Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Vol. 105, No. 009 • One Section
35¢
www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Report: Florida Coastal School of Law for sale
Love’s planning second truck stop Site near Interstate 10 and U.S. 301 expected to open by 2020. Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is planning a second area store to open by early 2020 in the far Westside. The Oklahoma City-based company wants to build a travel center on 17.21 acres at northwest Interstate 10 and U.S. 301 near Baldwin. The chain opened a store in May 2015 at 400 Pecan Park Road off I-95 north of Jacksonville International Airport. The average investment for a new Love’s Travel Stop is $11 million. Spokeswoman Kealey Dorian said Monday the project would open after Florida Department of Transportation improvements are completed at the I-10 and U.S. 301 intersection. It’s not just the interstate that is attracting Love’s to the site. “Highway 301 is a major thoroughfare and our customers have frequently asked for services in that part of Jacksonville,” Dorian said by email. She said the highway connects Jacksonville to Gainesville. Dorian estimates that the development would create about 60 jobs between the restaurants, the Love’s Truck Tire Care Center and the travel stop. The count could vary depending on the number and brand of restaurants that will open. City Council is taking up
FLORIDA COASTAL FIRST-TIME BAR EXAM PASS RATE The American Bar Association notified Florida Coastal in October that it may be significantly out of compliance with the ABA standards for approved law schools because of the performance of its graduates on their first sitting for the bar exam.
Florida State Coastal Average
July 2017 47.7%
68.4%
Feb. 2017
25.0
56.1
July 2016
51.9
66.8
Feb. 2016
32.7
55.8
July 2015
59.3
68.3
Feb. 2015
74.5
66.4
July 2014
58.0
72.6
Feb. 2014
72.9
69.1
July 2013
67.4
77.6
Feb. 2013
79.3
80.4
Source: Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Includes results from Ave Maria School of Law, Barry University School of Law, Florida A&M University College of Law, Florida Coastal School of Law, Florida International University College of Law, Florida State University College of Law, Nova Southeastern University College of Law, St. Thomas University College of Law, Stetson University College of Law, University of Florida College of Law and University of Miami School of Law.
Photo by Monty Zickuhr
Florida Coastal School of Law is at 8787 Baypine Road in Baymeadows.
School owner InfiLaw seeking nonprofit for purchase or partnership, WSJ says. By Andrew Warfield Associate Editor Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville is for sale or available for partnership, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. Naples-based InfiLaw, owner of Florida Coastal and its sister for-profit law school, Arizona Summit School of Law of Phoenix, is in discussions with nonprofit schools to take over or partner with it in ownership of the schools,
the Journal said. The report highlights lower-thanaverage pass rates of graduates of both schools in their respective Bar exams, lowered admissions standards, financial difficulties at both schools and high loan debt borne by students who either failed to pass the Bar, dropped out or were dismissed. Officials with InfiLaw did not respond to requests for comment. Florida Coastal
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Southbank residential tower sent back to DDRB Agency is told to consider seven items before making a final decision. By David Cawton Staff Writer An effort to block the construction of a high-rise residential tower on the Downtown Southbank will continue after the City Council Land Use and Zoning Committee declined last
Public
week to block an appeal of the project. GV-IP Jacksonville Owner LLC is appealing a decision by the Downtown Investment Authority upholding the Downtown Development Review Board’s approval of a proposed 13-story residential development along Prudential Drive. Jacksonville-based Ventures Development Group’s project includes a three-level parking garage to be built within the tower, along with 12 public surface-level spaces for access to the Riverwalk.
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Other amenities include a private courtyard and pool along with 53,000 square feet of open space along the riverfront for the public. The DDRB voted 4-1 to approve the project June 1. The 2.9-acre property is owned by South Shore Riverpointe Holdings LLC and sits between the Acosta Bridge and the Aetna Building. Ventures originally was scheduled to purchase the land by Oct. 18. The closing date has been moved to Jan. 15, contingent on the result of the appeal.
GV-IP, a Chicago-based company, owns the neighboring 6.5 acres at 841 Prudential Drive, including the Aetna Building. The appeal is based on the argument that the DDRB failed to adhere to certain design criteria rules when approving Venture’s project, with five deviations from the zoning code, specifically guidelines on required parking and building height. Those deviations include a reduction in required parking from 559 spaces to a minimum of 337 spaces; altered landscaping along adjacent railroad tracks at
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the east end of the development to provide a buffer; an increase in the allowed building height from 60 feet to 190 feet; and reduced setbacks from the riverfront bulkheads in certain areas from 50 feet to 25 feet. On Aug. 16, the DIA denied GV-IP’s initial appeal 4-1, with the lone dissenting vote coming from authority Chair Jim Bailey. Council members voted on two issues Nov. 21, including whether GV-IP and the surrounding property owners were Tower
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consecutive business days