Committee to consider potential changes of Jacksonville's Downtown Investment Authority

The future of the Downtown Investment Authority and Jacksonville's strategy for bringing more residents and private investment into the city's core will come under the microscope of a new special committee.

City Council President Ron Salem announced the committee Monday and charged it with examining the effectiveness of the authority in relation to other cities with downtown success.

The committee should also explore whether any potential “amendment, elimination, addition or modification should be considered for the benefit and governance” of downtown, Salem wrote in a memo establishing the committee.

Salem said City Council members have been discussing the future of the DIA as the authority's board considers a two-year extension for CEO Lori Boyer.

"I thought it was an appropriate time to just look at the agency and determine if this is the model that we want going forward," Salem told the Times-Union.

Salem appointed council member Kevin Carrico to chair the committee with vice chair Rory Diamond, who has recently questioned the efficacy of the DIA on social media. Council members Joe Carlucci, Reggie Gaffney, Jr. and Chris Miller make up the rest of the committee.

Jimmy Peluso, the council member who represents downtown, is not on the committee. He told the Times-Union he was not asked to participate, though he would have liked to. He still plans to attend every meeting.

Peluso released a statement on the committee Tuesday and said he "welcome[s] the opportunity" for his colleagues to learn more about the authority.

Mayor Alvin Brown worked with City Council to create the DIA in 2012, saying downtown development needed an agency devoted full-time to accelerating development.

The DIA's has negotiated dozens of deals since then that have added thousands of residents in a 3.9 square mile area the agency oversees on both sides of the St. Johns River. That area had 3,798 residents in 2013 and had doubled to 7,695 residents in 2023, according to annual reports by Downtown Vision, an advocacy group representing downtown property-owners.

In addition, six residential projects under construction will add nearly 2,000 more residents when they open, based on the formula Downtown Vision uses to calculate downtown's residential population.

In the review stage , DIA has been negotiating with the Related Group for a 410-apartment tower, Gateway Jax for the 1,005-apartment Pearl Street District, and Corner Lot Development for the 117-apartment Jones on Hogan.

DIA is back to square one on seeking private development on the former sites of the Jacksonville Landing and old county courthouse off Bay Street after rising construction costs and interest rates killed two potential deals for high-rise residential towers.

DIA struck development deals in 2017 and 2021 for the Laura Street Trio but the developer did not move forward on doing the restoration of those historic buildings.

"I would say I'm frustrated that we've not made more progress," Salem said. "But it's unclear to me whether that's the economy, whether that's unique to Jacksonville and the structure we have to approve development arrangements. That's the purpose of this (committee) so we can hopefully identify what we're doing well and what we're not doing well and change the system if necessary."

The Downtown Investment Authority said in a statement it welcomes the opportunity to talk with City Council about the "progress and challenges" facing downtown and ways to revitalize faster.

"The DIA board and staff remain committed to the master plan adopted by City Council and achieving its goals in a financially responsible way," the statement said.

Salem said the committee should meet twice per month and include DIA staff, its board and downtown stakeholders including nonprofits, developers and business owners.

Close to a deal: Downtown Investment Authority and Related Group say deal close on 24-story luxury high-rise

Mayor Donna Deegan said in a statement she has worked with the DIA to “evaluate its current challenges” while also celebrating successes. She said it was “within the purview” of City Council to examine the authority.

“This is an important conversation we should have as a community, and as mayor I will continue to emphasize the importance of creating a vibrant downtown for all our citizens to enjoy,” Deegan said.

Salem requested the committee return its recommendations by June 30, meaning the next City Council president who takes office July 1 will have to be supportive of the committee’s work to continue past that date.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville City Council weighs changes to downtown development process