WEDNESDAY February 27, 2019
Public legal notices begin on page 3
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
THE MATHIS REPORT
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
JinkoSolar celebrates opening of its ‘most advanced’ factory
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An artist’s rendering of a transformed Berkman II with an adjacent water park and Ferris wheel.
Deal to transform Berkman II to council
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JACKSONVILLE
Agreement includes $36 million in incentives that would turn the Downtown property into an entertainment center. BY SCOTT SAILER EDITORIAL RESEARCH DIRECTOR
Special to the Daily Record
When fully operational, the facility will produce 400 megawatts of 60-cell (for residential) and 72-cell (for industrial and utilities) PERC Cao modules a year. The high-tech automated facility can make two panels a minute, meaning the plant can produce 1.2 million solar panels a year. It assembles the panels in Jacksonville from solar cells produced by JinkoSolar in Malaysia. “This is our most advanced facility,” said JinkoSolar Co. Ltd. Chief Financial Officer Charlie Cao. He said the location brings JinkoSolar closer to customers, such as Florida Power & Light Co.
The Downtown Investment Authority and 500 East Bay LLC are seeking City Council approval of a development agreement to provide $36 million in incentives for developers to convert the partially constructed Berkman II condominium along the Downtown Northbank into an entertainment center. The project is estimated at $122 million. Ordinance 2019-151 was to be introduced Tuesday. 500 East Bay LLC plans to design, build and renovate the partially built 17-story Berkman II into a 340-room hotel and add a water park, indoor and outdoor family entertainment amenities, parking garage and Northbank Riverwalk improvements along the property’s riverfront. The LLC is led by Florida-based owner Robert Ohde and Wisconsin-based manager Rhinelander Rentals LLC. According to the agreement: n The city would deed 2.8 acres adjacent to the east side of the 2.02-acre Berkman II parcel for $584,000 per acre, totaling $1,635,200. n The city will give a $1 million credit against the purchase price as an environmental offset for cleanup.
SEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
SEE BERKMAN II, PAGE 2
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, with help from City Council President Aaron Bowman, on his right, and other JinkoSolar and city leaders, cut the ribbon Tuesday at the China-based company’s new factory in AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center.
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
The China-based company says the $50.5 million solar panel factory will reach full capacity in a few months.
JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. ceremonially opened its new solar-panel factory Tuesday in AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center. Based in Shanghai, China, JinkoSolar began pilot production at the plant in November and intends to reach full capacity in a few months. It is JinkoSolar’s first U.S. factory. Company representatives said JinkoSolar has more than 150 employees at the Westside manufacturing plant, at 4660 POW-MIA Memorial Parkway, and will reach a staff of more than 200. JinkoSolar chose Jacksonville in March for the $50.5 million facility. City Council supported incentives for JinkoSolar in a resolution adopted March 13. The city and state offered $4.2 million in a grant and tax refunds. The jobs, which will pay an average annual wage of $45,562, must be created by the end of 2019.
JLL hired for The District project The developers of The District on the Downtown Southbank announced Monday that real estate and management services company JLL has been hired for the project. JLL will market the sale of commercial and residential sites for vertical construction. “The selection of these partners is our critical next step to bringing The District to life and JLL is of enormous value in this process,” said Peter Rummell, owner of Elements of Jacksonville and developer of The District along with partner Michael Munz. JLL joins Kitson & Partners, the project’s master developer.
VOLUME 106, NO. 72 • ONE SECTION