JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — While members of Jacksonville's City Council weigh a proposal from Mayor Lenny Curry's office to provide more than $200 million in taxpayer subsidies for the Lot J project, no documents or records have been made public that would substantiate claims of the viability of the development.
On Oct. 5, in a well-produced presentation to the public on the deal reached between Curry's office and Jags owner Shad Khan's team, the mayor told reporters and council members the project would generate $100 million annually in economic output.
Additionally, the mayor and the development team said more than 1,000 permanent jobs would be created, bringing in over $2 billion in direct and indirect salaries over 40 years.
"These are financial models that are done by experts based on assumptions in modeling standard through finance, accounting and deals," Curry told Florida Times-Union reporter Chris Hong when asked about the source of the projections.
When Hong asked whether the studies and analyses that were done to arrive at those figures would be released publicly, Curry said, "Put a public records request in and we'll get you the public records."
First Coast News and the Florida Times-Union are news sharing partners. The public records request submitted by Hong asked for all documents, studies and analyses related to the Lot J project, notably those that would tie into the project's economic forecast and proposed job creation.
But the city was not able to provide any documents, outside of the already publicly available project term sheet and development agreement.
"Typically when economic incentive deals are introduced, that information's included from the 'get-go,'" Hong said. "That kind of information's been really important for the city. When the city decides whether or not to make an investment into a private development, one of the major factors it uses is its return on investment."
On Tuesday, at a meeting of council's Finance Committee, Chairman Matt Carlucci asked council auditor Kim Taylor about any updates on the project, which has yet to be technically introduced to the council because the legislation filed left out the parking agreement for the development.
Taylor said she met with lawyers representing the developers and the Jaguars, but that key information related to the project's economic viability, market studies and the parking agreement still had not been made available.
"Typically a lot of this information is information we generally have when we get a deal when we get legislation," Taylor told the committee members. "So I may have presumed wrong that all of it was available."
"I expected to have it before they file it before we accept it," said Councilwoman Randy Defoor. "They should know this."
As the Florida Times-Union reports, the sole source of the figures presented by the city was taken from an "economic and fiscal impact analysis" by Johnson Consulting.
Johnson Consulting has done prior work for other Cordish Companies projects, including an analysis of a similar project to Lot J in Kansas City in which the economic impact of the project was significantly overstated.
"The administration coordinated with the developers to create the fact sheet. We’ve never had possession of the document (consultant study) but we have requested it from the developers," city spokesperson Nikki Kimbleton told the Times-Union in an email Wednesday.
"The return on investment is unsure as far as the City of Jacksonville is concerned," Carlucci told First Coast News. "It would be nice to have some market studies showing where they can back up these great promises that they're making about it."
Carlucci said, at the moment, he questions whether it is the right time to move forward with the Lot J development. He said he's heard from more than 400 people, the vast majority concerned about the proposed taxpayer subsidies.
Also, Carlucci said he feels there is more collective energy around fulfilling promises made during consolidation to upgrade infrastructure in the city's oldest neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, the future of the Jaguars in Jacksonville remains murky, as the team has not yet extended its lease at TIAA Bank Field, set to expire in 2030.
"It's extremely important for our council auditor to have backup information on the viability and sustainability of Lot J, with or without the Jaguars," Carlucci said. "What if the Jaguars leave?"
Taylor told the Finance Committee she has another meeting scheduled with representatives from the development team on Friday.
Councilman Ron Salem advised Taylor to ask for firm dates for when documents related to the economic viability of the project, along with the parking agreement, would be made available.