JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jaguars owner Shad Khan's ongoing plans for a Four Seasons Hotel and medical office building do not depend on the city gaining federal approval for a land swap that would allow private development on a chunk of Metropolitan Park, the team says.
When the Downtown Investment Authority meets on Wednesday, it will vote on giving Khan's firm, Iguana Investments, the ability to do geotechnical and environmental testing on a portion of Metropolitan Park and the next-door Shipyards property on the riverfront.
The DIA board resolution does not authorize testing on the entirety of Metropolitan Park, however. The resolution excludes the entire 14.3-acre eastern portion of the park that's covered by a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund restriction preventing private development on that tract of land.
The city has been in talks with the National Park Service about a land swap that would lift that restriction, but it has not been able to reach an agreement.
But even without a land swap, the development of a Four Seasons Hotel and Residences along with a medical office building could go forward, the Jaguars said Friday.
"Our belief in downtown Jacksonville and its potential hasn’t changed, nor has our commitment to playing a leading role in helping downtown realize its full potential," the Jaguars said in a statement Friday. "We are currently working through the DIA process regarding the Shipyards development. The Shipyards development, including the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences and medical office, are not dependent on the Met Park land swap."
The city-owned land that makes up Met Park covers 24 acres. The eastern portion that's covered by the federal restriction is where the amphitheater stage used to have outdoor concerts with a big lawn.
The western side of the Met Park once had a Kids Kampus on it, but the city later dismantled the playground and it reverted years ago to open land. The Metropolitan Park Marina is along that portion of the park.
When the Jaguars presented the Four Seasons Hotel and Four Seasons Residences concept to the DIA board in November, the layout showed the Four Seasons building, a specialty medical office building, and a parking garage on the western side of Met Park that is not covered by the federal grant restriction.
The concept showed a future second phase for a riverfront office complex and parking garage on the eastern side of Met Park that is currently covered by the restriction that's in place because a federal grant helped build the park in the 1980s.
Khan and the Jaguars turned their focus on the Four Seasons project after City Council defeated a plan for an Live! entertainment complex with apartments and a hotel that would have been built on Lot J near the football stadium.
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