A proposal by Vestcor Companies Inc. to develop eight city-owned parcels in LaVilla was scored as the top choice by a Downtown Investment Authority committee.
WJCT News partner theJacksonville Daily Record reports Vestcor is one of three companies vying to develop for-sale townhomes in LaVilla on Adams, Johnson, Lee and Forsyth streets.
A scoring sheet for the proposed LaVilla developments, included in the DIA's August board meeting packet released July 31, shows the committee ranked Vestcor over Johnson Commons LLC, with Blackwater Capital LLC in third place.
The three-person committee, appointed by the DIA board, comprised DIA board member Oliver Barakat; DIA CEO Lori Boyer; and city Office of Economic Development Executive Director Kirk Wendland.
The proposals and each company’s ability to complete the project were scored from 1-100 under five criteria:
- 30 points: Consistency with the Downtown Northbank and LaVilla Redevelopment Strategy.
- 20 points: Previous development experience with bidded projects.
- 20 points: The company’s financial resources.
- 15 points: The city’s estimated return on investment.
- 15 points: Relationship to Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park.
The committee took the average of the three scores to determine its recommendation out of 100.
Vestcor scored 85.67; Johnson Commons, 84.33; and Blackwater Capital, 67.67.
A breakdown of each developer's proposal is in an expanded version of this story at JaxDailyRecord.com.
