JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A University of North Florida poll found a majority of Jacksonville residents oppose the city providing $233 million toward the Lot J development proposed by Jaguars owner Shad Khan and The Cordish Companies near TIAA Bank Field.
The poll found that 54 percent of residents strongly or somewhat oppose that level of city investment in the proposed development while 43 percent were strongly or somewhat supportive.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents fell in the "strongly opposed" category for the deal, which is pending before City Council and could come up for a final vote as soon as Tuesday.
"A massive project like the Lot J plan is bound to have mixed public support, but 37 percent of that opposition strongly opposes the proposal as it is now," said Michael Binder, UNF Public Opinion Research Lab director.
The City Council is meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday for a special meeting about the proposed Lot J development that would be built by a partnership of Jaguars owner Shad Khan and The Cordish Companies.
The council could decide to advance the legislation to a final vote next Tuesday or opt to take more time evaluating the mega-deal and come back after the holiday break for a final vote in 2021.
It is one of the largest public-private partnerships in Jacksonville history with the city's share of the cost at roughly 50 percent for investments and incentives. Typically the city's share of downtown development deals is in the 20 percent to 25 percent range.
Mayor Lenny Curry, whose administration negotiated the deal, has said it's the kind of bold development that will energize downtown by building a Live! entertainment district along with luxury apartment buildings and a boutique hotel on what is now the Lot J surface lot next to TIAA Bank Field.
He also has said supporting the deal is a test of whether city leaders want Jacksonville to continue as an NFL city.
Critics have said they support the development concept but say the city's share of the cost makes it a lop-sided sweetheart deal that skews the benefit toward the developer.