Daily Record Financial News &
Friday, June 3, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 145 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Parklets create buzz, ‘hometown feel’ Business was especially brisk at lunchtime Thursday at the Zodiac Bar & Grill. The Downtown restaurant’s kabobs, baba ghanoush and other Mediterranean fare weren’t the only reasons for the sprightly turnout, co-owner Jeriees Ewais said. The quasi-temporary curb extension in front Zodiac may also have contributed to the cash register ringing up extra sales, he said. For the day, Ewais moved the Zodiac’s umbrella-covered patio tables onto the teak wood tiling
that covered the metered parking space in front of his West Adams Street business. The “parklet,” as the tiny urban parks are known, was installed by Downtown Vision Inc. to demonstrate how niftily a parking space can be converted into a people space. And it certainly created enthusiasm. “I’m a big fan,” Ewais said. “There was a buzz out front today and I hope it catches on through the whole Downtown area.” A work in progress, parklets could start popping up in Jacksonville as early as this winter. Downtown Vision is implementing the project with Urban
Land Institute North Florida, the Downtown Investment Authority and the city. On Thursday, DVI and Windmill Consulting hosted a public meeting to generate interest in the parklet program, along with gathering input and providing information. Dozens of people attended, including a handful who gathered on the temporary parklet as curious motorists and pedestrians passed by. Mike Bolstra said he hadn’t planned to eat at Zodiac on Thursday, but did because of the buzz the parklet created as he drove by. Parklets continued on Page A-3
Saura Johnston, right, and Grace Driscoll take part in a parklet design exercise Thursday at Zodiac Bar & Grill. Driscoll says she thinks parklets can contribute to Downtown being more vibrant and walkable.
SS&C to add 100 jobs after relocation
The St. Johns River Taxi makes its way toward the Jacksonville Landing on Thursday, one of many trips on a hot day along the river. Lakeshore Marine Services has operated the business for more than a year.
Photo by David Chapman
By Kevin Hogencamp Contributing Writer
Photo by Kevin Hogencamp
Meeting shares benefits of Downtown project
Staying afloat for second year Water taxi trying to break even after rocky period
Like the tides of the river itself, the past year of the St. Johns River Taxi has had its highs and lows. It began a long-term contract July 1 after months of serving as an interim contractor. But the company had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on boats and maintenance. Ridership numbers remained fairly steady in 2015, but they dipped this year because of closed or altered stops. Private sponsors stepped up to help meet a city funding match. But even so, the likely outcome will be a break-even first year. “We’re making it,” said Heather Surface, a partner with Lakeshore Marine Services
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By David Chapman Staff Writer
They want more of an experience rather than just crisscrossing the river. Heather Surface Lakeshore Marine Services partner
that operates the river transportation and amenity. She chalks up the first year of a five-year deal running the service to be an anomaly. Start-up costs, boat purchases and stop closures contributed to lower-than-expected revenue. In the first year, the company spent close to $500,000. That doesn’t include a management fee or non-essential
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staff. The service has taken in close to $258,000 from its regularly scheduled ferrying of people. The first half of a two-year, $240,000 public funding agreement with the city struck last year brings revenue for the year up to $441,000 — still a little short of what’s been spent. That includes private tours. Surface, though, remains positive about the situation. She was able to secure the first year of city funding after finding private donations to match the public dollars. And a host of new options should bring in extra revenue. Starting next week, the water taxi will offer two types of evening cruises Thursday-Saturday. Water taxi continued on Page A-4
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SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc. will almost double its space in a move to Gramercy Woods, allowing it to add nearly 100 employees over the next two years. Jacksonville SS&C executive Dave Welling, head of Advent Advisory Business and general manager of Black Diamond, said SS&C Advent has 275 employees. He said it leases about 28,000 square feet of space and will move into 48,352 square feet. SS&C will relocate from the Deerwood South office park, at 10151 Deerwood Park Blvd., starting in November, according to Welling and SS&C Technologies CFO Patrick Pedonti at Connecticut headquarters. Pedonti said the move should be completed in April when the existing lease expires. Gramercy Woods is the former Bank of America office park at 9000 Southside Blvd. SS&C, based in Windsor, Conn., describes itself as a global provider of investment and financial software-enabled services and software for the global financial services industry. It came to town by way of its July 2015 acquisition of Advent Software Inc., which had purchased Jacksonville-based Black Diamond Performance Reporting LLC in 2011. Welling said Black Diamond was a startup that opened in 2004 in Jacksonville. In 2013, Advent Software was approved for up to $1.3 million in city and state incentives to create 123 jobs — doubling in size from the 122 at the time — by December 2016, which appears to have happened. The amount of the incentives was adjusted down in November 2014 to reflect a reduction in the average salary of the new jobs from $67,000 to $54,000.
26,945
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