FRIDAY May 31, 2019
Public legal notices begin on page 3
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
As deadline looms, new city offer for Landing tenants
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
A parking lot striped for cars sits vacant at 10 N. Pearl St.
City: Why is former Greyhound property a parking lot?
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The owner was notified “the surface parking lot was not permitted.” BY SCOTT SAILER STAFF WRITER
The site of the former Downtown Greyhound terminal on 1.46 acres at 10 N. Pearl St., bounded by Forsyth, Bay, Clay and Pearl streets, has been converted into a parking lot. And the city wants to know why. Guy Parola, operations manager of the Downtown Investment Authority, sent a letter May 20 to site owner AK Pearl LLC of Miami to say the property “is currently functioning as an unpermitted surface parking lot.” Parola wrote that the bus station was demolished and the property was supposed to be grassed in accordance with a city ordinance. The bus station demolition was authorized by a city building permit, and “the surface parking lot was not permitted.” Consequently, Parola wrote, the surface lot is prohibited by the city’s zoning code and was constructed without the required permits. Parola wrote that he asked the Municipal Code Compliance SEE LOT, PAGE 2
Shannon Dixon, was owner of TrueFitPhysiques Training at The Jacksonville Landing for more than five years. He and other tenants are struggling to make Friday’s eviction deadline.
Businesses would get May rent refunded and have until June 7 to leave. BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
The deadline for short-term leaseholders to vacate The Jacksonville Landing is 5 p.m. today, but in the waning hours they are weighing a new offer from the city in lieu of relocation assistance. The city has offered a temporary holdover agreement that gives remaining businesses until 4 p.m. June 7 to leave the property. Tenants had until 5 p.m. Thursday to sign the holdover that also
forgives or refunds their May rent. City Council set aside $1.5 million in March for tenant relocation assistance when it approved the city’s purchase of the Landing. To date, city officials say about $871,333 has been allocated. The city took ownership of the Landing from Sleiman Enterprises on May 1 in a $15 million legal settlement. According to Director of Public Affairs Nikki Kimbleton, the allocated money includes about $15,000 in security deposits that will be reimbursed. The city anticipated getting $3,000 in parking payments from tenants in May after buying the Landing. But the city extended
free parking to the tenants, so it also counts the $3,000 as a loss. Lease buyout negotiations with restaurants Fionn MacCool’s and Hooters were settled May 1 totaling $550,000 and $303,333.31, respectively. The city has yet to reach a buyout deal with the final long-term leaseholder BBVA Compass. Of the approximately $628,666 remaining, Kimbleton said “there is no anticipated balance after that
Ed Malesky is president of The Art Center Cooperative, a nonprofit member gallery and local studio space for artists that has operated in the Landing since 2015. Photos by Mike Mendenhall
SEE LANDING, PAGE 2
Bearded Buffalo exception approved The Jacksonville Planning Commission approved a zoning exception to allow the Bearded Buffalo Brewing Co. at 1012 King St. in Riverside to serve alcohol for on-site consumption. Owner Scott McAlister opened the brewery and restaurant with beer and wine service in early 2017. His other businesses include the Phoenix Bar & Bowling on Blanding Boulevard; The Garage on Post Street; and The Loft, Rogue and Whiteway Deli & Tavern on King Street.
VOLUME 106, NO. 138 • ONE SECTION