(12-07-2020, 08:47 PM)flsprtsgod Wrote:

(12-07-2020, 07:29 PM)mikesez Wrote: Here is a recent article from the Times-Union explaining how the city is essentially giving con free money. No need to repay, no collateral.
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/...tZO_jaL6v8

Nested way at the bottom of the article, as an afterthought, the main reason why the city is having such a hard time getting this land developed.

The environmental remediation work for Lot J is projected to take 3 years, optimistically. Similar to the shipyards, which also still have years and years of remediation ahead of them.

I believe lot J is already city property. I don't know if the shipyards are.

Just my opinion, a smarter City would just put up the money to dig out all the bad soil and put in new good soil, and then sell the remediated land for the best price they can get.

they would probably spend more money cleaning the land up, than they would get selling it at the end.  But it might be worth it, if it increases property values and therefore tax receipts from adjacent properties.  A lot of those properties also need environmental remediation. But the private sector might be willing to do that remediation themselves, if the property value increases enough.  the Jacksonville taxpayer should want to see the city trying to kick off that type of chain reaction, but doing it just as a giveaway to one set of billionaires makes no sense at all.

It's the same with Berkman Plaza, the city should just bite the bullet and rehab that land then sell it off. The remediation isn't in the soil, it's in the concrete structure that needs to be cleared. Once that's done the riverfront there could be developed. But you have to remember that this burg is run by halfwits, race baiters, con men, and the First Church, so it will always be 1986 in downtown Jacksonville.

The city doesn't own that.  They can condemn the structure, but the land under it would still be owned by the developers.  Then the city would have to condemn the land, that's a separate procedure. I believe those developers are still on the hook for all the unsettled lawsuits related to the injury and death that took place.  I'm not sure. But I imagine it would be hard for them to figure out what "just compensation" would be until the lawsuits are settled.

The environmental regulations make good sense to me.  Stuff's either in the soil or not, it's safe to build on or not.  The wrongful death stuff, who knows.  I think we all wish the wheels of justice would move faster, and I don't think any of us know how to make it so.

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