John Hartley jogs along Coast Line Drive past a portion of the Riverwalk under construction near the Adam's Mark. The Riverwalk has been delayed by tricky negotiations with landowners. -- Bruce Lipsky/staff

Sluggish land deals set back Riverwalk
Difficult negotiations to obtain valuable property for free ties up Jacksonville's quest to finish riverfront route

By David DeCamp
Times-Union staff writer

The breezy, 3 1/4-mile route of Jacksonville's Northbank Riverwalk eventually will take people from Riverside Park, through a pair of under-bridge plazas, and nearly to Alltel Stadium, showcasing the downtown beauty of the St. Johns River.

But right now, there's just not much walk to the Riverwalk, despite several years of efforts by City Hall.

Negotiations with landowners to build on riverfront property for free have taken longer than expected. As of last week, the city needs signed easements -- deals that allow the use of land -- on nine of the 16 properties south of the Acosta Bridge for the Riverwalk, formally known as Northbank Riverfront Park. So the path now is limited to about five blocks between Pearl and Newnan streets, with truncated sections near the Fuller Warren Bridge and Metropolitan Park.

Map of Riverwalk. Click to enlarge. -- Staff

Despite the time-consuming approach, city officials say they are hopeful enough easements will be finished soon so construction from the Acosta Bridge south can begin this summer and finish in a year. Most of the remaining easement negotiations are in the final stages, though a few owners have have been especially complicated to deal with, the city said.

Getting land for free has delayed the project, beyond just negotiating security and other issues, city officials acknowledge.

"When you're getting people to give you things, it's frankly more complicated than trying to buy it," Mayor John Delaney said. "Because they still need title, they still have legal real estate issues that have to be dealt with.

"People want to make sure they're not going to get sued if somebody breaks their ankle there, and it's got to be maintained properly. Certainly I would have loved to been able to have done it in 90 days, 120 days, but it hasn't been able to happen."

Riverwalk construction Jacksonville City Hall is trying to reach agreements, called easements, with owners of 16 properties along Riverside Avenue so the Northbank Riverwalk can be built. CSX: Easement acquired. City will relocate affected landscaping, and a police stop station will be next to parcel. Florida Department of Transportation and Jacksonville Transportation Authority: Agreement reached but hasn't been signed. That's expected in two weeks. Florida East Coast Railway: Easement acquired. Elevated path over railroad tracks will be enclosed or screened. Florida Times-Union: Agreement reached, with final document expected to be signed within two weeks. New parking lot will be built to replace 60 lost spaces, and security fence will be built. The Haskell Company: Easement acquired. DMH Enterprises: Proposed agreement being reviewed by both sides. Woolverton Trust (two lots): Awaiting finished agreement with DMH Enterprises before striking deal. YMCA (two lots): City and YMCA trustee are trying to tie up final agreement. The St. Joe Company (three lots): Deal finished. The city will pay up to $150,000 to St. Joe to construct riverwalk where an office tower is being built. Blue Cross-Blue Shield: Agreement reached, and signed deal is expected in a week. Company can build a private dock. City will build a lot for up to 17 parking spaces. Gefen: Negotiations have stalled. EKM Jacksonville Partners: Easement signed. Group can construct a private dock, but also provides access from Forest Street onto Riverwalk. Source: City of Jacksonville

Eventually there will be a large plaza under the Fuller Warren, big enough for Saturday art markets with parking. There also will be a smaller plaza near the Acosta Bridge. A diamond-shaped ramp will lift pedestrians over nearby railroad tracks. People eventually will be able to travel from Five Points to Alltel Stadium without leaving the $13.9 million path.

Asked when it all will be done, Delaney gave a plaintive sigh and said, "Don't know."

Something for nothing

Previously, the mayor repeatedly said the city had almost all the easements needed and that construction could begin soon. City engineers and other officials had predicted easement deals would be done quickly, but negotiating the easements has taken longer than originally thought.

Part of the problem has been that the city wants to build on the land for free. But the land is valuable because it's riverfront property.

The Northbank Riverwalk is limited along the St. Johns River from CSX Transportation to a few blocks past the Landing and the Main Street bridge. -- Bruce Lipsky/staff

The city's approach is unusual and time-consuming, said St. Augustine attorney Sid Ansbacher, chairman of the Florida Bar Association's environmental and land use law section, who has handled property cases for 16 years, including a fight against Delaney's ill-fated idea for a Metropolitan Park amphitheater. Without money, negotiations can prove difficult. At the same time, the city can end up with a much less expensive project because it's not buying land, he said.

"Typically, you would expect you would be paying for land, particularly when you're talking about giving up land that's along the water's edge," Ansbacher said.

City Hall decided it didn't want to pay for the deals, because of riverfront land's expensive price tag, Delaney said. That meant shelving the city's power of eminent domain, which allows government to take property but can be costly. In those cases, the city must pay for the value of land plus the owner's related costs, such as surveying.

Delaney said the Riverwalk will make owners' land more valuable because of how the project will show off the river and center of the city. But not everybody is hooked.

For the Gefen property on Riverside Avenue south of Dora Street, valued at $832,000 by the county property appraiser, negotiations are stale. The land is vacant after a small shed burned down years ago. Sid Gefen, whose wife is listed as the landowner, said he's willing to deal with the city, but no talks have taken place. The city's expectation of a free easement may be an issue, based on Gefen's statements.

"Let me ask you this: If you cut the end of your tie off, what's the tie worth? Is that simple enough?" said Gefen, adding the land has been owned by the family for 50 years.

Delaney and city officials said attempts to strike a deal essentially have gone nowhere. So the city has made easements for other properties a higher priority, city officials said. In fact, Delaney said the city is prepared to run the Riverwalk up to Riverside Avenue and back around the Gefen property.

Intricate deals

Meanwhile, the city and property owners also have negotiated over owners' liability for accidents along their property and lost parking areas.

The talks haved up numerous issues. For example, the owner of two lots, the Woolverton Trust, wants to review the finished deal for a neighboring lot owned by DMH Enterprises, according to the city. But the city still is trying to finish a deal with DMH Enterprises, so neither property has a deal. Calls to both owners weren't returned.

The Florida Times-Union's land issues appear closer to resolution. City and company officials said an agreement should be done soon after minor changes.

By the design of the Riverwalk, the Times-Union stands to lose 60 parking spaces and space for a helicopter landing spot. Meanwhile, the newspaper also was concerned about security and liability along its property, General Manager Robert Martin said.

The city has agreed to pay about $200,000 to build a new parking lot on the north side of the property. Replacing parking is normal in these cases, city project manager Ed Hall said. The Riverwalk also will be designed to go around the helicopter pad. Meanwhile, a fence will be erected between the Riverwalk and the newspaper property, with gated access for Times-Union employees.

The YMCA, which also owns Riverside land, supports the project but is awaiting a finished deal, said Paul McEntire, chief operating officer.

Security will be an issue, but probably down the road, he said.

'A great project'

While easement negotiations progress, City Hall is relying on private developers to build the Riverwalk from The Jacksonville Landing to Metropolitan Park.

East of the Landing, private developers of Berkman Plaza, an apartment and condominium high-rise, and the Shipyards, an office and residential project, will construct the Riverwalk as part of agreements with City Hall.

TriLegacy, which is creating the Shipyards, has until the end of 2004 to complete a 16.8-acre park that will include the Riverwalk. But Delaney and company officials said the Riverwalk there could be done sooner, probably in 18 months to two years. If not, the completed path could be almost three years from being done.

"It's confusing and confounding. ... Sometimes we [city and property owners] both have lawyers pointing at the other side. I think it's going to be a great project. I think it's going to be a wonderful project," Delaney said.

The project's completion is especially important to Riverside Avondale Preservation, a neighborhood group that is planning weekend art markets for up to 200 artists when the Fuller-Warren plaza is done.

"You have to realize the complexity of this. I would be frustrated if it never got done, but I'm reasonably sure it's going to get done in the next two or three years," said Riverside optometrist Wayne Wood, who has promoted the plaza and Riverwalk. "It's frustrating only that it has not fallen into place right now, but it's understandable with the legal issues involved."

Wood also is eager. The co-author of a book on the Great Fire of 1901, he had looked forward to seeing a sculpture commemorating the event placed on the Riverwalk near Market Street last year.

The art has been done. Not the Riverwalk.

Staff writer David DeCamp can be reached at or via e-mail at ddecamp.