TUESDAY June 4, 2019
Public legal notices begin on page 3
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
JACKSONVILLE Struggling Saft has received $3.67 million in city incentives
Haskell invests in health care building firm BLOX
Daily Record
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Alabama company is the creator of the “design manufacture construct” delivery method. BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
JACKSONVILLE
Saft incentives The battery manufacturer at 13575 Waterworks St. in Cecill Commerce Center received millions in incentives, but is failing to hit job targets
City says the tax revenue paid by the battery manufacturer exceeds the amount it has received in incentives. BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
Before announcing 63 jobs cuts in May at its West Jacksonville factory, lithiumion battery manufacturer Saft America Inc. had been paid $3.67 million of a $4.75 million city-backed incentive package, city officials said. Saft has struggled to reach a job target of 279 employees set by a 2009 economic development agreement with the city.
Saft is a producer of high-performance batteries for industrial, transportation, defense and aerospace use. Company officials plan to restructure operations at Saft’s 235,000-square foot plant at Cecil Commerce Center, which a spokesperson previously characterized as “unprofitable” and “underutilized.” According to the city Office of General Counsel, the battery manufacturer will not be eligible for additional payments from the Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund program or Community Economic Development Fund Job Creation Grant. In an email last week, city Assistant General Counsel Craig Feiser said
$95.5 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act federal stimulus money to to build the plant at the height of the 2008 Great Recession.
$3.67 million
City-backed incentives, The plant was to get $4.75 million but failed to hit job creation targets.
$14.9 million State financial incentives
SEE SAFT, PAGE 2
Haskell, the Jacksonville-based global architecture, engineering, construction and consulting firm, announced it would invest in BLOX LLC, the creator of the “design manufacture construct” delivery method. Haskell will provide design and construction services to BLOX in support of its health care projects. BLOX designs, constructs and installs smaller modules, such as operating rooms, exam rooms and bathrooms as well as larger projects including ambulatory and acute care facilities and freestanding emergency rooms. Haskell said it acquired an equity interest in BLOX. It would not disclose the dollar amount or its percentage of the company’s ownership. According to Alabama-based BLOX, DMC “replaces traditional design and construction methods with a 21st century approach” by fabricating parts of a construction project outside of the construction site. “The manufacturing precision and speed of delivery DMC affords has potential for many buyers,” said Haskell CFO Brad Slappey, “but the immediate opportunity is in the health care market and with our customers who require consistency across diverse project locations.”
KGARWOOD@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
Jacksonville venues lead state The Florida Theatre was No. 1 in 2018-19 among venues up to 2,000 seats according to the VenuesNow trade publication. Attendance at more than 99 shows was 115,910. Two other Jacksonville venues also ranked No. 1. Daily’s Place led the 5,001-10,000 capacity category, with attendance of 105,324. VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena was No. 1 in the 15,001-30,000 category, with attendance of 87,769. “The bigger picture for our city is that Jacksonville has three of the No. 1 venues in the six categories, and no matter what size venue you’re talking about, that helps Jacksonville.” Florida Theatre President Numa Saisselin said.
VOLUME 106, NO. 140 • ONE SECTION