The Downtown Investment Authority tabled a vote Wednesday on a development deal for the old Florida Times-Union building's property so DIA staff can talk more with Fuqua Development about adding a riverfront restaurant that might require several hundred thousand dollars in taxpayer assistance.
WJCT News partner The Florida Times-Union reported the discussion had shades of another proposed downtown development on the site of the now-closed River City Brewing restaurant that will build hundreds of apartments but did not initially have a new restaurant as part of it.
For that Southbank development, the city agreed to provide a $500,000 grant or 50% of the actual construction cost, whichever is less, to entice Related Group to add a restaurant.
In the case of the old Times-Union property, located in the Brooklyn neighborhood just west of the Acosta Bridge, DIA board members discussed paying half the cost for a new restaurant with the city's expense capped at $750,000.
Read the rest of this story at Jacksonville.com.
