Carter’s $140 million mixed-use proposal by the Atlanta-based developer is the highest-rated bid in the downtown investment authority’s latest effort to redevelop The Ford on Bay.
A note from DIA CEO Lori Boyer to the board of directors and an accompanying filing sheet released on January 12 show that Carter’s The Hardwick at Ford on Bay has outstripped five other bids from regional and national development firms to redevelop the former Duval County courthouse package.
The documents were included in the agenda package for the meeting of the Property Disposition and Retail Promotion Committee at Doha International Airport on January 18.
This committee is expected to vote on January 19 on whether or not to recommend the highest-scoring bid for final approval by the entire DIA Board of Directors.
All four members of the DIA Board of Directors appointed registration committee chose Carter, according to Boyer’s memo and registration sheet.
Carter’s design includes a 300-foot-tall residential tower and a 75-foot condominium plinth with 332 condos along the riverfront at 330 E. Bay St.
“The registrars did not discuss the proposals with each other, but each scored the same Registrar (Carter) #1,” Boyer wrote.
The DIA review committee that registered the projects is made up of Boyer, DIA Board members Jim Sitrano and Carol Wersham, and Deputy City Managing Director Stephanie Burch.
During public presentations on January 5, Carter’s representatives told the Recording and Review Committee that his designs were inspired by Jacksonville architect Taylor Hardwick.
Hardwicke’s projects include the Haydon Burns Library and the Fountain of Friendship. The library is now the Jesse Paul DuPont Center.
The company has erected a 300-foot-tall residential tower and a 75-foot condominium plinth with 332 condos along the riverfront at 330 E. Bay St.
The design includes 25,000 square feet of retail including two restaurants, one on the riverside. The project will have a 550-space parking garage with 125 retail spaces.
The designs also feature a rooftop swimming pool and a rest deck.
Carter’s plan addressed resilience to extreme weather and sea-level rise. The building will be protected by ecological storages, and tree canopy; Green roofs, a garden patio and a waterfront garden.
Carter’s plan addressed resilience to extreme weather and sea-level rise. The building will be protected by ecological storages, and tree canopy; Green roofs, a garden patio and a waterfront garden.
Here’s how the rest of the proposals are arranged:
Germantown, a Tennessee-based real estate developer, Mid-America Apartments LP ranked second with a seven-story, 306-unit mixed-use residential concept.
• Miami-based Related Development Corporation, a subsidiary of The Related Group, ranked third with a $118.6 million bid, 310 mixed-use housing units.
• Jacksonville-based SouthEast Development Group LLC’s partnership with Nashville-based City Development Co. ranked fourth with $253.45 million, a 150-room Hard Rock Hotel and mixed-use residential development.
• Shaker Heights, Ohio-based Silver Hills Development and Edwards, a mixed-use residential development of 315 units, ranked fifth.
• VanTrust Real Estate, based in Kansas City, Missouri, ranked sixth with $99.48 million of 290 mixed-use housing units.
Carter’s design shows a rooftop pool and rest deck.
DIA described the former court site The Ford on Bay in 2019. The adjacent 2.39-acre site included the former City Hall building at 220 E. Bay St. and 3.1 acres of land submerged in the St. Johns River.
The board voted in August to end 18 months of negotiations with New York City-based Spandrel Development Partners LLC for a $136 million mixed-use, multi-family retail project when the two parties could not agree on capital investment or retail density for the site.
The latest effort is for the 330 E. Bay St.
If the entire DIA board of directors votes to choose Carter’s proposal, its employees will enter negotiations with the company over a land deal with potential incentives.
In his presentation, Carter said he would likely request an enhanced value grant for a 20-year, 75%, property tax refund, and for the city to offer a riverfront site at no cost.
Carter’s presentation says he will build a $2.5 million open public space as part of the development.
This deal will go back to the board of directors for a second approval and then forward to the city council.
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