Now that Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan is “pulling the plug” on Lot J, team President Mark Lamping says Khan wants to advance his $535 million plan to redevelop Metropolitan Park and the Shipyards.
The City Council failed to reach the 13-vote majority Jan. 12 to approve the incentives deal for Khan and development partner The Cordish Companies’ $450 million Lot J development in a parking lot west of TIAA Bank Field.
WJCT News partner the Jacksonville Daily Record reports Khan proposes a Four Seasons hotel for the city-owned land along the St. Johns River and a two-phase medical, residential and office development with public park space.
The Jaguars and Cordish characterized Lot J as a “catalyst development” Downtown, and Lamping said the economic viability of the Shipyards will be “much more complex” now that Lot J is dead.
“Will we be able to get to the finish line on that? We’ll see, but we’re going to give it every sincere and legitimate effort that we can because we think it’s really important to the community,” Lamping said.
“We want to do it in a way that we believe is sustainable. To do something that’s not going to be sustainable just doesn’t make any sense.”
The Jaguars president says Khan and his subsidiary companies will be the sole developer on the Shipyards and not partner with Cordish.
At JaxDailyRecord.com, read an expanded version of this story that includes, more of Lamping’s comments, other Downtown businesses voices and additional details about what lies ahead.
