Daily Record Financial News &
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017
Vol. 104, No. 068 • oNe SectioN
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
LenderLive taking over PHH center
By Mark Basch Contributing Writer
PHH Corp. said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday it is turning over its Jacksonville operations center to another mortgage services company. Denver-based LenderLive Network LLC is assuming
the lease on the office at 8800 Baymeadows Way W. and will hire 250 to 300 PHH employees at the site. LenderLive is taking over PHH’s private label solutions (PLS) division, which provides end-to-end mortgage origination services for financial institution clients. PHH, which has been losing
money, said in November it planned to shed the PLS business and that it would impact the Jacksonville office, which had about 450 employees at the time. New Jersey-based PHH has significantly downsized its Jacksonville operations, which had more than 1,000 employees four years ago. It relocated to a smaller office in Baymeadows in 2015.
PHH on Wednesday reported a net loss of $133 million for the fourth quarter. LenderLive said in a news release Thursday morning it could expand the Jacksonville office, which it said is capable of supporting 700 employees. “We are excited about the opportunity of adding a significant number of talented mort-
gage professionals and establishing a new operations center for LenderLive in Jacksonville,” LenderLive CEO Rick Seehausen said. “This is a win-win for everyone involved,” he said. The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter. mbasch@jaxdailyrecord.com
Bullet ID network quickens arrests
Curry wants $250,000 to join federal program By Max Marbut Staff Writer
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Tearing down to build anew
Demolition began Wednesday to take down the former St. Johns Village retail center in Avondale to make way for apartments. Realco Recycling Co. Inc. is the demolition subcontractor for the vacant retail center at 4000 St. Johns Ave. Developer Chance Partners LLC owns that site and the adjacent 16-story Commander Apartments, which are being redeveloped into an 88-unit building. The entire 228-unit project should be completed in phases by summer 2018. It will be rebranded with a new name. St. Johns Village was built in 1987 and the Commander in 1961.
Photos by Fran Ruchalski
Mayor Lenny Curry has a message for anyone in Jacksonville who decides to fire a gun while breaking the law. “If you are stupid enough to commit a crime in our city — specifically with a gun — we’re coming after you,” he said Wednesday. Joined at a news conference by State Attorney Melissa Nelson, Sheriff Mike Williams, representatives of state and federal law enforcement agencies and City Council members, Curry said he’s asking council to fast-track legislation to appropriate $250,000 for a bullet identification system. The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network is a database of digital images of spent bullets and cartridge cases collected at crime scenes or test-fired from confiscated or recovered weapons. The system identifies the If you are stupid unique markenough to ings made on a commit a crime bullet and cartridge when a in our city — gun is fired and specifically with allows that data to be shared and a gun — we’re compared with coming after you. evidence gathered by other Mayor Lenny Curry law enforcement agencies. The system is managed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and has been shown in other cities to accelerate apprehension of suspects and aid prosecution. According to ATF, it is the only interstate, automated ballistic imaging network in the U.S. and is available at more than 150 sites. Nelson said her office uses bullet and shell casing evidence that’s processed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but due to the state lab’s workload, the amount of time needed for evidence to be evaluated can slow down the legal process. It can take more than 12 months for the state lab to provide the data the network can provide in a matter of days, sometimes
Emotional path of a 5-year HRO journey From Staff Jimmy Midyette was one of the key leaders — both in public and behind the scenes — pushing to expand the city’s human rights ordinance since 2012. The Jacksonville native and lawyer at the Luna Law Firm answered questions about rough times along the five-year path, respect for the principles of a couple of City Council members who opposed the legislation and what it felt like when the years-long fight ended with a victory.
Midyette
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You seemed confident going into the meeting Tuesday night that the legislation would pass this time, but describe your feelings as you were listening to the amendments and the final debate?
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My confidence stemmed from the committee meetings in the week before the final vote. I knew that 10 council members already voted for the bill in some form the prior week. Also, many of the amendments proposed (Tuesday) night were also previewed in committees. I was proud of the 13 council members who stuck together defeating bad amendments. By those I mean the ones that would have placed the question out as a referendum, restricted private companies, and worse, removed gender identity from the bill. As proud as I was of those who stood tough, I was disappointed by the comments of the opponents of the bill. However, of the opponents, I was impressed by both MIDYETTE CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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