THURSDAY October 11, 2018
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SIGNS OF CONCERN INDaily ARLINGTON Record JACKSONVILLE
Web.com approves Siris buyout $2.2 billion deal will turn company private.
Business owners say new sign rules and other changes that are part of a plan to improve area could cost them thousands.
BY MARK BASCH
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
JACKSONVILLE
SEEKING CHANGES
Mike Anania, owner of Cam Automotive along Arlington Road, said it would cost his shop “hundreds of thousands of dollars” because proposed new rules would ban open bay doors that face the street.
SIGN CHANGES
According to the proposed changes for Arlington, properties less than 5 acres can’t have road signs taller than 6 feet, and pole-mounted signs, billboards, animated and other digital signage would be prohibited.
Photos by David Cawton
BY DAVID CAWTON STAFF WRITER
A
plan to improve Arlington that would create new rules for road signs and landscaping isn’t sitting well with a group of property and business owners. If approved by City Council, a new zoning overlay would create a set of standards for properties in the Renew Arlington Community Redevelopment Area. The city has five CRAs, which are special funding districts created to spur economic development in blighted areas of cities or counties.
In 2015, council members approved the creation of the Renew Arlington CRA that includes property along three corridors in Arlington: University Boulevard from the Arlington Expressway to Fort Caroline Road; Merrill Road from University Boulevard to Interstate 295; and a section of Arlington Road from University Boulevard to Rogero Road. The city Planning and Development Department, council members, business organizations and property owners are working on a final zoning overlay. When adopted, about 1,300 SEE ARLINGTON, PAGE 8
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Shareholders of Web.com Group Inc. easily approved a buyout by a private equity firm Wednesday morning, clearing the way to close the deal Thursday. Affiliates of Siris Capital Group LLC agreed to buy the company in a deal valued at $2.2 billion. Web.com CEO David Brown said Wednesday that taking the publicly traded company private will help its business going forward. “We don’t have to grow for the sake of growth” to impress Wall Street, he said. “We’re looking at profitable growth.” Brown said the buyout will not result in major changes for Web.com, Brown wh i c h p ro vides website development and marketing services for small and medium-sized businesses. “It’s going to be business as usual,” he said. Siris agreed to buy Web.com in June as the company was planning a move to a new 218,700-squarefoot headquarters building. Although most employees will not be impacted by the buyout, Brown has not said if he will remain as CEO or if there will be other executive changes. Brown said the company plans an announcement Thursday about executive roles. The buyout agreement was approved by about 99 percent of shares voted, representing 78 percent of all shares outstanding, the company said.
MBASCH@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM
LAW & THE COURTS NEWS
The Florida Bar president outlines her inititatives Michelle Suskauer speaks to JWLA PAGE 11 VOLUME 105, NO. 231 • TWO SECTIONS