MONDAY March 25, 2019
Public legal notices begin on page 4
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
THE MATHIS REPORT
Metro Square sold to Dallas company
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Permit sought to transform Ambassador into a La Quinta
Prescott Group takes on debt, wins office park with $5,800 bid at foreclosure auction.
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
BY MARK BASCH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ber for SMC Construction Southeast LLC of Orlando to provide interior demolition at a cost of $300,000 to prepare for build-out. In January, City Council approved an economic development agreement with Axis Hotels LLC to redevelop the historic Ambassador Hotel in Downtown Jacksonville into a 127-room La Quinta Inn and Suites. The deal also involves demolishing a former bank building next door for construction of 220 apartments at 404 N. Julia St. Axis Hotels bought the 1.5-acre block bordered by Duval, Julia, Church and
A Dallas-based real estate firm that specializes in devalued properties acquired the seven-building Metro Square office park at Emerson Street and Philips Highway in a foreclosure sale, according to court records. A company affiliated with the Prescott Group bought Metro Square at a Feb. 28 court auction, after assuming the debt on the property before the sale. A spokesman for Prescott said by email the firm was not ready to comment on its plans for the property. Duval County Circuit Judge Kevin Blazs entered a foreclosure judgment on the property at 3563 Philips Highway last year, ruling the owners were in default and owed $57.9 million. Several foreclosure auctions were scheduled and postponed as U.S. Bank, trustee for the lenders, said in court filings it was seeking a “purchaser” for the debt. On Jan. 29, the debt was assigned to PSF I Jax Metro LLC, an affiliate of Prescott. Court records do not show the terms of that transaction. PSF I Jax Metro then acquired Metro Square with a bid of $5,800 at the foreclosure auction. Prescott’s website says the firm specializes in “identifying market and asset anomalies and recognizing their value.” The firm acquires assets at “substantial discounts to market value” with the intention of “positioning the investment to
SEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
SEE METRO SQUARE, PAGE 2
JACKSONVILLE
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Interior renovation work has begun to convert the vacant Ambassador Hotel at 420 N. Julia St. Downtown into a La Quinta Inns & Suites.
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
Axis Hotels plans $6 million renovation of the six-story structure built in 1922.
Downtown’s Ambassador Hotel soon will become a La Quinta Inns & Suites hotel, pending approval of buildingpermit plans for a $6 million renovation. No contractor is listed for the project at 420 N. Julia St. Charles H. Parsons Architect of Orlando is the architect, Zev Cohen & Associates of Ormond Beach is the civil engineer and HB Associates LLC of Altamonte Springs is the electrical engineer. Axis Hotels LLC of St. Augustine is the developer to renovate the six-story, almost 60,000-square-foot building that was built in 1922. The city approved a permit in Decem-
UNF establishes new school The University of North Florida designated its Department of Communication as the School of Communication in the College of Arts and Sciences. It offers a bachelor’s in communication studies and a master’s in communication management. Concentrations are in advertising, multimedia journalism, digital video production and public relations.
VOLUME 106, NO. 90 • ONE SECTION