Daily Record Financial News &
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017
Vol. 104, No. 058 • oNe SectioN
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Barnett, Trio $4M from start
Council will consider remaining financing
Wawa scouting sites in St. Johns
Wawa Inc. is actively seeking sites in St. Johns County for its gas stations and convenience stores, expanding from its initial search of Northeast Florida locations in Duval and Clay counties. Brian Duke, regional real estate manager for the Pennsylvaniabased chain, said Wednesday that Wawa initially is interested in two to four St. Johns County sites. He told attendees at the International Council of Shopping Centers North Florida Idea Exchange that Wawa considers the Northeast Florida area a 30-40 store market. He said later Wawa thinks Duval County could accommodate 20 to 24 stores and Clay County would have six or seven. Duke Nassau County isn’t in review now, but sites rely on traffic and population. Duke announced Wawa’s intentions to go “all in” within Northeast Florida at last year’s ICSC meeting. The company rolled out its initial plans in June. He said Wednesday the first three area stores would open by year-end, although he didn’t identify the locations. At least another 10 will open in 2018 and then two to four stores would open annually after that. Duke told the group that nine locations are under contract in MATHIS CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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It’s been a long road, but the destination is in sight. The project to revive the Barnett Bank building and the Laura Street Trio Downtown that was unveiled nearly seven years ago is $4 million away from reality. The Downtown Investment Authority approved Wednesday its $5.8 million share of a $9.8 million incentives package that would complete the financial side of the $90 million historic preservation and reuse project. “You just kept bouncing back,” said authority Chair Jim Bailey to Steve Atkins, principal of SouthEast Development Group, who first presented the project in 2010 at a ceremony in former Mayor John Peyton’s office. “Let me tell you how long I’ve been working on this,” Atkins said after the incentives were approved. “When I started, my daughter was in
second grade. Now she’s in high school and looking at colleges.” The key to moving the project forward is Atkins’ partnership with Las Vegas-based The Molasky Group of Cos. Molasky last week reached an agreement to buy the Barnett building from Stache Investments, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s venture capital firm. Atkins borrowed $3 million from Stache in 2013 to purchase the building, but last July the court ruled in favor of Khan’s company in a foreclosure action after Atkins didn’t make payments on the loan. In addition to $4 million from the Downtown Historic Preservation and Revitalization Trust Fund, the authority approved a $1.8 million Recapture Enhanced Value grant — a rebate of 50 percent of the property taxes generated by the project for 20 years. DIA CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Court: No review in Mathis appeal
Land has been cleared for the 80-acre Pavilion at Durbin Park. Florida 9B is the major road shown in the photo and a bridge was built over Race Track Road on the right. Race Track Road cuts west toward the St. Johns River. This photo shows about 60 of the 80 acres.
Special to the Daily Record
Downtown Investment Authority Chair Jim Bailey, left, City Council member Greg Anderson and Matthew Connolly, senior vice president of development for The Molasky Group of Cos.
Photo by Max Marbut
By Max Marbut, Staff Writer
Wal-Mart, Home Depot in first phase of Pavilion at Durbin Park
By Karen Brune Mathis Managing Editor One of the area’s largest and most anticipated retail developments is about to take off in northern St. Johns County. Gate Petroleum Co. and Gatlin Development Co., both based in Jacksonville, are launching the 80-acre Pavilion at Durbin Park within the much larger Durbin Park project. The initial 700,000 square feet of development will include WalMart Supercenter and Home Depot, along with more than 350,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and junior anchor-tenant uses. That is according to marketing materials at Wednesday’s International Council of Shopping Centers North Florida Idea Exchange and developer Frank Gatlin. “It is under construction and
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A rendering of the Pavilion at Durbin Park includes a Wal-Mart Supercenter at the upper right and Home Depot at the lower left. we are delivering,” Gatlin said of the retail services that will be available to area residents. A St. Johns County official said when the project was announced
in June that Durbin Park will provide convenient retail and office opportunities currently not available to St. Johns County residents, DURBIN CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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Bondi’s office to decide whether to retry the case By Marilyn Young Editor The Florida Supreme Court denied a request Wednesday by the Attorney General’s Office to review an appellate court’s decision that granted Kelly Mathis a new trial. The former Jacksonville Bar Association president was sentenced in February 2014 to six years after being convicted by a jury of 103 gambling-related charges in the Allied Veterans of the World case. Last October, the 5th District Court of Appeals threw out the convictions because the Seminole County trial judge did not allow key testimony that would have supported Mathis’ defense. His defense attorney Mitch Stone said Wednesday he Mathis expected the Supreme Court’s decision. “We did not think the state had sufficient grounds to take it to that level,” he said. What did surprise him was how quickly the court made its ruling. Mathis’ appellate team filed its response Jan. 9 to the state’s request for the court’s intervention. Stone said the Attorney General’s Office has 90 days from the date of the mandate to the trial court to decide whether to retry Mathis. If that occurs, Stone would APPEAL
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