“Voters Will Never Forgive Us”

In a statement issued today, City Council Finance Chair Matt Carlucci said that City Council needs to “get [Lot J] negotiations out of the back room” else “voters will never forgive us.”

Carlucci has been urging Council to require a “thorough review and analysis” by the Downtown Investment Authority, which was created to conduct such reviews. At $233 million, the Lot J development, a high-end multi-use development by Shad Khan and The Cordish Companies, is reported to be the largest single taxpayer-dollar subsidy of any private development in Jacksonville’s history.

Carlucci asserts that City Council should consider the Council Auditor’s report, make negotiations transparent, allow DIA to “do its job as mandated by city ordinance,” require a market study, and involve the Downtown Development Review Board in reviewing “architectural specs.”

DIA will meet Wednesday at 2 pm to discuss the Lot J Development, and City Council will meet as a Committee of the Whole the next day at 10 to receive DIA’s report and hear from the Council Auditor. See JaxLookout “Act Now on Lot J.” https://jaxlookout.com/act-now-on-lot-j/