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Jacksonville City Council to Decide on $49M Publix Incentive as Amendment 3 Squeezes Budget
The full Jacksonville City Council votes Tuesday on a nearly $49 million package to bring a Publix and 259 apartments to the former First Baptist auditorium site downtown, a deal supporters say will generate $330 million in tax revenue but critics warn the city can't afford after Amendment 3's projected $200 million hit.
Jacksonville's full City Council is set to vote Tuesday night on a nearly $49 million incentive package for a downtown Publix grocery store and mixed-use housing project, a decision now shadowed by the city's looming budget crisis from Amendment 3.
The legislation is tied to Gateway Jax's Pearl Square redevelopment along West Beaver Street, which would transform the former First Baptist Church auditorium property into a tower with about 259 apartments and roughly 37,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. At least 30,000 square feet of that retail must be reserved for a Publix or another comparable major grocer approved by the Downtown Investment Authority.
Gateway Jax estimates the project would generate more than $330 million in property tax revenue over 30 years, but says the development depends on the public-private partnership embedded in the incentive package.
The $49 million breaks into two parts. A 75% property tax rebate, known as a REV Grant, would run for 17 years and be capped at about $21 million â functioning as a tax break rather than a direct city payment. A separate $28 million completion grant would be paid only after the project is finished and would still require its own City Council appropriation vote before any money is released. DIA documents tie that completion grant to the grocery store being part of the finished project, including a requirement for a long-term grocery lease.
The timing is the sticking point. City officials are still calculating the fallout from Amendment 3, which the city auditor estimates could reduce property tax revenue by about $200 million in the first year and $300 million the year after. That projected shortfall has some council members questioning whether this is the moment to commit to a major incentive deal â even one supporters say downtown Jacksonville needs.
Council member Michael Boylan said he is likely to support the proposal unless a compelling reason changes his mind, but warned that Amendment 3 could make future incentive deals far harder to approve.
"I think that the prospect of them happening anytime in the near future is very, very dim," Boylan said.
Boylan also cautioned that reduced city revenue could cut into funding for nonprofits, public works, libraries and parks, and that city leaders may need to consider raising the millage rate or pursue other options to close those gaps.
Council President Nick Howland discharged the bill from committee after it deadlocked, clearing the way for the full council vote. Howland has said he will not support the bill as written.
The Pearl Square deal would not be Jacksonville's first major public investment in downtown. The city has previously approved roughly $136 million in incentives for Shad Khan's Four Seasons hotel project. The Downtown Investment Authority has also recommended $49 million for the Fleet Landing Northbank retirement community and $59 million for the Gateway Riverfront Plaza hotel.
Supporters argue the Publix package follows that same model of leveraging public dollars to spark private development in the urban core. Critics counter that the city can no longer afford the approach given the fiscal pressure from Amendment 3.
The council had been holding off on the vote pending the outcome of the Amendment 3 decision.