The $41 million Assembly Lofts at Commodore Point
construction project needs a $9 million infusion of cash from the city,
according to developer Jim McNamara, president of McNamara Associates of
Atlanta.
Mike Weinstein, executive director of the Jacksonville Economic Development
Commission, said the city would need to provide about 15 to 20 percent of the
project's development cost, which would be about $8 million.
"It would take public-private assistance to make it happen," Weinstein said.
"We would like to see it happen. We don't have a finished proposal yet, but we
are working on one."
The incentives will have to receive approval from the Downtown Development
Authority, the JEDC and the City Council before they are finalized.
The proposed project would consist of 144 loft apartments, a 125-slip marina
and 53,000 square feet of commercial space.
McNamara said construction is expected to take place in July and be completed
in February 2003.
"We are ready to get a bulldozer and get out there," he said.
The project is among several downtown riverfront residential and commercial
projects being built or planned. Yesterday, the DDA approved a $75 million
incentives plan for TriLegacy Group LLC to redevelop the Jacksonville Shipyards
into a large residential, commercial and retail center.
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John Guns
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Weinstein said the incentives package is necessary for the Assembly Lofts at
Commodores Point because the project is located in a brownfields area.
A brownfields area is property formerly used for industrial purposes, which
requires environmental clean-up to make it developable.
JEA's Southside generating plant is being reviewed for that designation. Tax
breaks can be obtained by a developer to build on such sites.
Yesterday, McNamara announced a partnership with the St. Paul Community
Empowerment Center Inc., a faith-based program of the St. Paul Missionary
Baptist Church in Jacksonville that will provide jobs to the residents, most of
whom are African-American.
The plan is for local residents to have an opportunity to enroll in
apprenticeship classes to help construct the loft building.
McNamara expects the redevelopment of what was a Ford Motor Co. assembly
plant from the 1920s to the 1940s to dovetail with the assistance the church is
providing to residents who live in the area.
John Guns, pastor of the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, located at 3738
Winton Drive, said the church will be shifting its efforts from the Northside to
the city's Eastside.
"This will begin a resurgence in that area," Guns said. "The lofts will
create economic activity in that area, and we want to participate in it."
If the construction of the Assembly Lofts at Commodore Point creates one
minority company, McNamara says he will be satisfied.
"My goal is to have one new company, whether it be an electrical, a plumbing
or a drywall contractor," McNamara said.
City Councilwoman Pat Lockett-Felder, who represents that area of the city,
said she is pleased with the proposal.
"It is going to be good because this area is dying," she said.
