. “We always have a lot of business when there’s a parade,” said co-owner Daniel Gilbert. King was the most recognized spokesman for nonviolent activism during the civil rights movement. The campaign for a day in his honor began in 1968, soon after his assassination. The holiday was signed into law in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan. It was first observed in a few states three years later, and by 2000, all 50 states recognized the third Monday in January as the holiday. The parade was organized in Jacksonville in 1980 by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation. A small procession began and ended at the Downtown campus of Florida Junior College, now Florida State College at Jacksonville. Over the years, the parade got bigger and the route became longer. Until 1998, the parade was held on Saturday and marched from Edward Waters College to J.P. Small Park Stadium along Myrtle Avenue. After two different routes from 1999-2014, the city established a new route in 2015. For the past two years, the procession began at EverBank Field and ended with a celebration of King’s life and work at the Prime Osborn Convention Center hosted by the foundation. The parade was presented this year by the Law Offices of Ron Sholes.
although that’s not definite. While no contractor has been named, Fort said the company is strongly looking at Summit Contracting Group, which has built three of Fort’s last four apartment communities, including Alaqua. The newly acquired property is near the developing Bartram area in south Jacksonville, with much housing, retail, office and industrial growth. Fort said the company doesn’t seek target markets, but knows what to expect. “We have everything from young professionals up to retirees, so it’s pretty wide,” he said. Mathis continued on Page A-2
One of the few non-motorized vehicles in the procession.
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On May 20, the day after Duval County’s general election, there were 11 new City Council members who would take office several weeks later. However, one of the rookies already had a desk and a telephone number at City Hall when he went to work the morning after the ballots were counted. With 63 percent of the vote, Republican Scott Wilson was elected to represent District 4, succeeding term-limited Don Redman after serving for eight years as Redman’s executive assistant. Wilson also is a potential trivia contest answer since his election marked the first time in Jacksonville an assistant was elected to replace his former boss on council. Government service is what Wilson has done all his adult life. He went Wilson to work for the city in 1988 at age 18 as a parking facility operator at the Jacksonville Landing lot when the riverfront center opened. Six years later, he became a records clerk in the Duval County Clerk of Courts office. It was the start of 13 years in the clerk’s office that included managing the satellite office at Jacksonville Beach from 1998-2000. Later, Wilson became court operations supervisor, the highest civil service rank in the office. While he was supervisor, the Center for Prevention Against Domestic Violence received the Governor’s Peace at Home Award from former Gov. Jeb Bush. “That was the most rewarding job I’ve ever had,” Wilson said. In 2007, he began his eight-year tour of duty managing Redman’s office and helping guide constituents to solutions to their issues. Wilson
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