Dozens of Jacksonville residents spoke out Thursday night against Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s proposed $450 million Lot J project.
They raised their concerns during a Jacksonville City Council public forum with only a handful speaking in favor of the plan.
Earlier this week, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry’s Budget Review committee unanimously approved more than $200 million in city debt funding for the development.
Marcus Nelson of St. Augustine was one of many who say they’re worried the city won’t get much out of that investment.
“If the Jaguars are so committed to this project, so committed to Jacksonville, why isn’t a stadium lease extension being considered as part of this deal?” he asked during Thursday night’s public forum.
Others, including Tom McGuire, worry about environmental challenges.
“It makes no sense to invest in an area where it’s likely there’ll be flooding and will be subject to extreme damage in a hurricane,” said McGuire, who works in construction.
According to the city, developer The Cordish Companies is in the process of conducting a resiliency study of the area around the stadium, the results of which are expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Brendan Rivers can be reached at brivers@wjct.org, 904-358-6396 or on Twitter at @BrendanRivers.
