Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Vol. 104, No. 001 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Regency Centers to buy Equity One Headquarters of combined companies will remain in Jacksonville
By Mark Basch Contributing Writer Jacksonville-based Regency Centers Corp. announced a deal Monday to acquire Equity One Inc., which will create a shopping center powerhouse with 429 properties across the country and a market value of $15.6 billion. The merged company’s headquarters will remain in Jacksonville operating under the Regency name and Regency Chairman and CEO Hap Stein will remain in
those roles. Other top Regency executives also will remain in place, including President and Chief Financial Officer Lisa Palmer. Equity One Chairman Chaim Katzman will become non-executive vice chairman of Regency. The merger will be done through an exchange of stock, with current Regency stockholders owning about 62 percent of the combined company. “Shareholders of both companies are poised to benefit from an
expanded presence in top metro areas, a higher organic growth profile, expanded development and redevelopment program, and greater tenant diversity,” Stein said in a news release. Regency, which traces its roots to a company founded by Stein’s parents more than a half century ago in Jacksonville, operates 307 retail properties across the country, mainly grocery-anchored shopping centers. New York-based Equity One owns 122 properties, including
several in Northeast Florida. Its two largest area properties are along Florida A1A in Jacksonville Beach: the 313,332-squarefoot South Beach Regional center, with anchors including Trader Joe’s and Home Depot, and the 148,673-square-foot Pablo Plaza, which is undergoing a major renovation that will eventually include a Whole Foods store. “Equity One shareholders are receiving an attractive valuation for the company’s assets, and Regency continued on Page A-3
Stein
Downtown gallery may close Seeking
end to violence
Soft market, slow foot traffic, high rent are factors in decision
Mayor wants answers
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
By David Chapman Staff Writer
Gallery
continued on
Photos by Max Marbut
Artist Jami Childers has been painting portraits and exhibiting her work Downtown along Monroe Street for almost two years, but that might be coming to an end. “I’ve enjoyed being Downtown, but I just don’t think Jacksonville has enough market for fine art,” she said last week as she worked at her easel in the window at Monroe Galleries. “And I don’t think there’s enough foot traffic unless there’s an event,” she added. Even offering exhibit space to other artists for a small fee and teaching classes at the gallery hasn’t put the cash flow into the black. Essentially self-taught, other than some classes at Florida State College at Jacksonville, Childers said the majority of her commissions come through her website, monroegalleries. com. So it might be time to move the studio back home and get away from paying for rent and utilities every month. The studio and gallery at 40 W. Monroe St. is her second Downtown address. Childers started thinking about bringing her brushes and canvas Downtown five years ago when she visited First Wednesday Art Walk. When a space on Monroe Street was vacated two years ago by a barber shop, she leased it and set up her first gallery. The space having been occupied by people who cut hair made a connection with Childers, who owns and operates Jami’s Barber Salon in the Publix shopping center at Atlantic and University boulevards. “I’ve got some great girls who work for me, so I can spend two days at the salon and four days at the gallery,” she said. Ten months ago, a larger space became available a few Page A-2
Jami Childers paints portraits next to the storefront display window at Monroe Galleries Downtown at 40 W. Monroe St. Being able to work where pedestrians can walk by and watch her paint is one of the reasons she leased the space, but there’s not enough foot traffic to keep her in business, she said. Monroe Galleries exhibits the work of several artists, including a show this month by University of North Florida photography students.
Public
legal notices begin on page
A-10
Published
for
There were 100 faces behind Mayor Lenny Curry, Sheriff Mike Williams and City Council member Reggie Brown on Monday. The faces were male, female, black, white, infants and teenagers, all with one commonality. They were victims of violent crime. The Portraits of Hope display at City Hall is intended to honor their memory and serve as a stark reminder of the crime issues facing the Jacksonville community. Yet, Curry, Williams and Brown were there to talk about another murder of a baby, this time 11-month-old Tedashii Williams. The infant was shot and killed Sunday, one of three victims in a shootout at a food mart in Brown’s district. Curry said it was unacceptable behavior for his city and he remains focused and committed to solving crime issues. He’s done so by hiring more police officers, adding overtime funding and boosting the Jacksonville Journey with millions of dollars. Curry’s first budget included almost $3 million more for crime prevention and intervention programs, up from about $2 million. Some of that money rolled over into this year, but he remains committed at about the $5 million mark. However, despite the boost, there was some pushback the night council approved the budget. Council member Scott Wilson wanted data on how the anti-crime initiative had performed in the 10 ZIP codes where funding was being dedicated. Parts of his Southside district, too, needed improvement. Wilson wanted answers and his push to delay half of the Jacksonville Journey’s 2016-17 funding was a message heard. On Monday, Wilson and his Neighborhoods, Community Investments and Services Committee heard some of the data. Sunday’s shootings served as a stark reminder for the conversation. When the Jacksonville Journey Oversight Committee rebooted this year, it evolved from serving mainly Health Zone Journey continued on Page A-2
27,062
consecutive weekdays