J Magazine June 2017

IGUANA INVESTMENTS SHIPYARDS PROJECT
Coverted to
pedestrian
bikeway
Residential
Marina
Bay Street
RESIDENTIAL
Restaurants/entertainment
Parking
Hogans Creek
Kayak/
canoe
launch
Multi-use
field
Kids zone
Veterans
Memorial
Arena
Coverted to
two-way
local road
U.S.S. Adams
Floating dock/
Riverwalk
Park
Park
A. Philip Randolph Blvd.
Relocated
Veterans
Memorial
VETERANS PARK
(Relocated Metropolitan Park Lands)
Baseball
Grounds
Mixed-use
Marina
Georgia Street
Parking
garage
Mixed-use
Mixed-use
St. Johns River
Park
MIXED-USE ENTERTAINMENT
Gator Bowl Blvd.
Mixed-use
Mixed-use
Marina
EverBank
Field
Daily’s Place
Amphitheater
Exhibition
space
Hotel
and Spa/
residences
HOTEL
AND SPA/
RESIDENCES
Parking
garage
Exhibition
space/multi-use
EXHIBITION
SPACE/
MIXED USE
Gator Bowl Blvd.
vast sums and energy into bringing downtown
Cleveland back to life.
He will give you a pretty powerful
answer.
“A professional sports franchise is an incredible
platform to launch a commitment
to an urban core and its community unlike
any other,” Gilbert said in an email response
to the Times-Union. “(It can serve)
noble purposes,” Gilbert added. “Everyone
benefits.”
So thank our lucky stars, Jacksonville,
that Jaguars owner Shad Khan clearly
shares that noble mindset.
And that he energetically embraces it.
Because, yes, we are all benefiting from
it.
Khan’s recent winning bid to develop
the Downtown Shipyards property opens
a new and exciting chapter in the bond
between the city and the NFL team owner,
one that continues to add vibrancy to Jacksonville
and raise its game as a community
on the move.
Khan has clearly proved that he’s a
big-picture thinker with an innovative spirit.
He’s clearly proved his love for Jacksonville.
He’s clearly proved his willingness to
commit considerable resources to making
“Shad Khan has
made a commitment
to Jacksonville that
is beyond immense.”
TOMMY HAZOURI
JACKSONVILLE CITY COUNCIL
Jacksonville a better place.
And that has led to a magnificent partnership
between Khan and the city — one
that’s seen the Jags owner invest millions
on projects, with the city also chipping in a
substantial share.
The formula has produced a wonderful
body of work:
• The state-of-the-art video scoreboards
at EverBank Field, which have helped Jacksonville
host premier events like last fall’s
Navy-Notre Dame game.
• Other wide-ranging stadium improvements
that have made EverBank Field one
of the NFL’s top facilities and secured the
Jaguars’ long-term future in Jacksonville.
• The completion of Daily’s Place amphitheater
— a 5,500-seat, futuristic venue
— and an indoor practice facility (with both
facilities adjacent to EverBank Field).
The Shipyards project along the river is
poised to prove yet again that when Khan
and the city get together on something,
things get done.
And they’re done well.
“Shad Khan has made a commitment
to Jacksonville that is beyond immense,”
says Councilman Tommy Hazouri, the city’s
mayor from 1987 to 1991. “And I truly feel
that the benefits of the relationship between
Mr. Khan and our city won’t just endure for
years, but for generations.
“He’s been that much of a force for good
for Jacksonville.”
VISION IS PROMISING
And it’s beyond doubt that the latest
collaboration between Khan and the city
to breathe life into the Shipyards has all the
JUNE 2017 | J MAGAZINE 25