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Northeast Fla., Jacksonville Business Briefs - May 2008
ALACHUA
» Santa Fe Community College begins construction this month on a satellite campus in Alachua. The 200-student campus will focus on biotechnology training and work closely with the Progress Corporate Park — a hub of biotech companies across the street.
CHIEFLAND
» Ocala-based Central Florida Community College began a fund-raising campaign to build a $9-million campus in Levy County just north of Chiefland on U.S. 19. An anonymous donor kicked off the campaign with a $600,000 contribution.
GAINESVILLE
» Two projects on University Avenue across from the University of Florida on some of the most visible real estate in town are stalled. University Corners, an eight-story, three-block project at University and 13th Street, is a weedy lot. The city, which approved tax breaks of nearly $100 million, has heard nothing from the developer. Construction on Stadium Club, an eight-story condo across from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, came to a standstill earlier this year at the fourth story. Developer Sharon Stock of Redington Beach says she has two retail tenants for the ground floor, a coffee shop and a sandwich shop, and that construction will begin again soon.
JACKSONVILLE
» A grand jury criticized the Jacksonville City Council’s handling of Florida’s open-meeting laws, as well as no-bid contracts awarded to companies owned by Mayor John Peyton’s friends, but found no criminal wrongdoing. But the jury, impaneled following a Times-Union newspaper investigation into dozens of undocumented meetings where public business was discussed, also praised the city for passing the “Jacksonville Sunshine Law Compliance Act” in the wake of the allegations.
» Citing the struggling housing market and projected cargo shipping boom at Jaxport, Stokes Land Group scrapped plans for a 650-unit residential neighborhood on the Northside and instead will sell the land as a 287-acre commerce center. Atlanta-based Taylor & Mathis was in negotiations to buy the land, about two miles from the TraPac terminal under construction at Dames Point.
» Stein Mart reported its worst-ever results in the fourth quarter as the Jacksonville-based fashion retailer struggled in the economic downturn. The company had a quarterly net loss of $12.1 million and an annual net loss of $4.5 million, or 11 cents a share, for the fiscal year ended in February.
LAKE CITY
» Lake City Community College trustees discontinued the athletic program, which consisted of baseball, softball and women’s golf. President Chuck Hall says the decision will free up $600,000 for other uses. “This is about being able to afford our primary business, which is to prepare people to join the workforce,” Hall told trustees. The college’s annual budget is $28.5 million.
OCALA
» Fire truck manufacturer E-One has been put up for sale by parent company Federal Signal Corp. after losing $11 million. E-One is the fifth-largest employer in Marion County.
PALATKA
» In a non-binding referendum, 63% of city voters who turned out said they “believe that a marina at the Palatka riverfront should be allowed if it is part of a good overall plan for the development of the riverfront.” The vote will help guide elected officials as they go forward with downtown revitalization plans that attempt to tie in to the St. Johns.
PUTNAM COUNTY
» Ascot Development withdrew plans for the 3,230-residence Mariposa proposed for the Putnam-St. Johns county line. The 2,025-acre project was canceled just prior to an administrative hearing on the Development of Regional Impact with the state Department of Community Affairs.
