THURSDAY July 25, 2019
Mathis Report: TownPlace Suites, Tru by Hilton planned near airport PAGE 3
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
CRAFT BEER BOOM THE RETURN OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD PUB
Site work to start on Landing demolition
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
The city sends contractor D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co. Inc. a Notice to Proceed with demolition of shopping mall.
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
JACKSONVILLE
Photo by Katie Garwood
Left, Tabula Rasa Brewing co-owner Jackie Peterson serves a customer at the brewery, which opened last year at 2385 Corbett St. in the Rail Yard District near Downtown.
After little competition a decade ago, now there are at least 25 craft beer operations in Northeast Florida. BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
W
hen Bold City Brewery opened in Jacksonville in 2008, brewing and selling was easy, says co-founder Susan
Miller. Distributors called asking to sell the beer. “It used to be that we never even talked about competing,” Miller said. “There was no competition among breweries. We all were just living our lives and brewing and selling beer.”
Today there are more than 25 craft beer operations in Northeast Florida, ranging from smaller taproom microbreweries to brewpubs and regional operations. As a result, it’s becoming more difficult for brewers to be successful on a larger, regional scale than it was a decade ago, Miller said. She said it took less than $250,000 and “some credit card debt” to launch the business. Bold City Brewing, with locations Downtown and in Riverside, now distributes throughout the state and region. SEE BEER, PAGE 10
FROTHY GROWTH Florida’s craft beer business is soaring, according to the Brewers Association:
$3.6B
The economic impact of craft beer in 2017
333%
The increase in craft breweries in Florida from 2013-17, from 66 to 286.
Demolition of the Jacksonville Landing will be set in motion Aug. 2 and fencing is scheduled to be put up the week of Aug. 5. Plant City-based contractor D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co. Inc. received a Notice to Proceed from the city’s Department of Public Works on Tuesday authorizing site work to begin at the Downtown shopping mall within 10 days. Substantial completion of the demolition will be no later than May 28, according to the notice. D.H. Griffin was awarded the $1.074 million contract June 20 after a public bidding process to tear down the shuttered riverfront building at 2 Independent Drive W. The city took control of the Landing in February after a $15 million settlement with Sleiman Enterprises Inc. The city owned the property while Sleiman owned the building. City Council legislation approving the agreement included $1.5 million for tenant lease terminations and other expenses. Tuesday’s notice doesn’t mean demolition will begin next week. Additional city documents state that a hazardous material assessment of the site will be completed before physical demolition starts. That includes identification and removal of any asbestos in the building. SEE LANDING, PAGE 10
THE SAILER REPORT
The numbers behind the apartment market Average area rent: $1,100 a month. PAGE 8 VOLUME 106, NO. 176 • TWO SECTIONS