Jacksonville’s Downtown Investment Authority unanimously voted Wednesday to approve releasing city-owned land for Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s plan for a Four Seasons hotel development on the downtown riverfront.
The deal would sign over Kids Kampus to Khan’s development group for its use and leaves questions as to what access the public would have to the now public access on the riverfront.
An historic fire station that has been a fire museum as well as a JFRD marine fire station would also, in essence, be evicted from the property, and would have to be relocated at the city’s expense.
The deal must next have the city council’s approval, which appears to be on track to happen in August.
The deal requires the city to pledge a $25.8 million completion grant to be paid when the project is finished as well as property tax breaks worth up to $47.7 over twenty years.
Big questions remain as the city initially received federal grant money for Kids Kampus and as of yet there has been no plan, at least not any plan made public, concerning repayment of those grants, and or satisfying the requirements with a similar type replacement project.
The biggest question though is just how public will the public’s access to these public properties be.