Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Vol. 105, No. 077 • One Section
Entertainment complex site has challenges
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Memorial Hospital plans $13M expansion Southside facility adding 36 patient rooms.
PARKING LOT J
Now covered in concrete, the property that was once home to a shipyard is contaminated with petroleum, the city says.
City says land under Parking Lot J that the Jaguars might develop is contaminated, would need development agreement for cleanup. By David Cawton Staff Writer The Downtown parking lot identified by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan as his next development site near EverBank Field is contaminated from past industrial use, according to the city. Jaguars President Mark Lamping said
in January the organization plans to turn Parking Lot J, an almost 10-acre plot west of the Daily’s Place amphitheater and a nearby retention pond, into a 250,000-square-foot entertainment district. Negotiations continue between Khan’s development company, Iguana Investments of Florida LLC, and the Down-
town Investment Authority to develop a larger project at Metropolitan Park and the Shipyards property. Like most of the surrounding Northbank, the parking lot was once part of maritime and shipbuilding operation in the early 20th century, long before the Complex
continued on
Page 3
Memorial Hospital plans to add 36 patient rooms at its West tower in a $13 million project to buildout the fifth floor. “We know there’s a high demand for our healthcare services as we’re regularly exceeding our capacity expectations,” said Chief Operating Officer Cory Darling in a statement. Construction will start in April with the fifth floor tentatively scheduled to open by year-end, the hospital said. The main campus is at 3625 University Blvd. S. The five-floor West tower was built in 2009 and Memorial Hospital has used four of the five floors for patients. The fifth floor was built as shell space and designed and designated for expansion. The project coincides with Memorial Hospital’s $23 million emergency room expansion. The additional private rooms for medical and surgical patients will boost the number of Memorial Hospital’s licensed beds to 454. Memorial will add jobs as a result of the added rooms, but did not say how many. The city approved a permit application for the $8 million construction project Friday. Memorial said it will encompass 27,688 square feet of space. Mathis
continued on
Page 2
UNF, FSCJ working together to help students earn degrees UNF Connect program eases transfer process between schools. By Caren Burmeister Contributing Writer Collaboration between Florida State College at Jacksonville and the University of North Florida will boost economic development, expand enrollment and help more students earn degrees, the leaders of the schools say. The schools have launched UNF Connect, a program to provide a seamless transition for students who start college at FSCJ and transfer to UNF for their
Public
bachelor’s degree. The schools’ presidents and trustees met Thursday, the first between the two boards. Because of the “transfer pipeline,” about 61 percent of FSCJ’s transfer students enrolled at UNF, said Tom Serwatka, UNF’s vice president and chief of staff. The Connect program also offers a reverse transfer option for students who don’t initially meet UNF’s academic requirements. Students start college at FSCJ with a guarantee of later UNF admission. Last fall, the reverse transfer brought 136 students to FSCJ, Serwatka said. “It’s a particularly positive relationship we have,” said UNF
legal notices begin on page
8
President John Delaney, noting the State University System of Florida Board of Governors recognized the connection between UNF and FSCJ as the state’s best example of public university cooperation. FSCJ President Cynthia Bioteau said she was grateful for the relationship with UNF. “It’s a very engaged, constructive and productive relationship,” she said. FSCJ serves more than 50,000 students a year, providing bachelor’s and associate degrees, technical certificates, workforce certification, adult and development programs, online degrees, GED Schools
continued on
Page 16
Photo by Caren Burmeister
(Left) University of North Florida President John Delaney talks with UNF trustee Radha Pyati (right) and UNF Vice President and Chief of Staff Tom Serwatka after the board meeting Thursday.
Published
for
27,397
consecutive business days