A municipal agency in Jacksonville will issue a request for proposals to develop a convention center and hotel on the city’s downtown riverfront.
The Downtown Investment Authority voted unanimously to ask private developers for proposed designs and financing arrangements for a convention center and hotel on city-owned riverfront land.
The land along the St. John’s River is the downtown location of two vacant buildings, Jacksonville’s former city hall and Duval County’s former courthouse, which are adjacent to a Hyatt Regency hotel.
The Downtown Investment Authority will request proposals to develop a hotel with at least 350 rooms and a convention center with 200,000 square feet of exhibition space, a ballroom spanning 40,000 square feet and a minimum of 45 meeting rooms.
The proposals also should include 1,300 parking spaces for the convention center and a minimum of 400 for the hotel.
Although the request for proposals won’t specify whether the city of Jacksonville would subsidize a private developer, it will state that the city is “open to … various financial arrangements.” [Jacksonville Times-Union] – Mike Seemuth