Jacksonville, Florida: City Council Approves Downtown Publix Incentives 11-8 After Last-Minute Changes

Jacksonville City Council voted 11-8 on Tuesday night to approve an incentive package for a 15-story downtown tower with a ground-floor Publix grocery store, after a last-minute amendment rewrote how the city will pay its share.

The package, backed by the Downtown Investment Authority since last December, totals $49.6 million for developer Gateway Jax. It pairs a $28.25 million completion grant, paid after construction finishes, with property tax rebates over 17 years worth up to $21.4 million. The tower is planned for Block N7 of the Pearl Square development and would hold 259 apartments, a 450-space parking garage and 37,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, most of it for the Publix.

The amendment that sealed the vote

As first proposed, the entire $28.25 million grant would have come from the city general fund, the account that pays for everyday city services. An amendment filed by Council Member Randy White restructured the payment. The grant now draws $19 million from funds tied to other downtown projects, leaving $9.25 million from the general fund.

Within that shift, $12 million comes from revenue generated by the downtown community redevelopment area. That includes $4 million the Downtown Investment Authority had planned for a two-acre piece of the Shipyards West parcel being designed as a riverfront park, $4 million from a proposed restaurant in Riverfront Plaza, and $4 million in redevelopment funds the authority will identify later. The amendment also shifted a $7 million obligation the city holds for a planned 22-story Pearl Square tower that has not started vertical construction, which makes the Publix tower the next new building in Pearl Square. The authority said the Shipyards West and Riverfront Plaza restaurant work will pause, not stop.

Downtown Investment Authority CEO Colin Tarbert said the trade reflects what the store means for the core. "I've been very clear that the full-service grocery store in the downtown core is the No. 1 priority," Tarbert said.

A vote held under the shadow of Amendment 3

The debate ran through the property tax cut Florida voters approved on Nov. 3. Amendment 3 expands the homestead exemption for non-school taxes, and city officials estimate it will reduce property tax revenue by about $200 million in the 2027-28 budget and about $300 million in 2028-29, forcing cuts and delays in future budgets.

Voting yes were White, Michael Boylan, Kevin Carrico, Ken Amaro, Matt Carlucci, Tyrona Clark-Murray, Ju'Coby Pittman, Reggie Gaffney Jr., Rahman Johnson, Jimmy Peluso and Mone' Holder. Voting no were Nick Howland, Joe Carlucci, Will Lahnen, Raul Arias, Mike Gay, Chris Miller, Ron Salem and Rory Diamond.

Boylan told the council that downtown residents have doubled in 10 years to nearly 10,000 and that projects like this keep that growth going. Amaro said Gateway Jax has followed through on Pearl Square. "They have presented their plans and they have fulfilled their plans," Amaro said. "They have transformed Pearl Street. The work is being done."

Diamond warned the council against committing taxpayer money weeks after voters chose tax cuts, and said the choice is about protecting funding for police, fire, roads and trash pickup. White answered him directly. "Mr. Diamond, if you don't think I'm for police and fire, you have woken up on the wrong side of the bed," White said. He called his amendment a compromise he could live with, with Amendment 3 looming over future revenue.

Diamond also noted the council will vote in the coming weeks on another downtown incentive, a $20 million completion grant for a Riverfront Plaza tower with hotel rooms, condominiums and restaurants.