I've been wondering what was going on with all that. It's like it had disappeared from the news. I thought the hangup was the pollution cleanup, which according to some estimates could cost $30 million, and who would pay for it.
The Jag fan in me was hoping Shad Khan would have a huge investment in the city and that would deter him from ever thinking about moving the team.
It seems like expanding the area being developed would make it harder to do the project, not easier.
I wonder why they decided to do this. It's not like there are big development companies lining up to do this type of thing.
From everything I've read this has potential to be even better. The new bids for development can now include more acreage on the riverfront plus Metro Park.
like a coal in ur stocking for being bad all year
Didn't Khan beat out other people interested in developing the area?
The city would be wise to just give the land away to a developer at this point.
So the plan changed to add more acreage. Doesn't mean Khan is out or anything.
IN fact I read something that Khan was interested in investing on the new deal.
The TV station has it a little screwed up.
From the times union article...
http://jacksonville.com/news/2016-12-14/...d-met-park
"Jaguars owner Shad Khan entered the picture in 2015 when his Iguana Investments Florida LLC got the nod, but the Downtown Investment Authority never completed negotiations with him because the city didn’t have a fully funded plan for cleaning up environmental contamination at The Shipyards."
I supposed the DIA now has it figured out how to pay for cleanup. One thing for sure, it has to be done before anybody can build anything.
A large portion of the old plan was the structure that was to hold the practice field facility. It only makes sense that that would have to change with the new amphitheater/flex field already under construction and the fact that the Met Park structure was condemned and removed.
Looking at the drawings, dreamland. No way anyone would build that at Jax downtown. The place is a dump littered with dilapidated buildings, homeless bums, trash, and a stink odor in the air.
As someone who worked closely with the Downtown Development Authority for a number of years, I can tell you that this is not a good sign. This is a bunch of dumb city bureaucrats who are getting ready to drive away a great deal while attempting to negotiate an even better deal, something bureaucrats are NEVER qualified to do properly. We had a similar incentive in the 90's for this property once the Shipyards shut down; the Reinassance Place, and that endeavor failed for the same reasons,no one wanted to pay for the cleanup. Business men like Khan don't tolerate government stupidity very well, and this smells familiar. Don't expect to see anything happen with this property anytime soon.
Quote:Looking at the drawings, dreamland. No way anyone would build that at Jax downtown. The place is a dump littered with dilapidated buildings, homeless bums, trash, and a stink odor in the air.
Go away Raiders fanboy. It will be developed.
Quote: 
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/shad-.../370461727
I really don't see this as a bad thing.
When the team moved forward with building the practice facility and amphitheater on the stadium land, that changed the dynamic of the proposal they had laid out previously. With Metro Park now being included in the project, it presents an even larger project to redevelop that entire area. On top of that, you've got the city working on plans to remove the elevated expressway from the Hart Bridge, so a lot of things are going to change about traffic flow.
It'll be interesting to see what the new plans will be for the land.
Quote:So the plan changed to add more acreage. Doesn't mean Khan is out or anything.
Exactly.
Quote:IN fact I read something that Khan was interested in investing on the new deal.
His investment group will no doubt be interested in the new plans.
Quote:The TV station has it a little screwed up.
From the times union article...http://jacksonville.com/news/2016-12-14/...d-met-park
"Jaguars owner Shad Khan entered the picture in 2015 when his Iguana Investments Florida LLC got the nod, but the Downtown Investment Authority never completed negotiations with him because the city didn’t have a fully funded plan for cleaning up environmental contamination at The Shipyards."
I supposed the DIA now has it figured out how to pay for cleanup. One thing for sure, it has to be done before anybody can build anything.
I'm not sure if they've quite figured that out yet, but the cleanup was really the biggest obstacle to initiating Khan's original plans.
Quote:A large portion of the old plan was the structure that was to hold the practice field facility. It only makes sense that that would have to change with the new amphitheater/flex field already under construction and the fact that the Met Park structure was condemned and removed.
Exactly. A significant portion of the acreage was dedicated to the practice facilities, which are now being built adjacent to the stadium, so the plan was no longer valid. They weren't going to build another practice facility. Adding Metro Park to the project scope means several more acres of land that wasn't part of the original plan.
Quote:Looking at the drawings, dreamland. No way anyone would build that at Jax downtown. The place is a dump littered with dilapidated buildings, homeless bums, trash, and a stink odor in the air.
This is an idiotic, ignorant response. At least you're consistent in that regard.
Quote:I really don't see this as a bad thing.
When the team moved forward with building the practice facility and amphitheater on the stadium land, that changed the dynamic of the proposal they had laid out previously. With Metro Park now being included in the project, it presents an even larger project to redevelop that entire area. On top of that, you've got the city working on plans to remove the elevated expressway from the Hart Bridge, so a lot of things are going to change about traffic flow.
It'll be interesting to see what the new plans will be for the land.
How will traffic flow be affected in the long term?
Further reading indicates that Khan is enthusiastic about the new plan. So this is definitely a lot better than I first thought.
![[Image: jaggin1.gif]](http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1190022/jaggin1.gif)