Daily Record FINANCIAL NEWS &
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 235 • oNe SectioN
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Topgolf Jacksonville will tee off its St. Johns Town Center area entertainment venue Oct. 28, starting what it estimates will be a 10-year area economic impact of $250 million. Operations director Joshua Zenner said Wednesday that Topgolf has hired 540 hourly associates and 30 salaried managers for the golf, food, game, music, meeting and entertainment center at 10531 Brightman Blvd. Why Jacksonville and why that location? Zenner said the city has attracted Amazon.com, Ikea and major businesses and also offers a strong concentration of millen-
nials as well as affluent families. Topgolf’s 180-foot poles and netting are highly visible along Interstate 295. Zenner said the St. Johns Town Center area is one of the best drivers of business and the location offers high traffic and a strong business and retail concentration. The 65,000-square-foot building will include a full-service scratch kitchen, three bars, a roof-
top terrace and concert stage, and games that include billiards, corn hole and shuffleboard. It also offers event space for meetings, parties, rehearsal dinners and other occasions for 12 to 200 people. The 102 climate-controlled hitting bays can accommodate 10 people and up to six can play at one time, Zenner said. Topgolf will supply the restricted golf balls as well as clubs, although customers can bring their own clubs. Players hit golf balls that contain computer microchips that track the accuracy and distance MATHIS CONTINUED ON PAGE A-2
Michael Baxter/Baxter Imaging LLC
Topgolf opening local venue Oct. 28
Architectural photography of the Topgolf Tampa facility exterior. Jacksonville’s location is scheduled to open Oct. 28.
Committee wants info on wetlands agreement Report shows city owed at least $3.1M
Office Creations sales representatives and administrative staff work in the showroom, which allows clients to see the products in use.
Photos by Max Marbut
By David Chapman Staff Writer
From FBI to office furniture
Family business adds to Downtown’s office showrooms
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
An Atlanta-based family business decided it needed to establish a presence in Jacksonville and a member of the family wanted to get out of Washington, D.C., and finally join the family business. That’s the story behind Office Creations at 100 W. Bay St. Casey Moore, president of Office Creations Jacksonville, grew up in the office furniture business but had a different career track in mind. After studying biology and then earning a master’s degree in physics from Georgia Tech, he began working to develop cancer treatments. That changed after 9/11 when venture capital dried up, he said. After a few years as a consultant, he took another track and became a special agent
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Casey Moore, president of Office Creations Jacksonville, at 100 W. Bay St. with the FBI, based in Washington, D.C. Along the way, Moore got married and started a family and one day decided it was time to get out of the Beltway. Also along the way, the family business that was founded in Atlanta in 2001 had grown and formed strong relationships with Jacksonville-based clients, such as
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Pond & Company and Reynolds, Smith and Hills. When Moore decided he’d had enough of Washington, the family decided they were racking up too many frequent-flier miles and it made more sense to open another office and showroom. OFFICE CONTINUED ON PAGE A-3
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An audit released last week showing the city is owed at least $3.1 million from a wetlands partnership gone slightly awry drew the attention of a City Council committee this week seeking more information. Council Auditor Kirk Sherman told the Finance Committee on Wednesday there wasn’t enough interaction between the city and contractor. He said how the deal was handled was, in many cases, a “good moving-forward arrangement” without having anything documented well. Between the lack of formalizing changes and the company operating outside the agreement, Sherman’s office determined Loblolly Mitigation Preserve owes the city at least $3.1 million. However, the figure approaches nearly $5 million if the city monetarily pursued every discrepancy. The city and Loblolly opened a wetlands mitigation bank in 2003 for credits to offset roadway and drainage projects, many associated with the Better Jacksonville Plan. Excess credits were sold to the public and have netted the city about $8 million. “It was definitely a win-win for everybody,” Sherman told the committee. Yet, he said the issues found were “substantial” and there was “considerable” money and value that should go to the city. The auditors revealed Loblolly borrowed credits from the city to earn a share of sales but never repaid the city. For example, Loblolly initially couldn’t cover its half of a credit sale in December 2006. Overall, that happened 11 times, the audit said. Loblolly largely denied many points of the audit. Committee member Matt Schellenberg let out a sigh after Sherman briefed the group. He has been a proponent for using mitigation revenue to improve parks around the city. Last year, he authored a bill that provided $1 million spread throughout the 14 districts to spend on park projects. After those allocations, the dedicated AUDIT CONTINUED ON PAGE A-2
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