J Magazine Summer 2018

end in 2015 when the Downtown Investment Authority
chose Jaguars owner Shad Khan and his Iguana
Investments Florida as master developer for the
site. But DIA and Iguana never completed negotiations
because the city didn’t have a fully funded plan
to clean up extensive environmental contamination.
Again in 2016, DIA sought proposals for development
of the land, and again in 2017, Khan and
Iguana won approval as master developer, this
time for the Shipyards and the adjacent 25-acre
Metropolitan Park, creating a 70-acre span stretching
all the way east to the stadium.
Then another year passed without a single
shovel touching the ground.
Had Khan, the colorful billionaire known for
making things happen, met his match in a tract of
riverfront brownfield known for making revitalization
dreams die?
In a word, no.
In two words, Lot J.
At their State of the Franchise event this past
April, the Jaguars announced that they would team
with The Cordish Companies of Baltimore to develop
one of the stadium’s west parking lots, Lot J, as
the first phase of what eventually will be a vastly expanded
Shipyards District comprising 4.25 million
square feet of space at a projected cost of $2.5 billion.
“As a city and as a chamber, we’ve been visiting
cities for decades,” JAX Chamber Chairman John
Peyton said. “You start to weave a common thread
that there’s usually a catalytic event, there’s usually
a catalytic project that really sparks the renewal.
“I think that what we’ve needed in Jacksonville
is a signature project that shows momentum, where
somebody really puts their flag in the ground and
says, ‘We’re making an investment, and we’re gonna
take risks, because we believe there’s great potential.’
I think Shad Khan is the guy who’s willing to
be bullish on Downtown and take steps that, quite
frankly, we haven’t seen before at this magnitude.”
“I think Shad
Khan is the
guy who’s
willing to be
bullish on
Downtown
and take
steps that,
quite frankly,
we haven’t
seen before
at this
magnitude.”
John Peyton
JAX Chamber Chair
Funding will be a mix of public and private investment.
No specifics have been announced, but
Jaguars President Mark Lamping said he hoped to
see an economic development deal in place and
construction underway by Spring 2019 on the Lot
J phase, which he said represents a “sizeable portion”
of the development’s overall price tag.
“Shad’s ideal scenario is that things move as fast
as you can,” Lamping said. “The longer you wait,
the longer it’s going to be before you can realize the
benefits of the development. There’s no time like
the present as far as Shad is concerned. But we’re
progressing through the process, which is good.”
The process easily could have bogged down
again. Development of the Shipyards and Met Park
require demolition of the elevated lanes extending
from the Hart Bridge, as well as significant environmental
remediation.
But no sooner had Khan and his team submitted
their most recent Shipyards plan than they
began to evolve, their course shaped by further
consultation with developers and also by their involvement
in formation of the city’s bid to lure Amazon’s
second North American headquarters.
“After we had submitted the concept of our
master plan for the Shipyards development, we
went back out and talked to some other designers
and architects to get their view of the plan,” Lamping
said. “Virtually every one of them came back
with the advice that we be a bit more ambitious in
terms of our development and felt that if the goal
was to create a transformational neighborhood,
then we really should begin looking at the property
that is north of the St. Johns River, in addition to
that property that fronts the river.
“Not long after that, the concept of Amazon
came, and that really solidified our thinking that, if
we’re going to create a vibrant neighborhood, it’s going
to have to be bigger than just the Shipyards property.
That led our thinking as to how to approach this
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
KHAN’S IMPACT
ON DOWNTOWN
JACKSONVILLE
2012
Billionaire tycoon
Shad Kahn (left)
purchases the
Jacksonville Jaguars
from Wayne Weaver
for $770 million. The
deal makes Khan
the first ethnic
minority to
own an NFL
team. By 2017,
the value of
Khan’s team
balloons to $2.075
billion.
2014
Khan partners
with the City
of Jacksonville
to invest $63
million in major
enhancements to
EverBank Field.
Improvements
include swimming
pools, cabanas and
300-foot wide
video boards,
the largest in the
world, spanning
each end zone.
2017
Khan partners
with the City
of Jacksonville
to invest $90
million in stadium
upgrades, including
construction of
an amphitheater
connected to the
stadium’s south
end. In May 2017,
the 5,500-seat
Daily’s Place
opened to rave
reviews.
2018
After bringing back
former head coach
Tom Coughlin
as executive
vice president of
football operations,
Kahn’s team
shocks the NFL by
winning the AFC
South Division and
advancing to the
AFC Championship
game for the first
time since the
1999-2000 season.
2018
During an annual State
of the Franchise event,
Khan announces a $2.5
billion plan to develop
an expanded Shipyards
District, beginning with
a mixed-use project in
Lot J at the stadium.
Khan’s partners in
the project, The
Cordish Companies,
have developed
successful sports &
entertainment districts
in cities across the U.S.
SUMMER 2018 | J MAGAZINE 49