JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan signed the highly-anticipated Community Benefits Agreement Friday morning, allocating millions of dollars to citywide improvements.
The move comes after months of negotiations between city council and the Jaguars.
The $300 million Community Benefits Agreement will make the largest investment in Jacksonville's Eastside neighborhoods, homelessness initiatives, workforce development programs, affordable housing, city park improvements and more.
"This is a day that will go down in history," said Deegan. "A moment where we really delivered for all of Jacksonville an investment that will transform our community for generations."
The city will invest $150 million into the agreement; $94 million of the deal was approved by Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday after the money was left out of the 'Stadium of the Future' deal. The rest of the $150 million agreement will come from the Jaguars.
"We knew we wanted to do more than just build the 'Stadium of the Future,'" Deegan said. "We wanted to make one of the largest quality of life investments in our city's history and that is exactly what we've done."
A large portion of the agreement will go toward improving the OutEast neighborhood.
"OutEast has been underserved for far too long, hopefully, no more," said Jaguars President Mark Lamping.
Jacksonville City Councilman Jimmy Peluso, who represents the Eastside, highlighted the work that still needs to get done, despite the city crossing a huge hurdle.
"The work is not done my friends. Today is a great day because we get to sign a bill," Peluso said. "The work does not end today, the work will continue over the next several years."
Deegan said constituents should start to see the money go into effect next year.