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September 12-18 2019
Basch Report: Fidelity ends effort to acquire Stewart PAGE 4
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Record & Observer Florida Coastal School of Law dean resigns
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Scott DeVito notified students and staff Tuesday via email. BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
JACKSONVILLE
Developers say the decision by First Baptist Church to sell nine city blocks Downtown presents a rare opportunity. BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
F
irst Baptist Church’s announcement Sunday that it will downsize its 13.7-acre Downtown campus put developers on notice that nearly 1.3 million square feet of buildings would soon be on the market in the city’s urban core. First Baptist has proposed selling nine city blocks — six contiguous — in response to declining church attendance and a growing multimillion-dollar maintenance bill on its aging 1.5 million-square-foot property. Zoned as Central Business District, or CBD, Jacksonville real estate brokers, developers and city officials say the sale is a rare opportunity.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: PAST AND FUTURE First Baptist Church plans a $30 million redevelopment of the Hobson Auditorium as its worship facility along with new youth and child education and worship facilities and parking. Above, the current facility and below, an artist’s rendering of the redeveloped property.
SEE FIRST BAPTIST, PAGE 12
MORE INSIDE On the rise: Suburban churches offering contemporary experiences growing in Jacksonville. Page 10 For sale: Map, list of First Baptist property headed for market. Page 12
Florida Coastal School of Law Dean Scott DeVito resigned Tuesday after four years in the position. The resignation was effective immediately. “It’s just the right time for me to step down and look at other things I’ve been intending to do,” DeVito said in an interview Wednesday. DeVito notified Florida Coastal students and faculty Tuesday of his resignation via email. In a statement to faculty, DeVito wrote: “It has been a great honor to be a professor at Florida DeVito Coastal for the last eleven years and to have been your dean for the last four. After considerable thought and personal reflection, I have made the decision to resign from Florida Coastal School of Law. I wish you all the best and will greatly miss you.” The American Bar Association in August denied Florida Coastal’s application to convert to a nonprofit law school. DeVito said his resignation was not related to that, but he expects the school to reapply for nonprofit status. A replacement for DeVito was not determined as of Wednesday SEE DEVITO, PAGE 7
Incubator for innovation opens at Mayo Clinic PAGE 5 MasterCraft Builders Group wins ‘Pick of the Parade’ PAGE 8 Marbut Report: Jacksonville’s nominees for 1st DCA judge PAGE 14
THE MATHIS REPORT
Five 1 million-square-foot warehouses in pipeline Plus: Restaurant notes & more PAGE 4 VOLUME 2, NO. 15 • ONE SECTION
WHAT’S TRENDING
Page 2 • Thursday, September 12, 2019
Big news doesn’t break just on Thursday. Here’s a look at some of the top stories published over the past week online at JaxDailyRecord.com and in the Jacksonville Daily Record that you may have missed.
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10/Six Grille planned for Seminole Building Barring issues or delays, the 10/Six Grille could be open in time for Mad Hatter Day on Oct. 6 as a new restaurant at the historic Seminole Building Downtown. The 10/Six Grille hopes to open Oct. 1 in the restaurant space at the Sweet Pete’s building at 400 N. Hogan St. “My theme is derived from Lewis Carroll’s work,” said restaurateur Russ Disparti, referring to the author of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass.” The Mad Hatter character’s hat carried a 10/6 label, meaning 10 shillings and a sixpence for the cost of one. The price mark became the month and date to celebrate Mad Hatter Day. The Jacksonville-based Sweet Pete’s candy store uses most of the building.
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Jacksonville Daily Record and Jacksonville Record & Observer are a division of Observer Media Group Inc. The 10/Six Grille intends to lease the restaurant space on part of the first floor. “I would like for those working in the Downtown area to have a place to escape during lunch or after work, where they can let the daily stresses subside while they get lost in their own wonderland,” Disparti said.
Duck Donuts building-out in Bartram Park Duck Donuts is a step closer to opening its first Jacksonville shop. The city approved build-out for Duck Donuts at the Shoppes at Bartram Park. Peak Construction Inc. will make interior improvements to 1,400 square feet of space at a cost of $194,310 at 13820 Old St. Augustine Road, No. 141. The location is near Publix Super Markets Inc.
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Duck Donuts franchise owner Craig Hutchings said previously he will hire about 30 people for the restaurant, which sells made-to-order doughnuts. He has plans for additional locations in Jacksonville. Duck Donuts allows customers to create their own combination of coatings, toppings and drizzles on freshly made vanilla cake doughnuts.
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Sears at The Avenues mall closing in December
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Transform Holdco LLC, parent company of Sears and Kmart, will close Sears at The Avenues mall by midDecember. “After careful review, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to close the Sears store in Jacksonville, Florida,” spokesman Larry Costello said. Liquidation sales are expected to
start in mid-September. Sears is an original tenant at The Avenues, which opened in 1990. In early August, Transform Holdco announced it would close 26 stores nationwide, 21 of which were Sears stores. The other five were Kmart locations. The Avenues store is part of a new round of closures.
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To find more business events or to submit your event to the the business calendar, visit jaxdailyrecord.com/calendar. SEPT. 27
Health care panel at JAX Chamber: The JAX Chamber Health Care Council will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a panel about “The Future of Healthcare” at the Florida Blue Deerwood Campus Conference Center. Dr. Michael Erhard, Nemours Children’s Health System physician in chief; Dr. Kent Thielen, CEO of Mayo Clinic Florida; and JAXUSA Partnership President Aundra Wallace will speak. The event is 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Tickets are $60 and must be paid in advance. For information, visit myjaxchamber.com. OCT. 9
Gary Norcross at JAXUSA: Fidelity National Information Services Inc. Chairman, President and CEO Gary Norcross is scheduled to speak to the quarterly JAXUSA Partnership Luncheon on Oct. 9 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.
Norcross will talk about the company’s acquisition of Worldpay, the growth of the regional fintech industry “and other upcoming announcements,” according to a JAX Chamber news release. Check-in starts at 11:30 a.m. followed by the program at noon. Tickets start at $50. For information, visit myjaxchamber.com. OCT. 22
David Sanger at World Affairs Council: David Sanger, a three-time Pulitizer Prize winner and national security correspondent for The New York Times, is scheduled to talk about “The Threats to National Security in a 5G Era” on Oct. 22 to the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville. The 7-8:30 p.m. Global Issues Evening is at the Adam W. Herbert University Center at the University of North Florida. For information, visit worldaffairscounciljax.org.
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Jacksonville Daily Record/Jacksonville Record & Observer
Thursday, September 12, 2019 • Page 3
Hillwood among 5 groups planning warehouses
No tenants identified for 1 million-square-foot buildings in the pipeline. Hillwood, which is developing AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center, is one of five groups making plans for Jacksonville distribution centers of more than 1 million square feet. Hillwood, the city’s master developer at Cecil, previously filed plans for a 1.5 millionsquare-foot center at POWMIA Memorial Parkway, 103rd Street, Aviation Avenue and Cecil Pines Street. Hillwood Senior Vice President Dan Tatsch said the building remains a “concept only” and there are no immediate plans to build it. Among the other projects, Becknell Industrial proposes to apply for a building permit by the end of September for a 1.1 million-square-foot distribution center at 13522 Pritchard Road in Westlake Industrial Park. Becknell sumitted clearing and grading plans Tuesday for the site. Executive Vice President Dan
Special to Daily Record
Hillwood filed plans for a 1.5 million square-foot warehouse for this site at Cecil Commerce Center.
Fogarty said recently there are at least two corporate prospects that are “very serious about large bulk buildings in Jacksonville.” Among other projects in review, VanTrust Real Estate LLC has a 1.1 million-squarefoot building proposed in Imeson Park in North Jacksonville. VanTrust Executive Vice President John Carey said previously no tenant has been signed and the development timing has not been determined. Pattillo Industrial Real Estate sought entitlements for a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution warehouse in NorthPoint Industrial Park in North Jacksonville. Pattillo Vice President Peter
KMATHIS@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM @MATHISKB (904) 356-2466
CLAY COUNTY Azaleana Manor: The St. Johns River Water Management District is reviewing a permit for Azaleana Manor at 12 Kingsley Ave. in Orange Park. The permit seeks approval to resurface and modify the driveway to serve the singlefamily home converted into a wedding, meeting and retreat venue. Azaleana Manor LLC, led by Karrie Massee, is the owner and applicant. Black Creek Engineering Inc. of Green Cove Springs is the engineer. Dollar General: Concept Development Inc. of Gainesville proposes to develop a 9,100-square-foot Dollar General store on 1.62 acres along Long Bay Road in Middleburg. CHW of Alachua is the civil engineer.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY Harbour Island Village: The St. Johns River Water Management District is reviewing plans for the 20,056-square-foot Harbour Island Village office building on 2.42 acres along Florida 312 and Plantation Island Drive in St. Augustine. The owner and applicant is Fish Island Village LLC. Abbey Civil Engineers of Neptune Beach is the civil engineer. US 1 North Storage: The St. Johns River Water Management District is reviewing an application for the proposed US 1 North Storage Facility on 6.02 acres at 6236 U.S. 1 in St. Augustine. Matthews Design Group is the civil engineer. A site plans shows a 20,250-square-foot structure and two 9,000-square-foot buildings. Bozard Lincoln: St. Johns County issued a building permit for the third phase of the Bozard Lincoln dealership at a cost of $3.5 million at 550 Outlet Blvd. in St. Augustine. Florida 16 commercial building: St. Johns County is reviewing an application for a 30,100-square-foot commercial building on 4.95 acres at Florida 16 and Whisper Ridge Drive. West St. Johns Investments LLC, led by Thomas Bennett Jr., is the property owner. Matthews Design Group is the civil engineer. Zaxby’s: The St. Johns River Water Management District is reviewing plans for Zaxby’s at 110 Harvest Lane along Florida 16 in St. Augustine. Centurion Development Services LLC of Charlotte, North Carolina, is the applicant for the project. The 3,652-square-foot, 70-seat restaurant is planned on 1.31 acres. Carter Engineering Consultants of Watkinsville, Georgia, is the civil engineer.
RESTAURANT NOTES The Mini Bar at Gateway Village: The Mini Bar Donuts & Coffee wants to build-out in Gateway Village at Town Center. Elite Construction of Jax Inc. is listed as the contractor for the $275,000 job for 1,800 square feet of interior space and 300 square feet of exterior space at 10618 Deerwood Park Blvd., No. 1. Southern Grounds to Avondale: The city calculated a mobility fee of $3,680 for the Southern Grounds & Co. coffee shop ownership to demolish a structure and rebuild a 7,848-squarefoot storefront on almost 0.2 acres at 3562 St. Johns Ave. in the Shoppes of
Avondale. Abbey Civil Engineers Inc. is the civil engineer. It is designed as the third Southern Grounds shop in the area. The first is in Neptune Beach and the second is in San Marco. Bonchon to Beach and Hodges: The city issued a permit for Fudin Construction LLC to renovate 2,720 square feet of space for Bonchon at 13423 Beach Blvd., No. 104, the storefront vacated by Pancheros Mexican Grill. The job cost is listed at $40,000. The first Jacksonville location for the Koreanstyle fried-chicken restaurant opened in The Strand at Town Center.
leave nothing to
Bakehouse in Springfield: The city issued a sign permit for 1748 Bakehouse at 1748 N. Main St. In addition to the main name, the signage includes “Real Honest Baking” and “Sourdough Coffee Gallettes.” Starbucks to Baymeadows Park: Joyce Development Group LLC filed civil site plans with the city for Starbucks Coffee Co. to build in Baymeadows Park along Baymeadows Road east of Interstate 95. The 2,500-square-foot Starbucks with a drive-thru is planned at northwest Baymeadows Road and Baymeadows Circle East. Kimley-Horn & Associates Inc. is the civil engineer.
chance.
fal l
Taco Bell to San Jose, Beach Boulevard: Taco Bell will remodel its restaurant at 11646 San Jose Blvd. at a cost of $275,000. CW Hayes Construction Co. is the contractor. Taco Bell wants to build a replacement restaurant at St. Johns Square along Beach Boulevard near St. Johns Bluff Road. McDonald’s in Arlington: McDonald’s intends to remodel and expand its restaurant at 7245 Merrill Road. Burger King in North Jacksonville: The city is reviewing a permit application for a $200,000 exterior and interior renovation for Burger King at 13049 N. Main St.
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THE MATHIS REPORT
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
Anderson said it wants to be prepared so the company can start construction on a buildto-suit tenant or a speculative building. Benderson Development Co. filed plans that show a 1.54 million-square-foot building along Pecan Park Road in North Jacksonville. It has not responded to requests for comment. “At the macro level, I’m sure Jacksonville’s low vacancy rate and low supply (of large blocks of modern distribution space) played a role in spurring the developments,” Tatsch said by email. The industrial vacancy rate among distribution facilities in Jacksonville is below 5 percent. Tatsch said he also suspects that each developer has a reason for kicking off development. With five warehouses of more than a 1 million square feet proposed, “from a developer’s perspective, I’m not sure if that’s a cause for celebration or concern. Time will tell, as it always does,” Tatsch said. Two prospects that have surfaced as prospective large tenants are Lowe’s Companies Inc. and Walmart. Neither has confirmed looking at the city. Tatsch said he had no comment about market rumors. The three most recent warehouses of about 1 million square feet that opened or are under construction are two Amazon. com centers and a Wayfair Inc. fulfillment facility.
Page 4 • Thursday, September 12, 2019
Jacksonville Daily Record/Jacksonville Record & Observer
THE BASCH REPORT
Fidelity abandons Stewart acquisition
MARK BASCH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Analyst says abandoning the merger will be positive for Fidelity as it deploys the excess cash in possible share repurchases. To no one’s surprise, Fidelity National Financial Inc. and Stewart Information Services Corp. agreed Tuesday morning to abandon their proposed merger, after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission voted Friday to oppose the deal. The FTC expressed concerns the merger would lessen competition in the title insurance industry. Jacksonville-based Fidelity already is the dominant company in the title industry with 32% percent of the market, and the addition of Houston-based Stewart would have increased its market share to 43%, the FTC said. Before Tuesday’s announcement, analysts said they expected Fidelity to abandon the $1.2 billion agreement reached in March 2018. Fidelity spent months trying to satisfy the FTC’s antitrust concerns. “As of now, we do not believe that the company intends to pursue the transaction any further as we did sense some level of ‘fatigue’ in prior conversations with the company,” Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Jack Micenko said in a research note. “After nearly 1.5 years of waiting for the FTC vote, we believe FNF will likely move on from Stewart,” Piper Jaffray analyst Jason Deleeuw wrote in his note. “This was a disappointing outcome, but one the market expected given Stewart’s shares have been trading at a massive discount to the proposed acquisition price,” he said.
File image
Fidelity National Financial Inc.’s plan to acquire Stewart Information Services Corp. was opposed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Fidelity agreed to buy Stewart for a combination of cash and stock valued at $50.20 per Stewart share. Stewart’s stock traded in the mid-$40s last year after the deal was announced but dropped to the mid-$30s recently as the regulatory process dragged on. It fell $2.52 to $33.65 Friday after the FTC’s announcement. Fidelity’s stock has been trading at record high levels recently and barely moved after the FTC decision. Analysts expect the company to find alternate uses for the cash it would be paying to buy Stewart. “While the Stewart deal would likely have been the best/most accretive route for FNF, we continue to believe that there is a quality consolation prize in the form of ramped buybacks, a higher dividend and a return to tuck-in M&A (which is usually highly accretive in and of itself),” Stephens analyst John Campbell said in his note. “We reiterate our overweight rating and $49 price target,” he said, with the stock trading at $44.79 at the time of his report. While the market was betting on the deal falling apart, Micenko admitted he was surprised by the FTC decision. “We got it wrong; we were in the ‘it gets done camp’ as we thought residential title insurance (about 80% of title revenue) was going to be a bigger hurdle than the commercial business (about 20% of title revenue) for the deal to go through,” he said. “However, it was the commercial business that ultimately led to the denial as the FTC believes the reduced competition could lead to higher prices for larger commercial transactions.” Micenko also believes aban-
doning the merger will be positive for Fidelity as it deploys the excess cash in possible share repurchases, so he raised his price target for the stock from $49 to $51. “Our thesis on FNF remains unchanged as the overhang from the announcement has now been lifted,” he said. Fidelity said it will pay Stewart a $50 million termination fee as part of its agreement. Stewart, which was preparing to be swallowed up by Fidelity for the past 18 months, named a new CEO on Tuesday after the breakup. Frederick Eppinger, former CEO of The Hanover Insurance Group and a member of Stewart’s board, will run the company. “While we were disappointed with the FTC’s decision regarding Stewart’s combination with Fidelity, we are well-positioned to execute on a standalone strategic plan built around growth and profitability,” Stewart Chairman Thomas Apel said in a news release.
Drone Aviation CEO Nussbaum dies Drone Aviation Holding Corp. last week announced Chairman and CEO Jay Nussbaum died Aug. 31. The Jacksonville-based company, which produces tethered aerial monitoring and communications platforms, Nussbaum appointed President Dan Erdberg to succeed Nussbaum as CEO. Erdberg has been president since October 2015. David Aguilar, a member of Drone Aviation’s board, was appointed chairman. Nussbaum, 75, had been chief
executive since April 2016. “Jay was committed to building a business that would empower people and enterprises to harness the potential of our tethered drone technology. Our growing deployErdberg ments with customers, including the U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Army, are testaments to both his vision and focus,” Erdberg said in a news release.
St. Joe moving headquarters again The St. Joe Co., which moved its headquarters from Jacksonville to Watersound in the Florida Panhandle in 2010, is moving again. But it’s not going far this time. The real estate development company last week said it will relocate in mid-2020 to an office park it owns in Panama City Beach. St. Joe said it has 12 projects under development in Bay County, including eight in Panama City Beach, and the move puts it closer to “key” projects. St. Joe was an industrial conglomerate consisting of businesses accumulated by the estate of Alfred I. duPont. But it began selling off its industrial properties in the 1990s to focus on developing its large landholdings, which were mainly in the Panhandle. That prompted the move to Watersound, a community St. Joe developed west of Panama City.
Rayonier AM suspends dividend After losing money in the first two quarters of 2019, Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. said Friday its board of directors decided to suspend cash dividend payments on its common stock. “The board and management believe this is a prudent decision to optimize financial flexibility in uncertain economic times and is in the best interest of all of the company’s stakeholders,” CEO Paul Boynton said in a news release. “This allows the company to redeploy approximately $18
million of cash annually to essential operating needs and debt obligations,” he said. The Jacksonville-based maker of cellulose specialties products recorded net losses totaling $37 million in the first six months of this year, citing price declines for commodity products. The company said it was renegotiating loan agreements because its losses would likely result in a breach of two covenants by the end of the third quarter. Rayonier AM was paying 7 cents a share in quarterly dividends, with payments totaling $8.6 million in the first two quarters this year. It still had about $90 million in cash on its balance sheet as of June 29. The company’s stock fell to a record low last month after reporting its second-quarter loss, and Wall Street was not surprised to see the dividend cut. The stock open 64 cents lower at $3.20 Monday after the late Friday announcement but rebounded to close at $3.96, up 12 cents on the day.
Coach parent replaces CEO Tapestry Inc., which fell to a 10-year low last month after a disappointing earnings report, replaced its chief executive officer last week. The parent company of lifestyle brands Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman said Victor Luis left after five years as CEO and was replaced by Jide Zeitlin, chairman of the compaZeitlin ny’s board of directors. Zeitlin, who joined Tapestry’s board in 2006, has a background in investment banking, including 20 years at Goldman Sachs. Coach’s stock rose $3.36 to $23.69 last week after the announcement. It dropped as low as $18.54 in August. New York-based Tapestry operates an 850,000-squarefoot facility at the Jacksonville International Tradeport in North Jacksonville that handles all of Coach’s North American distribution. MBASCH@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM
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Thursday, September 12, 2019 • Page 5
Incubator for innovation opens at Mayo Clinic Discovery and Innovation Building is a business incubator, lung restoration lab and stem cell center.
22, houses the Life Sciences Incubator for biotech entrepreneurs, a lung restoration facility and an automated stem cell manufacturing site. The incubator also will help commercialize the discoveries of Mayo Clinic researchers. The facility offers coworking space, wet labs, business resources, networking events, academic entrepreneurial training and external partnerships to help design, launch
Mayo Clinic’s $32.4 million Discovery and Innovation Building is seeking the next medical breakthrough. The 75,000-square-foot building, which opened Aug.
KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
of a stem cell donor in large enough quantities to be used as treatments in clinical trials. It allows for the treatment of multiple patients at the same time. The ground floor is home to three ex-vivo lung perfusion surgical suites, which are used for lung restoration, a form of regenerative medicine, which turns donor lungs that would have been previously discarded into viable transplant organs. In 2015, Mayo Clinic and United Therapeutics announced a partnership to combine Mayo Clinic’s medical expertise with United Therapeutics’ ex-vivo lung perfusion technology. As part of that agreement, Mayo Clinic leased the land on its Jacksonville campus to Lung Biotechnology PBC, a subsidiary of United Therapeutics, to construct, equip and operate the center. Mayo Clinic will provide medical oversight and coordinate the procurement and delivery of the lungs. Only 20% of donor lungs are suitable for transplant, and nearly 300 people per year die waiting for a lung transplant. At full capacity, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville’s facility will restore around 900 lungs annually. In the past four years, Mayo Clinic says it has invested about $600 million at its Jacksonville campus and added more than 1,000 jobs. It employs about 6,000 people in Jacksonville. KGARWOOD@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
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HEALTH & BUSINESS
Special to the Daily Record
From left, Dr. Kent Thielen, CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida; Christina Zorn, chief administrative officer, Mayo Clinic in Florida; Martine Rothblatt, chairman and CEO, United Therapeutics Corp.; Dr. Gianrico Farrugia, president and CEO, Mayo Clinic; Jeff Bolton, chief administrative officer, Mayo Clinic; and Dr. Charles Bruce, chief innovation officer, Mayo Clinic in Florida.
and grow the companies. In July, the incubator received a $750,000 i6 Challenge grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The grant is designed to grow entrepreneurship and provide capital for communities across the country. “It’s going to give Mayo innovators an opportunity to bring new products and technologies to market, hopefully creating new companies that would provide more jobs,” said incubator Executive Director Vic Nole. “At the same time, part of our strategy is to attract life sciences and health care companies from across the U.S. and the world that would have an interest in co-locating with Mayo Clinic,” he said. Life Sciences Incubator partners include the University of North Florida Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, PS27 Ventures, Jacksonville University, the University of Central Florida, the University of Florida and Georgia Tech. “We’re actively looking to build a broader ecosystem that would benefit not only the companies coming through our incubator, but business opportunities that we could introduce to other folks in the region,” Nole said. The Life Sciences Incubator is on the third floor. An automated stem cell manufacturing site is on the second floor, one of the first of its kind in the country. The technology, approved by the FDA last year, allows Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Medicine to produce cells from the bone marrow
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Page 6 • Thursday, September 12, 2019
Jacksonville Daily Record/Jacksonville Record & Observer
Top commercial sales of the week BY SCOTT SAILER • STAFF WRITER
Here are the top commercial real estate sales in Northeast Florida, comprising Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties. The sales were recorded Sept. 3-6. Sales are limited to seven because clerks’ offices were closed because of Hurricane Dorian.
Sonny’s BBQ at 1976 Kingsley Ave. in Orange Park sold for $2.63 million, more than four times the $600,000 it sold for in 2001.
ST. JOHNS
CLAY
CLAY
DUVAL
CLAY
$3,526,037
$2,628,086
$2,286,900
$875,000
$429,971
358 Merryfield Lane, East Palatka
1976 Kingsley Ave., Orange Park
Heatherbrook Place, Middleburg
1393 Kings Road, Jacksonville
Heatherbrook Place, Middleburg
Type: Mining land Size: 197.5 acres Buyer: SRM Materials LLC Seller: County Line Equine LLC Previous sale: $3,600,000 in 2008
Type: Sonny’s BBQ Size: 0.68 acres Buyer: National Retail Properties LP Seller: Duval BBQ LLC Previous sale: $600,000 in 2001
Type: 33 single-family lots in Greyhawk Unit 1 Size: Not available Buyer: Lennar Homes LLC Seller: Greyhawk Ventures LLC
Type: Sunoco gas station Size: 0.28 acres Buyer: Silovana Investment Co. Seller: Primall Inc. Previous sale: $485,000 in 2008
Type: Nine single-family lots in Greyhawk Unit 1 Size: Not available Buyer: D.R. Horton Inc. Jacksonville Seller: Greyhawk Ventures LLC
DUVAL
DUVAL
$400,000
$100,000
Blanding Boulevard, Jacksonville
10740 Balmoral Drive, Jacksonville
Type: Commercial Size: Not available Buyer: Blanding Self Storage LLC Seller: Buffalo Land Co. LLC
Type: Drive-up bank branch Size: 0.73 acres Buyer: 10740 Balmoral Drive LLC Seller: Wells Fargo Bank N.A.
The drive-up bank branch at 10740 Balmoral Drive sold for $100,000. File image
Welcome to the Neighborhood NEW ST. JOHNS COUNTY HOMES
I-95 | EXIT 323 | 10 MINUTES FROM WORLD GOLF VILLAGE 805 TRAILMARK DRIVE | ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA Site plans, community maps, photos and depictions are for illustration purposes only, are conceptual in nature, and should not be relied upon. GreenPointe Communities, LLC reserves the right to make changes to the foregoing at any time without notice. Home design, pricing, terms and offers are subject to change. See Home Builders’ Sales Consultant for details.
TrailMarkLiving.com
Jacksonville Daily Record/Jacksonville Record & Observer
Thursday, September 12, 2019 • Page 7
DEVELOPMENT TODAY SIGNS
These are the largest commercial building permits by job cost issued Tuesday by the city of Jacksonville. HOTEL, MOTEL, DORMITORY Holiday Inn Express, 13934 Village Lake Circle, contractor is Strong Inc., swimming pool, $68,000. OFFICE, BANK, PROFESSIONAL Buckeye Mountain Inc., 8200 Cypress Plaza Drive, No. 408, contractor is Ladson Construction Co. LLC, interior alteration, $130,000. City of Jacksonville, 829 Haines St., contractor is J.L. Ruby Construction LLC, renovations for Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, $18,685. OTHER RWK 7403 103rd LLC & 103rd St. 7403 LLC, 7411 103rd St., contractor is Bosco Building Contractors Inc., 795 square feet, repair shell building, $60,000 RESTAURANTS McDonald’s, 12311 N. Main St., contractor is Stansell Properties & Development LLC, alterations, $28,425.
VyStar Credit Union, 7802 Atlantic Blvd., contractor is Brown Enterprises, wall sign, $11,100. AMOCO, 1084 Airport Road, contractor is Aluminum Plus LLC, four permits for ground and canopy signs, $2,500. Megas Appraisal Group, 2105 Park St., No. 3, contractor is Shimp Sign & Design Inc., wall sign, $2,200. The Healing Playroom, 2105 Park St., No. 2, contractor is Shimp Sign & Design Inc., wall sign, $2,200. Wildcrafters, 2105 Park St., No. 1, contractor is Shimp Sign & Design Inc., wall sign, $2,200. Joseph’s Pizza Estd 1956, 7316 N. Main St., contractor is Taylor Sign & Design Inc., wall sign, $1,000.
Palhete
Buckland
5730 Bowden Point LLC, 5730 Bowden Road, No. 302, contractor is Southern Grace Homes LLC, tenant build-out, $42,000. Compiled by Scott Sailer
Watch free movies: Jacksonville Public Library launched Kanopy, a free entertainment internet streaming platform featuring thousands of films and documentaries. Jacksonville Public Library cardholders can sign up and watch Kanopy films at https:// jaxpubliclibrary.kanopy.com/ Compiled by Scott Sailer
Jolly
Promotions, hirings and happenings for business people in Northeast Florida. Send items to ssailer@jaxdailyrecord.com
DeVito CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
afternoon. DeVito said he would work on a few projects he’s had in the works, but he had no official plans yet. “The hardest thing for me to do in a really long time was leave the school,” he said. “I did because I think it’s the right thing, but it was a very difficult thing to do.”
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Jacksonville Transportation Authority and reappointed Ari Jolly, who is vice chair. All were appointed to four-year terms. Buckland is market president for Branch Banking & Trust Co. Driver is a founding partner at Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow. Jolly is the assistant general counsel for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc. Compiled by Scott Sailer
The school has faced issues the past few years. Between 2015 and 2017, the school’s first-time Bar examination pass rate was at least 9 percentage points below the state average. Last year, the school was found to be out of compliance with ABA accreditation standards. By March, it was found in compliance.
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Page 8 • Thursday, September 12, 2019
Jacksonville Daily Record/Jacksonville Record & Observer
THE SAILER REPORT
MasterCraft Builders wins ‘Pick of the Parade’
SCOTT SAILER STAFF WRITER MasterCraft's Egret model was named "Pick of the Parade" for the 2019 St. Johns County Parade of Homes.
The 2019 St. Johns County Parade of Homes features 30 homes in 25 neighborhoods. The St. Johns Builders Council chose MasterCraft Builders Group as “Pick of Parade” for the 2019 St. Johns County Parade of Homes. MasterCraft, led by founders and brothers Chris and Brad Shee, is a semicustom singlefamily homebuilder and community developer with offices in Fruit Cove. MasterCraft builds exclusively in St. Johns County. The annual St. Johns County Parade of Homes offers public tours. It began Aug. 31 and runs through Sept. 15. For more information, visit paradestjohns.com. The event features 30 homes in 25 neighborhoods. MasterCraft won the Judge’s Choice “Pick of Parade,” considered the best in show, for the Egret model in the masterplanned community of Shearwater.
Photos special to the Daily Record
Fruit Cove-based MasterCraft Builders Group co-founders and brothers Brad and Chris Shee.
Shearwater is south of Old County Road 210 at Shearwater Parkway. The base Egret floor plan is a 3,621-square-foot, twostory, four-bedroom, threebath home with a three-car garage, paver driveway, tile and carpeted floors, and quartz or granite countertops. MasterCraft Builder Group also is building in the communities of Madeira, TrailMark and Villages of Valencia. In a related development, Chris Shee, through Heritage Development Co. of NE Florida LLC, proposes a 2,782-acre mixed-use development on both sides of Interstate 95, south of Florida 207, named Parrish Farms.
Women in Building Week starts Monday The 2019 National Association of Home Builders Professional Women in Building Week to recognize the growth of women in the residential construction industry is Monday to Sept. 20. The theme, “Workforce Development for Women,” focuses on mentoring, tradeswomen, woman-owned businesses and technology. The Northeast Florida Builders Association Professional Women in Building Council provides networking and educational resources to develop business management and leadership skills. Northeast Florida women
involved in the local construction industry include: n Beth Breeding, vice president with Silverfield Development Co., with more than three decades of experience working in residential and commercial development. n Trudy Clark, business development manager at TECO Partners Inc., responsible for expanding natural gas distribution in new residential communities in Northeast Florida. n Toria Hale, project manager at H. Smith Inc., with experience in the real estate industry and past chair of the NEFBA PWB board. n Julie Irvin, owner and president of Jewel Homes Inc., a residential custom builder in Northeast Florida. n Nicole Padgett, chief administrative officer and vice president at Summit Contracting Group Inc., primarily a multifamily builder, responsible for corporate services including human
resources, project administration, accounting, insurance, licensing, corporate standards, policies, documentation, recruiting, marketing, and philanthropy. n Deryl Patterson, president at Housing Design Matters Inc., an architect specializing in cost-efficient design solutions. n Jackie Rowland, president, CEO and structural engineer with Russell Rowland Inc., a women-owned engineering firm specializing in the design of residential and commercial structures. n Julie Schafer, project manager at Aurora Builders Inc., responsible for all phases of the construction process for the Northeast Florida residential custom builder. Schafer is the current chair of the Professional Women in Building Council. SSAILER@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
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Planning for the future of our region’s real estate and economic landscape requires expert guidance and industry knowledge. NAIOP Northeast Florida is available to help advise and support public officials at the city, local, and statewide level as they plan, legislate, and shape the future of the First Coast.
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Jacksonville Daily Record/Jacksonville Record & Observer
Thursday, September 12, 2019 • Page 9
BY SCOTT SAILER • STAFF WRITER
Here are the top 10 single-family residential real estate sales in Northeast Florida, comprising Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties. The sales were recorded Sept. 3-6.
ST. JOHNS
$845,000
$771,096
2755 S. Ponte Vedra Blvd., Ponte Vedra Beach
222 Old Bluff Drive, Ponte Vedra
Type: Single-family Lot size: 0.29 acres House size: 2,353 square feet Buyer: Kim and Mitchell Bohannon Seller: Michael J. and Elizabeth Borbely Previous sale: $899,000 in 2015
Type: Single-family Lot size: 0.29 acres House size: 4,196 square feet Buyer: Jeremy K. and Erica N. Rush Seller: Toll Jacksonville Limited Partnership
ST. JOHNS
ST. JOHNS
$744,000
$840,000 DUVAL
$1,120,000 13609 Emerald Cove Court, Jacksonville Type: Single-family Lot size: 0.4 acres House size: 5,634 square feet Buyer: Geneva and Matthew Tonuzi Seller: Chalmers H. and Dana O. Barnes
About the property: Eight-bedroom, 5½-bath home built in 1992 in the Queen’s Harbour Yacht & County Club community. Features include a balcony, saltwater pool and a dock on a lagoon with deep-water access.
121 Broken Pottery Drive, Ponte Vedra Beach
5212 Atlantic View, St. Augustine
Type: Single-family Lot size: 1.8 acres House size: 3,023 square feet Buyer: Thomas and Deeann Reeder Seller: Bohdan and Mary Fedak Previous sale: $605,000 in 2009
Type: Single-family Lot size: 0.17 acres House size: 852 square feet Buyer: Benedikt Weber and Mila Touchton-Weber Seller: Louise B. Smith, Jan B. Herrington and Lulu G. Parish
DUVAL
DUVAL
ST. JOHNS
ST. JOHNS
DUVAL
$1,050,000
$961,479
$845,000
$810,000
$728,000
371 N. Roscoe Blvd., Ponte Vedra Beach
96 N. Roscoe Blvd., Ponte Vedra Beach
1952 Sevilla Blvd. W., Atlantic Beach
323 Ahern St., Atlantic Beach
1830 Mallory St., Jacksonville
Type: Single-family Lot size: 0.68 acres House size: 3,960 square feet Buyer: Stephen M. and Jenita R. Daniels Seller: Sebastian J. and Jacqulyn C. Agate
Type: Single-family Lot size: 1 acres House size: 3,097 square feet Buyer: Brian J. and Heather M. Bush Seller: SH Design LLC
Type: Single-family Lot size: 0.26 acres House size: 3,215 square feet Buyer: Anthony D. and Jennifer E. Palhete Seller: Geraldine M. and Sean G. Traynor Previous sale: $749,900 in 2005
Type: Townhome Lot size: 0.08 acres House size: 2,152 square feet Buyer: Erick A. Sanchez Seller: Ahern TH Project LLC
Type: Single-family Lot size: 0.49 acres House size: 4,379 square feet Buyer: Lisa E. J. Fischer and Ashook A. Jattan Seller: James and Yvonne Thompson Previous sale: $430,000 in 2012
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Top 10 home sales of week
ST. JOHNS
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Page 10 • Thursday, September 12, 2019
Jacksonville Daily Record/Jacksonville Record & Observer
While traditional churches struggle, contemporary options are booming Church of Eleven22 was one of the fastest growing in the country, despite a decline in national church membership. BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
Not all Jacksonville churches have been affected by the steady drop in church membership nationwide. According to a Gallup poll, 50% of adults belong to some kind of religious intitution. That percentage was around 70% since the 1930s until the drop-off started in 2000. To counter that, some traditional churches are selling off parts of or all of their property. First Baptist Church in Downtown announced Sunday it would sell most of its campus to address $37 million in deferred maintenance and declining attendance. South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church is selling part of its property in San Marco. Churches across the country are “having to be creative to keep and use their space,” said Jeff Brumley, assistant editor at Baptist News Global. Some Jacksonville churches, often those that offer more contemporary services, are seeing rapid increases in a t te n d a n ce . Instead of selling property, Joby Martin they’re acquiring more. For some, their buildings differ from traditional structures and are found in shopping centers, warehouses and school auditoriums. Church of Eleven22 started in 2012, opening its first facility at San Pablo Road and Beach Boulevard in a former Walmart store. Last month, it opened its sixth campus on Fleming Island and plans to expand to North Jacksonville next year, said Pastor Joby Martin. It has additional campuses in Baymeadows, Arlington, Mandarin and at the Baker Correctional Institution.
Special to the Daily Record
The Church of Eleven22 started in 2012 and now nearly 12,000 people attend Sunday services at the church’s six campuses.
Across its six campuses, close to 12,000 people attend Sunday services, Martin said. In 2015, it was the third-fastest growing church in the country, according to Outreach Magazine, which compiles the list annually. Chets Creek Church also made the list this year. About 2,800 people attend Sunday services at its four area locations, said Pastor Spike Hogan. It has churches on Hodges Boulevard, in Nocatee and on the Northside and Southside. Average Sunday attendance at The District Church, which started in Pastor Boyd Bettis’ living room six years ago, is around 350, he said. At South Jacksonville Presbyterian, which has been around since the early 1900s, overall membership also is around 350. SUCCESS OF THE ‘CONTEMPORARY’ CHURCH
Much of the growth of churches like Eleven22, Chets Creek and The District can be attributed to wordof-mouth, their pastors said. Martin said there is no marketing budget at Eleven22. The District has its Sunday services at Robert E. Lee High School in
Riverside, so it too relies on wordof-mouth since it lacks a visible landmark in the community. The three also offer a more relaxed, approachable environment, they said. Dress codes are casual, and the music in the service is more contemporary and sounds more similar to what’s heard on the radio. Stricter dress and more ritualistic services can act as “invisible barriers” that cause some people to not want to go to church at all, Hogan said. “There are people who like the informality of it and the modern techiness,” Brumley said. “A lot of times they’re not named anything offensive. And they don’t look like churches a lot of the time. They look like office buildings on JTB.” Hogan said when the church first started, its goal was to attract people who didn’t attend services. Now, he estimates the congregation is half and half — those who hadn’t been going to church and those who left their previous institutions. Chets Creek Church’s services are scheduled several times during the week, include contempo-
TRADITIONAL CHURCHES STRUGGLE WITH ATTENDANCE
The overall decline in church attendance can be attributed to millennials and Gen Xers not wanting to be affiliated with institutions as much as previous generations did, said CJ Dates, pastor at South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church. But that trend affects more than churches. “To say this is a change that’s specific to churches is kind of a misnomer,” Dates said. “Because you also have brick-and-mortar educational institutions changing the way they relate to the population, banks that are changing the way they do business. Gone are the days where people walk into a bank to do their banking.” Bettis said for some longstanding churches in the city, adapting to the changes in the communities surrounding them has been difficult. “You have churches in town that were 2,000 people, now they have 50,” Bettis said. “There’s still thousands of people who live around that property, but the
church never adapted to it. Economically, socially it all changed, but the church never did in order to meet the people in their immediate backyard.” On top of that, people are less willing to drive to church, Brumley said. Churches like Chets Creek and Eleven22 are expanding to different areas of town for that reason, giving people a convenient option within a few miles of home. First Baptist’s Downtown location used to bring in thousands of people from across the region on Sundays, Brumley said. With people wanting to drive less, and with more options near home, First Baptist likely felt the effects, as did churches across the country. “Understanding that our church is also experiencing that trend, it gives us the freedom to say it’s not just us,” Dates said. “It obviously doesn’t have anything to do with your theology, your politics, your social stance – it has to be the broader trend.” KGARWOOD@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
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Thursday, September 12, 2019 • Page 11
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Page 12 • Thursday, September 12, 2019
Jacksonville Daily Record/Jacksonville Record & Observer
First Baptist CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
“There’s virtually no limit on what you could do here,” said Christian Oldenburg, managing director of the Colliers International Northeast Florida commercial real estate services company. “The developer’s risk appetite and creativity will determine what the land’s worth,” he said. First Baptist Church Senior Pastor Heath Lambert said Sunday the church will sell 12.17 acres of its 13.7-acre holdings Downtown. The site is bordered by Union, Pearl, Church and Main streets. According to the Duval County Appraiser, the property for sale is on 15 parcels. Another building owned by First Baptist at 525 N. Laura St. on 0.15 acres of leased land also is part of the sale, Lambert said. First Baptist Church will keep a 182,000-square-foot building on 1.53 acres called “The Hobson Block” to be the center of Oldenburg the church’s Downtown ministry. Worship services will move to a renovated Hobson Auditorium, bounded by Church, Hogan, Laura and Ashley streets and built in 1904. The First Baptist congregation gave church leadership its approval Sunday to obtain a $30 million loan to finance the plan, which includes creating a new education and youth center, a “kids zone” and a welcome area. Oldenburg said Tuesday it’s an opportunity for something “civic-minded” to be developed Downtown. For example, the six continuous blocks could accommodate a large medical facility. He said Colliers is working with two undisclosed hospital groups looking for expansion space although he would not say if there is interest in the First Baptist property. Oldenburg said a large multifamily development on the site also would work because Downtown boosters like JAX Chamber and Downtown Vision Inc. are pushing to reach a goal of 10,000 residents in the urban core. That echoes comments Sunday by Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer who sees the six connected blocks as a spot for a medical innovation campus or expansion for a higher education institution, like the neighboring Florida State College at Jacksonville. City Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes would not directly address if the city would consider a proposal to buy any or all of the property. He said in an emailed statement Monday that the market and development professionals will decide the best use for the available 12.17 acres. “The property owned by the church Downtown represents a considerable
Map provided by First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church Downtown properties This is a map of the Downtown property First Baptist Church will be offering for sale. The gray area, labeled not valued, will not be put on the market. No. Address
Type
Acres Zoning
No. Address
Type
Acres Zoning
1.
124 W. Ashley St.
Church
1.02
CBD
12.
119 Beaver St.
Church
1.53
CBD
2.
225 W. Ashley St.
Surface parking
0.16
CBD
13.
721 N. Pearl St.
Parking garage
1.50
CBD
3.
520 N. Laura St.
Parking garage
0.51
CBD
14.
717 Laura St.
Parking garage
1.84
CBD
4.
211 W. Ashley St.
Church
0.14
CBD
15.
600 N. Main St.
Church
1.65
CBD
5.
604 N. Hogan St.
Church
0.12
CBD
16.
125 W. Ashley St.
Church
1.60
CBD
6.
712 N. Hogan St.
Parking garage
1.53
CBD
17.
620 N. Main St.
Vacant
0.38
CBD
7.
W. Beaver St.
Vacant
0.15
CBD
18.
220 W. Beaver St. Surface parking
0.11
CBD
8.
W. Beaver St.
Surface parking
0.25
CBD
9.
W. Beaver St.
Surface parking
0.15
CBD
10.
331 W. Ashley St.
Church
1.06
PUD
11.
525 N. Laura St.
Office
1.15
CBD
amount of our urban core,” Hughes wrote. “In the same area as the church, the Ambassador Hotel (and the former) Jones (Bros.) Furniture building, we’ve already worked to lay the groundwork for development. Working with DIA, we hope these properties see their highest and best use,” he wrote. Oldenburg said the difference between development on the First Baptist campus and other proposed large-scale projects in Downtown, like Jacksonville Jaguars Owner Shad Khan’s $2.5 billion Shipyards plan, is the land is not city-owned. “The distinction I’m drawing is the level of control the city has over what happens
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* Church owns building, but leases the land. The building will be included in the sale. Compiled by Scott Sailer
here. It is a private transaction,” Oldenburg said. “They have control in the sense that they can decide what the entitlements are and what can or can’t go there in terms of uses, but they’re less in control of the transaction process.” The First Baptist Church campus is adjacent to City Hall. Lambert said Sunday he has been keeping Mayor Lenny Curry’s office informed. DEVELOPER’S PERSPECTIVE
Elias Hionides is vice president of Petra, a family-owned real estate brokerage that specializes in redevelopment of property in Downtown and Springfield.
He sees a mix of high-density residential development and commercial office space as the best use for the site. “It would have the greatest net impact for Downtown and the surrounding communities,” he said. The church campus is the southern gateway to Hionides the Springfield neighborhood and is next to Hionides’ redevelopment of the former Jones Bros. Furniture building at 502 N. Hogan St. Hionides suggests the sale could be an
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Jacksonville Daily Record/Jacksonville Record & Observer opportunity for the Duval County Public Schools to relocate its 1701 Prudential Drive headquarters into the city’s civic core from the Southbank riverfront, which would open that site for redevelopment. “It’s a very good and obvious choice,” he said. Hionides said the First Baptist children’s building matches the school district’s needs. Infrastructure improvement costs to develop the First Baptist property will be lower than sites like the Shipyards and would take fewer taxpayer incentives than a project like Khan’s $450 million Lot J mixed-use development near TIAA Bank Field. “The church site is already part of the existing grid system,” Hionides said. “It already has structured parking, which many times is the most expensive part for a developer.” WHAT’S THE PRICE?
First Baptist officials haven’t announced the properties’ asking price. Oldenburg said there are many variables, including the cost to demolish or repair existing structures, that will determine that number. A starting point could be $40 per square foot for the land, which would price the land at $21.2 million. There is a precedent for selling a full city block in Jacksonville. Oldenburg said the closest comparison is the former Florida Baptist Convention complex. That facility occupied a block on Hendricks Avenue in San Marco and sold for $6.15 million to Chadbourne II LLC in June 2017. It will be redeveloped into 345 apartments, parking and 5,500 square feet of retail space. Extending that sale price by nine blocks would put an estimated listing price for First Baptist’s Downtown campus at $55.35 million. Duval County Appraiser Jerry Holland, a 40-plus-year member of First Baptist, said it’s difficult to determine Holland the market value until an analysis is done on the usability of existing structures. Lambert said the total deferred maintenance cost is $37 million. Holland said the asking price will depend on which structures can be reused and what needs to be demolished. Oldenburg agrees. “For example — parking garages. Those are an important piece of the equation. Any future developer would like to main-
Thursday, September 12, 2019 • Page 13
tain them, especially someone coming in to get density. That’s valuable space,” he said. Lambert expects to have a real estate broker within two weeks for the property, which has been generating market attention. “We’re already receiving offers on the property without a formal relationship with a broker,” he said. The 15 parcels could be sold in pieces or as one large property. Oldenburg said finding a master developer for the 12.17-acre site would generate the best project for Downtown. SATELLITE CHURCHES
Lambert said Sunday the property sale and Hobson Block renovation are part a new direction for First Baptist’s ministry. The growth at its satellite campus, which opened this year in Nocatee at the St. Johns County line, influenced the church’s decision to set up more satellite locations away from Downtown and in the suburbs, where people live. The first priority for the property sale is to pay off the church’s $30 million loan to redevelop Lambert the Hobson Block, but additional money could be used for adding locations. “Phase I is to consolidate our Downtown campus,” he said. “We don’t anticipate opening any new campuses until the end of 2021 at the earliest.” First Baptist Church has roughly 28,000 members, but actual attendance is declining. At its peak in 1995, Sunday worship services drew 12,000 to 15,000 people, according to Lambert. In 2019, average attendance has fallen to about 3,200. In Nocatee, Lambert said attendance has risen by 50% since the church opening. As a member, Holland is satisfied with the church leadership’s direction to downsize. “I really respect the pastor’s vision in addressing the problem. It’s obviously been in decline for 20 years. All that being said, he’s bold enough and done the homework,” Holland said. “I’ve been there since the late 1970s it’s always disappointing to see the fellowship dwindle down.”
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A map of First Baptist Church’s redeveloped Hobson Block.
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An artist’s rendering of the First Baptist Church’s new welcome center. VYS 2411 Mortgage Ad for Real Build Connect#3 5x16_Approved.indd 1
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Page 14 • Thursday, September 12, 2019
Jacksonville Daily Record/Jacksonville Record & Observer
THE MARBUT REPORT
Jacksonville’s nominees for judge on 1st DCA
MAX MARBUT ASSOCIATE EDITOR
They are three of the nine recommended from the pool of 26 applicants. Jacksonville could increase its presence on the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee with the nomination of a 4th Circuit judge and two local attorneys for possible appointment to two vacancies on North Florida’s 32-county appellate court. The vacancies were created by the resignations of Judges Allen Winsor and T. Kent Wetherell II, who were appointed to the federal court by President Donald Trump. Nominee Gilbert Feltel Jr. is an assistant city general counsel and chief legal counsel to the Jacksonville Port Authority. Florida Bar board certified in business litigation, he was formerly a partner with the Tanner Bishop law firm and chair of the 4th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission. A 1993 graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, Feltel began his career as an assistant state attorney in Jacksonville. He later was with the Rogers Towers law firm, director of legal services for The First Tee Inc. and an assistant general counsel at CSX Corp. Eric Roberson was appointed judge in the 4th Judicial Circuit in 2017 after two years on the Duval County Court bench. A native of Jacksonville, he graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2005. Roberson began his career as an assistant state attorney in Jacksonville. In 2007 he joined the MaGuireWoods law firm and then the Jason Porter firm in 2011. Roberson established a solo practice in 2014, about a year
Special to the Daily Record
From Left, Florida 1st District Court of Appeal nominees Gilbert Feltel Jr,, assistant city general counsel and chief legal counsel to the Jacksonville Port Authority; 4th Judicial Circuit Judge Eric Roberson; and Cristine Russell, a partner with Rogers Towers.
before he was appointed to the county bench. Cristine Russell is a partner with the Rogers Towers firm, which she joined in 2000 after two years as law clerk for U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges following graduation from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Board certified in appellate practice by The Florida Bar, she has been the firm’s primary appellate lawyer for more than 10 years. Russell served on The Florida Bar Appellate Court Rules Committee and was chair of the Administrative Law Practice Subcommittee. The other nominees selected from the pool of 26 applicants: James “Scott” Duncan is a 1st Circuit judge in Pensacola. A graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, he was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1997. George Levesque is a partner in the GrayRobinson law firm’s Tallahassee office. He was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2001 after graduating from Florida State University College of Law. Robert Long Jr. is a 2nd Circuit judge in Tallahassee. He graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and was admitted to The
Florida Bar in 2008. Rachel Nordby is a partner in the Shutts & Bowen law firm in Tallahassee. She was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2008 after graduating from Florida State University College of Law. Gary Perko, a partner with Hopping Green & Sams in Tallahassee, graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1990. Adam Tenenbaum is general counsel to the Florida House of Representatives. He graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1996. Gov. Ron DeSantis will make two appointments to the 1st DCA by Nov. 2.
D.W. Perkins joins Florida Civil rights hall of fame
Daniel Webster Perkins, the namesake of Jacksonville’s African American voluntary Bar association, will become a member of the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. He was nominated by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Born in 1879 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Perkins was a graduate of North Carolina State Normal College in 1897, Temple University in
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historic Masonic Temple at 410 Broad St. Downtown until he died in 1972. Perkins distinguished himself as a proponent of civil rights, a community leader and a member of the Bar who was dedicated to advancing the careers of his younger colleagues. In 1968, the former Colored Lawyers Association in Jacksonville changed its name to D.W. Perkins Bar Association in honor of Perkins, who was a founding member. The induction ceremony is 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at the University Center Club at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Visit flcivilrightshalloffame.com for ticket information. MMARBUT@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
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1899 and in 1902, Shaw University School of Law’s first graduating class. He first practiced law in Knoxville, Tennessee. Perkins was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1914, one of the state’s first Perkins African American attorneys, and then practiced in Tampa. There, Perkins helped establish a branch of the NAACP in 1915. When National Field Secretary James Weldon Johnson arrived in Tampa in 1917, Perkins was the effective leader of NAACP activities. He served on a committee of lawyers that successfully argued before the state Supreme Court against legislation designed to prevent African American lawyers from practicing in the state. Perkins argued before the state’s highest court against all-white juries in the City of Tampa. The Haynes v. State victory is credited with beginning jury integration across the state. He settled in Jacksonville in 1919, where he represented his clients from his office in the
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BY MAX MARBUT • ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Scott Costantino was elected 2019-20 president of the Florida Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Who or what inspired you to become a lawyer? I did not come from a family of lawyers and it was certainly not my lifelong dream to be one. In law school, I was not sure I had made the right choice until I started participating in a trial clinic class. Once I stood up in front of the mock jury I knew I had found my calling. In practice, the thought of having someone place their trust in me to protect them when their rights are at stake is truly an honor.
Hometown: Born in Albany, Georgia, and moved to Jacksonville at age 12. I love Jacksonville and consider it my hometown. Family: Wife, Monica, and children, Ben, Luke, Oliver and Raquel
How do you relate your undergraduate degree to your practice of law? I studied finance at the University of Florida. Since starting my law firm in 2012, my business background has been helpful in handling the business side of running a law practice.
What has been the biggest change in your practice area since you passed the Bar? When I started practicing law, all the lawyers in the legal community pretty much knew each other. This is clearly no longer the case. What do you think will be the next biggest change in your area of law? I expect that
Age: Old enough to know better than to tell my age. Education: Double Gator
Someone other than my spouse who inspires me: My dad, who died more than 20 years ago, is my greatest source of inspiration. I can still hear his words of wisdom and encouragement.
How did you decide your practice area? And why have you chosen that? I started as a railroad and insurance defense lawyer. When I showed up for work at my second job my boss, Rut Liles, asked me to take over a few plaintiff personal injury and medical malpractice files. I was immediately hooked by the reward of making a direct and positive impact on the lives of our clients.
President of the Florida Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates
Special to the Daily Record
the next major breakthrough in courtroom technology will be the use of artificial intelligence at trial. AI will likely have a tremendous impact on complex cases such as medical malpractice and product liability. If I could change anything in the legal system, I would: Bring back more civility and professionalism in our dealings with each other as lawyers. We all work hard and face a lot of stressful moments. At least we can treat each other the way we would like to be treated. What community service have you pursued and why that? Over the past several years my community service has focused on the educational programs offered by the American Board of Trial Advocates. The Teachers’ Law
School works with local teachers to support their efforts in making sure their students are receiving a top-notch civics education. The Seventh Amendment Symposium allows us to educate our youngest citizens, our students, on the importance of the right to civil jury trial and the role our judicial system plays in the three branches of government. Our local ABOTA chapter has a wonderful partnership with Duval County Public Schools and I am proud to be a part of this. What’s your advice for new lawyers? Work hard, play by the rules, treat your opponent with civility and respect and at the end of the day go home and enjoy every minute with your family and loved ones.
Favorite book: I am an avid reader of nonfiction. My favorite nonfiction author is probably Malcolm Gladwell. Books I’m reading now: “Principles” by Ray Dalio, “You’ve Got 8 Seconds” by Paul Hellman and “The Influential Mind” by Tali Sharot. Websites and apps I can’t live without: Audible for audiobooks and 1standtenflorida.com for Gator sports news Favorite nonwork activities: Family time and Gator football.
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LEADERS IN THE LAW
SCOTT COSTANTINO
SCOTT COSTANTINO
Page 16 • Thursday, September 12, 2019
Jacksonville Daily Record/Jacksonville Record & Observer
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