Jaguars owner Shad Khan has lost the inside track to develop the long-vacant Shipyards property and could pursue a new plan that's significantly scaled back from the $500 million development that he has for years pitched as the "rebirth" of Jacksonville's downtown, said the leader the city's downtown development authority on Tuesday.
Khan's development firm, Iguana Investments, was selected in 2017 to be the master developer of the 70-acre parcel, which includes the old Shipyards property and Metropolitan Park. However, Khan and the city failed to strike a deal by the 18-month deadline, said Lori Boyer, the chief executive officer of the Downtown Investment Authority.
With the negotiations expired, Boyer said DIA must now re-open a competitive selection process to choose a master developer of the property. Boyer said she expects Khan to submit a new proposal that still includes a luxury hotel, but she said the rest of the plan could be significantly different than the original.
"I would guess at the moment, it will be less dense than what we originally saw," Boyer said. "It's entirely possible, if not probable, that some of the things that were contemplated on the Shipyards may go on Lot J."
A spokesman for Khan said the new proposal would indeed only include plans for Metropolitan Park, as the Shipyards-portion of the development have been folded into Khan's proposed Lot J development.
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