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Sailer Report: Homebuilders partner at Southeast Quadrant PAGE 6
October 17-23, 2019 jaxdailyrecord.com
JACKSONVILLE
Record & Observer GuideWell adding 750 positions in Riverside
HOW THEY SOLD Record & Observer MAPLE STREET JACKSONVILLE
Parent company of Florida Blue says it will be a mix of contract and and full-time positions.
JACKSONVILLE Seven years after starting their biscuit-based breakfast and lunch concept, founders Scott Moore and Gus Evans agree to a $36 million sale to Cracker Barrel.
Record & Observer BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
GuideWell Inc., the parent company of Florida Blue, announced Wednesday it will add 750 jobs at its Riverside Avenue office Downtown. The mix of 500 seasonal contract and 250 full-time positions will increase the workforce at the 532 Riverside Ave. office to 1,750. GuideWell made the announcement Wednesday through JAXUSA Partnership, the JAX Chamber’s economic development division. “We continue to grow here in Jacksonville and wanted to expand our presence at the Riverside tower,” Florida Blue North Florida Market President Darnell Smith said in a news release. “Our Riverside office is centrally located and an attractive career opportunity for potential employees who live north and west of downtown.” GuideWell employs more than 6,500 workers in Northeast Florida, with its largest presence at its Deerwood Park campus. In the news release, Mayor Lenny Curry linked the jobs expansion to a proposed $22.5 million, 869-space parking garage Florida Blue plans to build on city-owned property near the company’s Riverside office. “These 750 new jobs and the parking garage will positively contribute to economic activity and I am proud the administration was able to help facilitate this job creation,” Curry said in a statement.
JACKSONVILLE
Record & Observer S BY KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
cott Moore and Gus Evans met Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. President and CEO Sandra Cochran about four
years ago. Moore and Evans were several years into their Jacksonville-based Maple Street Biscuit Company Inc. venture of opening biscuit-based breakfast and lunch restaurants. They launched the first in 2012. “We spent a couple of days around her,” Moore said Saturday. “I thought, if we could have an opportunity to do something, that would be a good thing.” Moore and Evans and their management team, along with Cochran, announced that “good thing” Friday. Cracker Barrel paid $36 million in cash for Maple Street and its 33 restaurants in seven states. Moore remains CEO and the management team and 600
SEE MAPLE STREET, PAGE 4
MORE INSIDE The Basch Report: Maple Street isn’t the only new Cracker Barrel concept. Page 10
Photo by Robyn Moore
Maple Street Biscuit Company Inc. co-founders Gus Evans, left, and Scott Moore. They established the company in 2012 and sold it last week for $36 million.
The Ford on Bay could draw international interest PAGE 3 The Mathis Report: Target adding solar panels to roof PAGE 5 Marbut Report: JBA seeks sponsors for Holiday Project PAGE 12
MMENDENHALL@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
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VOLUME 106, NO. 20 • ONE SECTION
WHAT’S TRENDING
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 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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Special to the Daily Record
An artist’s rendering of The Church of Eleven22 main worship space being built in a former Hobby Lobby next to the church’s San Pablo campus.
ABOUT US JACKSONVILLE
DEVELOPMENT
Church of Eleven22 expanding main campus The Church of Eleven22 filed plans for a $15 million expansion of its San Pablo campus — $13 million more than its $2 million build-out of the property in 2012. The church will expand into the former Hobby Lobby store next door and build a 3,000-seat worship space for its main services, said Shawn Maxwell, the church’s executive director of operations. The church bought the property
at 14286 Beach Blvd. from Sleiman Enterprises in 2017. Hobby Lobby relocated to the Town Center area the same year. The new worship space will have 1,000 additional seats to accommodate the church’s growth since it opened seven years ago. The existing worship center will be converted into additional space for children, students and people with special needs.
UTILITIES JEA pares list of interested bidders to nine JEA procurement officials announced Monday that nine companies will move forward as the city-owned utility weighs a possible sale. Eight of the companies gave permission to disclose their identities, which was not required. They are: n American Public Infrastructure LLC n American Water Works Co. Inc. n Duke Energy Corp. n Emera Inc. n IFM Investors PTY Ltd.
n JEA Public Power Partners — a consortium of Bernhard Capital Partners, Emera Inc. and Suez SA n Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets Inc. n NextEra Energy Inc. The meeting is the beginning of a four-month negotiation process. If the JEA board votes to accept one or more of the bids, the offers will be sent in March to City Council for consideration.
GOVERNMENT City moves to shut down internet cafes The Department of Homeland Security began assisting the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department on Monday to close Jacksonville’s internet cafes. Inspectors are visiting the city’s 173 previously known cafes and issuing cease-and-desist letters. The city has deemed simulated gambling devices used in the arcades to be a public nuisance. The ceaseand-desist order gives the business
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five days from the date on the letter to stop using the machines or face a fine of up to $250 for each simulated gambling device in operation. The letter also states that the arcade properties “may be condemned or otherwise terminated as a public nuisance” should the business owners continue to use simulated gambling devices. A lawsuit to block the closures was rejected by a federal court judge Wednesday.
THE DAILY BRIEF There’s a shortcut to staying in the loop Don’t miss a story. Subscribe to the Daily Brief and we’ll send our top news to you Monday-Friday morning via email. To sign up, visit JaxDailyRecord. com and look for the “Sign up” box, enter your email and you’ll be set.
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BUSINESS CALENDAR
FOLLOW US To find more business events or to submit your event to the the business calendar, visit jaxdailyrecord.com/calendar. TUESDAY David Sanger at World Affairs Council: David Sanger, a three-time Pulitzer 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 Tuesday 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 or call (904) 280-8162. OCT. 28 Haley, Meacham and Rice at Florida Forum: The Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital announced the next Florida Forum series will feature former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, author Jon Meacham and Super Bowl champion Jerry Rice. The three will headline the 2019-20 Florida
Forum Speaker Series, scheduled at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. Haley will speak Oct. 28, Meacham is scheduled Jan. 22 and Rice concludes the current series Feb. 25. Forum sponsors are Wells Fargo, Florida Blue and Landstar. For information, visit thefloridaforum.com or call (904) 202-2886. OCT. 30 Oscar Munoz at World Affairs Council: United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz will talk about “The Changing Global Dynamic of Commercial Aviation” on Oct. 30 to the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville Global Business Luncheon. Munoz was president and COO of CSX Corp. before joining United Airlines. The event is noon-1:30 p.m. at The River Club. Tickets are $60 for members and $80 for nonmembers and guests. For information, visit worldaffairscounciljax. org or call (904) 280-8162.
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The Ford on Bay could draw international interest THE MENDENHALL REPORT
MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
CBRE Jacksonville says it will go “far and wide” to market the city-owned property. When the Downtown Investment Authority begins looking for developers for the former Duval County Courthouse and City Hall sites — now branded The Ford on Bay — officials expect bids from top-tier national developers, and possibly international investors. The DIA will issue a request for proposals Monday to develop the city-owned property. Bids are due Jan. 21. CBRE Jacksonville, the real estate firm chosen by DIA to brand and market The Ford on Bay, has sent email blasts that include an executive summary calling the site a “rare and unique mixed-use development opportunity on ±8.38 acres of high visible land in downtown Jacksonville.” Cliff Taylor and Joe Ayers, CBRE’s co-leads for North Florida multifamily investment sales, told the DIA board in September they will market the city-owned property “far and wide.” “There will be a conversation with a large number of groups of high caliber that have never developed here in the past,” Taylor told the DIA on Sept. 18. Two of the parcels are vacant green space at 220 and 330 E. Bay St. and the third is submerged land under the St. Johns River. DIA officials say the development will be mixed-use and could include office, open space and a hotel. The DIA said 80% of East Bay Street buildings’ frontage must be retail. A public-private marina is envisioned for the water parcel. The board approved the project’s development terms, bid scoring criteria and CBRE’s marketing plan at the Sept. 18 meeting.
THE FORD ON BAY The Ford on Bay comprises three parcels along the St. Johns River. Area 1 is the former City Hall, Area 2 is the former Duval County Courthouse and Area 3 is a potential marina.
Ayers said CBRE will post The Ford on Bay project on a database accessible by active developers across the U.S. “A site of this caliber, to a point, needs to be in front of groups that have never developed here before. We all believe sitting here, jointly, that Jacksonville is growing, has a lot to offer and we’re seeing growth for real estate development projects at a level that justifies a new tier of construction quality and design,” Taylor said. NATIONAL INTEREST
There’s a precedent for attracting national interest to develop the property. The first time the site was put on the market in August 2018, the DIA chose a proposal by Dallas-based international developer Jacobs Engineering Group, which proposed a $598 million convention center, hotel and retail complex. The company has more than 80,000 employees globally, according to its website, and reports $15 billion in annual revenue. Bids also came in from Jacksonville-based Rimrock Devlin DeBartolo Development and Preston Hollow of Dallas. Rimrock Devlin DeBartolo is a partner with Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s proposed Shipyards project. The project was halted after Mayor Lenny Curry questioned
the city’s estimated $1.2 billion financial liability over the lifetime of the convention complex. Also, Khan has proposed building a convention center at Metropolitan Park as part of his $2.5 billion vision for the Downtown Northbank. “Prior to commencing work on anything related to this site, we have been fielding numerous conversations with very prolific developers who are paying close attention to the (office) rental rate growth here in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida,” Ayers said. In 2018, the average lease rate for Downtown office space was $21.54 per square foot, according to Downtown Vision Inc.’s 2018-19 State of Downtown Report. That’s up from $20.23 in 2017. The Ford on Bay proposals could include high-rise Class A office space. Christian Harden, managing partner of real estate brokerage NAI Hallmark, says capital investment in Downtown is favoring midrise projects. “To go and build a high-rise in Jacksonville, to go replicate a building like the (42-story) Bank of America Tower, rents would need to be $40 per (square) foot for full service. We don’t have as much demand quite yet, but we’re trending to that,” Harden said. What could generate office investment is residential and retail development, which are
part of The Ford on Bay bidding criteria. “If you have residential Downtown, then you’ll have retail Downtown with restaurants and stores because more people are populating those locations during the weekends, which affords a seven-dayper-week rent versus a fiveday-per-week rent,” Harden said. “It’s a snowball effect. The more amenities there are Downtown, the more desirable it will be to be an office user Downtown.” FINANCING DOWNTOWN
While The Ford on Bay likely will entice U.S. developers, international capital investment could play a role in financing the project. Matt Brockelman is a lobbyist with The Southern Group. He works with real estate developers and with publicprivate partnerships on job creation, nonprofit advocacy and local government legislative initiatives. Brockelman said the Jacksonville market has grabbed the attention of international capital investors for projects like The Ford on Bay, but not all Downtown projects are as large. Brockelman said developers ask how to bundle their projects to make the return on investment worth the attention of international financiers. “As investors look to park
their funds in the marketplace, the individual interest may be sound but their return on investment would not be as high,” Brockelman said. For larger domestic and international capital investment firms, a development needs to reach a dollar-volume threshold that varies. Brockelman said a developer could bundle projects in their Downtown portfolio and offer a multiproject opportunity that would give investors a higher rate of return than would a single project. For companies and real estate investors, Brockelman said that’s better than investing capital in “five or 10 different marketplaces cobbled together.” Brockelman sees it as a workable model for the city’s independent authorities like the DIA and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority. Both are trying to sell underused cityowned property Downtown. He said creating a portfolio of city-owned assets that could be financed as a package would bring more capital investment from outside Jacksonville. “That would hold the interest of the New York City and West Coast investors,” Brockelman said. MMENDENHALL@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM @MIMENDENHALL (904) 356-2466
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
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Maple Street: Company had many suitors CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
employees remain in place. The operations remain the same, he said, with the exception of having the support and resources of Cracker Barrel. Lebanon, Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel is publicly traded and operates 660 restaurants in 45 states. It has a breakfast menu heavy on biscuits and a chain of seven Holler & Dash Biscuit House stores in five states that will be converted into Maple Street. Cracker Barrel wasn’t Maple Street’s only suitor — 20-25 entities expressed interest the past few years — but it was the chosen one. “We had a lot of people over the years reach out to Maple Street to say we want to invest in or buy you,” Moore said. He said the team talked to them, primarily to understand what they proposed, or “what that looks like.” Then Maple Street started looking for a partner the past year. It hired the Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray investment banking group about seven months ago to clarify the picture. “During that process I made contact with Cracker Barrel and there seemed to be some interest on both sides,” Moore said. Until then, “We said no to everybody but we kept finding ourselves saying yes to Cracker Barrel.” Moore said it took several months of talking with Cracker Barrel “to get to know each other well and realized there was significant alignment.” “As a team we talked about it and said this is the right step.” Major reasons include that Maple Street remains a standing brand; Moore remains as CEO; and the leadership and store team continue “leading the charge.” Cracker Barrel is far larger. It reported revenue of almost $3.1 billion for the 2019 fiscal year that ended Aug. 2, up 1.4 percent from the year before. It forecasts up to $3.2 billion in revenue for the current fiscal year. Moore declined to disclose Maple Street’s sales. The news release Friday said the company targeted annual sales of more than $1 million per store. Moore will report to Cochran. “We have the autonomy to do what we do, but she is committed to provide the resources to move into more communities,” he said. He called that the “neatest thing.” “Nothing changes. We have been this scrappy startup trying to find our way forward. Neither Gus or I had restaurant experience. We have just been trying to learn as we go,” he said. He estimates it will take six
Photos by Karen Brune Mathis
The Maple Street Biscuit restaurant as it opened Tuesday morning in San Marco Square. Opened in 2012, it was the first of 33 locations.
months to plan the next steps toward expansion. NO COASTING
The Maple Street story started from scratch. Moore, then 51 and married with three adult children, left as a vice president of Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. as it merged with BiLo LLC in March 2012 to form Southeastern Grocers. Human resources told him there was a smaller role he could post for and keep his compensation, but he turned it down. “I said I’d like to know the last half of my life had more impact than the first half,” he said. “I was not ready to coast into glory.” Evans, then 33 and married with two young sons, lost his construction job during the recession and was considering a relocation to an opening out of town. The men attended the same church. They set up a meeting at Starbucks and decided Moore’s idea of creating a restaurant focused on comfort food with a modern twist had promise. They settled on biscuits. Friends taste-tested buttermilk biscuit recipes weekly at Moore’s Avondale home. Evans was experimenting and substituted maple syrup for sugar and that was that.
They invested at least $50,000 into building-out and equipping the first Maple Street restaurant that opened in November 2012 at 2004 San Marco Blvd., where it continues to operate. They moved the headquarters last year from co-work space Downtown to Orange Park. Maple Street grew to 28 stores and five franchises. “To go from two guys who lost their jobs with no experience or culinary background to open a restaurant that should have failed to have 600 people whose lives you can be a part of is a humbling thing,” Moore said. The deal is recognized for success. “I think the Maple Street deal is fantastic for the company and a great example of ‘real’ entrepreneurship,” said Jim Stallings, CEO of Jacksonville-based PS27 Ventures, an investment and training company for early-stage and innovation ventures. “Maple Street now gets to team up with a large public company with a super-regional footprint in a space with growing demand for nutritious but good food,” he said. Stallings said the deal shows how quickly a high-quality company, “led by a dynamic founder in Scott Moore can differentiate itself, build a brand and create value for its people and shareholders in just a short seven years.” He said Maple Street founders did it the right way: “a great tasting product that people actually want to eat, a strong service-oriented culture and focus on cash flow from Day One.” “(It) shows we can start up, grow and exit right here in Jacksonville.” TIMING THE TREND
Coffee cups line the counter at the San Marco restaurant.
Maple Street doesn’t want to be called a “chain.” Instead, Moore said Maple Street is a group of community stores and each has a community leader whose mission is to become part of the neighborhood and to help team members. Its guiding principles are: comfort food with a modern twist, gracious service, immaculately clean
INSIGHT FROM THE CEO SCOTT MOORE, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF MAPLE STREET BISCUIT COMPANY INC.
ON JUST BISCUITS
“I said let’s not try to be everything to everybody. Let’s try to do something really good. That will resonate with people. Our focus has always been on this limited menu done a special way. I call it food with an opinion.” ON SUCCESS
“I always say, how good can you be? We’ve never answered that question.” ON GUIDANCE
“I try to hire pretty smart people and I get out of their way.”
stores and sustainable business. Moore said Cracker Barrel’s mission statement simply is “Pleasing People.” “It is a consistent demonstration that they really have servants’ hearts and they want to do this,” he said. The Maple Street leadership team and several of the longesttenured community store leaders traveled to Denver this week to be honored as one of the five Nation’s Restaurant News Hot Concept winners. The awards celebrate “emerging brands that are tapping into the right trends.” Over the years, Moore and Evans added more team members: Alexandria Hill is general counsel; Javier Retamar is CFO; Tara Sikes is chief people officer; and co-owner Chris Sears, who opened the company’s second store, which is in Jacksonville Beach. Moore said he, Evans, Sears and a few friends owned the company. Moore is 58. Evans is 40 with four sons under the age of 13. Their spouses, Robyn Moore and
Krysten Evans, designed the first store. The community store leaders knew there was interest in the company, Moore said, but didn’t know about the impending sale. The paperwork was completed Thursday night, Oct. 10. The announcement was 2 p.m. Friday. The team members called the store leaders to tell them about bonuses above their normal program. “Part of this deal was that all of our community leaders would get rewarded along with us,” Moore said. Team members made those calls. One “had people crying, telling them what was going to happen for them.” They’ve called and texted Moore, too. Moore tells them “we are in this together.” KMATHIS@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM @MATHISKB (904) 356-2466
JACKSONVILLE DAILY RECORD / JACKSONVILLE RECORD & OBSERVER
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
Target adding solar panels to roof at Town Center
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
The $900,000 project is part of a company effort to add solar to 500 stores. Target is adding rooftop solar panels to its department store in St. Johns Town Center. It is one of the Minneapolisbased company’s 500 stores targeted for rooftop solar by next year. The city is reviewing a permit application for Target to install a solar array on the store at 4567 River City Drive at a cost of almost $900,000. The contractor is Pro Circuit Electrical Contracting LLC of Flemington, New Jersey. Target emailed a statement that it plans to develop a solar rooftop installation at the store but had no details because work has not started. Target says on corporate.target.com that its goal in operating energy-efficient buildings is to increase the number of structures with rooftop solar panels to 500 by 2020. It says 350 are completed in 20 states. It says stores that use solar
Special to the Daily Record
Target added its first rooftop panels in Colorado to a Denver-area store in March. By the end of the year, it will have rooftop solar on five Colorado stores that will produce 3,800 megawatt hours of renewable energy annually, enough to power 285 homes for a year. That will offset about one-third of each store’s energy use.
power generate 15 to 30 percent of their energy from the resource. The company operates 1,855 stores and 40 distribution centers in the U.S. It has 11 stores in Northeast Florida.
Becknell says it needs 312 parking spaces, not 648
Becknell Services LLC asks to reduce the required parking spaces at its proposed Westlake Industrial Park warehouses from 648 to 260 and intends to provide 312. Applicant Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. says in an application to the city that a user anticipates 50 employees on two shifts and that 312 spaces are ample for employees and visitors. The application does not identify a tenant other than that it is a distribution ware-
house. “We are able to save the area from being an empty unused parking lot and/or heat island,” says the application with the Jacksonville Planning and Development Department for an administrative deviation from the zoning code. The St. Johns River Water Management District issued permits for Becknell Services LLC and Pritchard Road Florida Becknell Investors II LLC for a stormwater management system to serve Becknell buildings No. 1 and 2. Becknell Industrial, based in Lyons, Illinois, proposes the 1,108,080-squarefoot Building No. 1 and the 187,500-square-foot Building No. 2 at 13522 Pritchard Road. KMATHIS@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM @MATHISKB (904) 356-2466
Lovesac at Town Center: The city issued a permit for The Lovesac Co. to build-out a furniture showroom at St. Johns Town Center. The city approved a $175,000 tenant build-out of 1,575 square feet at 4828 River City Drive, No. 101. Champion Retail Services Inc. of Porter, Texas, is the contractor. CVS to Nocatee: JEA issued a service availability letter for a CVS pharmacy in Nocatee. The letter says the 14,882-square-foot CVS Pharmacy and drive-thru is planned at southwest Cross-
water Parkway and Nocatee Village Drive. England-Thims & Miller Inc. is the consulting engineer. Starbucks to Baymeadows: The city is reviewing a construction permit application for Starbucks Coffee Co. at a cost of $500,000. The 2,515-square-foot building is planned at 7981 Baymeadows Circle W. in Baymeadows Park. It is the first retail building seeking a permit in the 95,000-square-foot commercial park proposed at the former Baymeadows Golf Club.
THE MATHIS REPORT
RETAIL NOTES
DEVELOPMENT NOTES Priority Tire to Tradeport: Priority Tire, based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, will build-out at International DC 5 in Jacksonville International Tradeport. Haskew Construction is the contractor to build-out 52,000 square feet for the tire distributor at a cost of almost $496,000 at 1594 Transport Court.
Campus II LLC bought the 31,502-square-foot structure from LSS Property Management Inc. for $1.15 million. Colliers International Northeast Florida senior directors Eric Bumgarner and Fran Pepis represented LSS. NAI Hallmark Vice President Jason Purdy represented Rogers.
Rogers to Jessie Street: Rogers, an Alpharetta, Georgia-based provider of electrical, lighting, HVAC, plumbing, distribution and contractor services, bought the former Second Harvest Food Bank warehouse at 1502 Jessie St. Rogers
Amazon in Alta Lakes: Amazon.com intends to make improvements to its delivery center at 11084 Cabot Commerce Circle in Alta Lakes Commerce Center. No contractor is listed for the $550,000 project to remodel a 63,000-square-foot leased space.
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RESIDENTIAL NOTES Lem Turner Road: Lawyer Paul Harden requested rezoning for 450 acres in North Jacksonville for an unstated number of housing lots. The site is at northwest Interstate 295 and Lem Turner Road. The rezoning would allow for a mix of residential lots from 40 to 70 feet wide. The project is projected to be phased over 10 years.
SCOTT SAILER STAFF WRITER
ICI, David Weekley form joint venture toward building on Skinner family land at Butler, Interstate 295. ICI Homes and David Weekley Homes are moving to be the first residential builders at the 1,063acre Skinner family property known as the Southeast Quadrant at southeast Butler Boulevard and Interstate 295. CND-ICI SEQ LLC, a joint venture of Classic Neighborhoods Development LLC and Intervest Construction of Jax Inc., partnered for the initial residential development. Classic Neighborhoods Development is a subsidiary of Houston-based David Weekley Homes. Intervest Construction is part of Daytona Beach-based ICI Homes. The city issued a conditional capacity availability statement Oct. 7 for Southeast Quadrant Residential Phase 1, comprising 453 single-family homes and 34 townhomes on 196 acres. The application shows Saw-
SOUTHEAST QUADRANT Up to 4,600 homes along with office and mixed-use space are planned at the Southeast Quadrant at I-295 and Butler Boulevard.
mill Timber LLC, led by the Skinner family, as the property owner and CND-ICI SEQ LLC as the developer. The Skinners declined to comment about the application. In February, the Skinners applied to the city to revise the 1,063-acre site’s 2005 planned unit development to create a different style of development. The application proposed “a distinctive character-based approach” that “reflects the family’s vision for a place with neighborhoods and businesses that will serve and benefit the people of Jacksonville for many decades to come.”
In April, the Skinner family announced it wanted to sell 400 to 450 acres to a master housing developer-builder to develop up to 4,600 homes on a portion of the property. The Southeast Quadrant also is planned for nearly 3.5 million square feet of nonresidential use, 30 acres of recreation open space, 150 acres of passive open space and 165 acres of public right-of-way or private thoroughfares. At a public workshop in April, Hugh Mathews, president and CEO of civil engineering firm England-Thims & Miller Inc., said Kernan
Boulevard is designed to extend south from Butler Boulevard through the project and connect with Gate Parkway. Matthews said the homes would comprise different looks, feels, lot sizes and densities. Russ Ervin, a principal with the ELM-Ervin Lovett Miller planning, architectural and landscape architectural services firm, said housing will have varied elements including front porches, recesses, some with rear-loading garages and other design features. The housing plans are the second development to emerge at the site.
Lane Avenue: Curtis Hart, managing member of Hart Resources LLC, requests that the city rezone 27.6 acres south of Lane Avenue North near James Fields Park from residential low density-60 to planned unit development to allow up to 159 single-family homes on 40-foot-wide lots.
Atlanta-based Fuqua Development released plans in March for 67 acres to create The Exchange at Jacksonville village center. The Exchange is planned for offices, retail, entertainment and apartments. SSAILER@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
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THE SAILER REPORT
Homebuilders partner on Southeast Quadrant
JACKSONVILLE DAILY RECORD / JACKSONVILLE RECORD & OBSERVER
JaxDailyRecord.com
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
BY SCOTT SAILER • STAFF WRITER
Here are the top 10 commercial real estate sales in Northeast Florida, comprising Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties. The sales were recorded Oct. 7-11.
File image
DUVAL
ST. JOHNS
CLAY
CLAY
DUVAL
$24,700,000
$8,310,800
$5,263,157
$5,000,000
$4,100,000
7528 Arlington Expressway, Jacksonville
Florida 13 North, St. Augustine
300 Park Ave., Orange Park
1800 Kingsley Ave., Orange Park
10230 Atlantic Blvd., Jacksonville
Type: City Ridge Apartments Parcel size: 14.44 acres Units: 288 Buyer: Oaks at Red Bay LLC Seller: City Ridge Realty Previous sale: $17,000,000 in 2015
Type: Timberland Parcel size: Not available Buyer: Lennar Homes LLC Seller: Longleaf Partners LLC
Type: Wawa Parcel size: 2.73 acres Retail size: 6,119 square feet Buyer: Barnes Street Limited Partnership and JCWA Properties LLC Seller: BW Park and Wells LLC
Type: Kings Tree Apartments Parcel size: 5.92 acres Buyer: 1800 Kingsley Avenue LLC Seller: L&R Inc. Previous sale: $1,100,000 in 1986
Type: Regency Walk shopping center Parcel size: 3.16 acres Retail size: 39,438 square feet Buyer: Rasok Jacksonville Holdings LLC Seller: MPI/Regency Walk Inc. Previous sale: $2,150,000 in 1998
DUVAL
ST. JOHNS
CLAY
ST. JOHNS
ST. JOHNS
$3,805,779
$2,100,000
$1,681,250
$1,534,000
$1,437,500
Multiple addresses, Jacksonville
Florida 16, St. Augustine
1695 Blanding Blvd., Middleburg
Florida 16, St. Augustine
Type: 18 single-family homes Parcel size: Not available Buyer: SRMZ 4 Asset Co. 1 LLC Seller: MUPR 3 Assets LLC
Type: Undeveloped commercial Parcel size: 20.95 acres Buyer: TVC St. Augustine I Co. LLC Seller: Maxie R. Thompson, Pierre D. Thompson Revocable Trust and The John D. Bailey Sr. Trust Previous sale: $600,000 in 2006
Type: Commercial Parcel size: 7.53 acres Office size: 3,240 square feet Buyer: Macie Creek Ltd Seller: Quality Mobile Homes LLC
Type: Agricultural Parcel size: Not available Buyer: Toll Southeast LP Co. Inc. Seller: Day Late Enterprises Inc.
6000-A Sawgrass Village Circle, Ponte Vedra Beach
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Top commercial sales of the week
City Ridge Apartments at 7528 Arlington Expressway sold for $24.7 million, a 45.3% increase over its $17 million sale price in 2015.
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Type: Office Parcel size: 0.07 acres Office size: 6,212 square feet Buyer: Sawgrass Circle LLC Seller: Holliday Family Enterprises LLC
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JACKSONVILLE DAILY RECORD /J ACKSONVILLE RECORD & OBSERVER
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
JaxDailyRecord.com
KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
Lisa Valentine begins job as hospital is in the midst of an expansion. Lisa Valentine has been with HCA Healthcare for 27 years, most recently as CEO with Summerville Medical Center outside of Charleston, South Carolina. For the past few years, she said she’s had her sights set on becoming CEO at Orange Park Medical Center. She’s long admired the hospital’s “reputation for clinical excellence” as well as the culture, which she said feels like neighbors caring for neighbors. Less than a month ago, she started as CEO at the hospital after former CEO Chad Patrick stepped down to lead an HCA hospital in Asheville, North Carolina. So far, it’s met her expectations. “In the first three weeks I’ve seen all of that and more,” she said. “It’s been fun.” Valentine comes onboard at Orange Park Medical Center during its largest expansion yet
– a $126 million project that includes a five-story patient tower, medical office building, kitchen and dining expansion, and more cardiac and neonatal intensive care unit offerings. “I think what the team has done so well is really grow to meet the needs of the community,” Valentine said. “Really the depth and the expansiveness of those service lines to me is incredibly impressive here at the hospital.” With the expansion, Orange Park Medical Center will add 200 jobs to its existing 1,300. It’s the largest employer in Clay County. As a for-profit institution, it pays more than $14 million in state and local taxes annually, she said. “We’re proud to be making investments in our community and helping to serve the area,” she said. Valentine is no stranger to multimillion-dollar expansions. As she left Summerville Medical Center, it was undergoing a $100 million expansion to its emergency room and women’s and children’s services. The Clay County area is expanding rapidly, creating a need for more services at the hospital. “From a health care market standpoint, obviously this is a fast-paced, growing community,” she said. With the repeal of Florida’s certificate of need law, hospitals no longer need to prove a demonstrated need for expansion. That opens up possibilities for the hospital, Valentine said.
Orange Park Medical Center CEO Lisa Valentine, Dr. Youssef Al-Saghir, an interventional cardiologist, and Laura Duke, director of cardiology services, in the hospital’s electrophysiology lab expansion that opened in July. Special to the Daily Record
“It eliminates one regulatory hurdle to growth,” she said. “I think our goal is to really use the opportunity to say, where do we go next? What do we need to build? Where do we need to build and expand here at the hospital and where do we need to expand outside that in the surrounding area?” In April, the hospital opened its second free-standing ER in Normandy Park, which she said will see its 10,000th patient in a few weeks. The hospital also plans to increase capacity at its Park West freestanding ER, which was built in 2015. She said free-standing ER locations help the hospital provide greater access to highquality clinical care from the hospital and expand its overall capacity. “I think the volumes really
speak for themselves. The need is there,” she said. “People are coming to receive services and, certainly, if they need hospital care following that emergency visit, Orange Park Medical Center is ready and capable of caring for those patients.” As for her goals for the hospital, she already sees it as high-performing, but wants to continue to grow service lines, recruit top talent and meet the needs of the surrounding community. Valentine, 56, started her career as a physical therapist after receiving her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida. She later earned her master’s from Virginia Commonwealth University in health services administration. She said she tries to bring her clinical experience to the role, helping her better relate to
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staff and patients as an executive. Before serving as CEO at Summerville, Valentine was chief operating officer and worked in rehabilitation services at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. She’s Orange Park Medical Center’s first female CEO. “I’m a mom, I’m a daughter, I’m a wife. I think those family experiences allow me to be a better leader because I can very often relate to what our patients and families are going through and what our staff are going through,” Valentine said. “I try to bring all of that to the role of CEO so that I can be a better support for the team that works here.”
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HEALTH & BUSINESS
‘Fun’ start for Orange Park Medical Center CEO
JACKSONVILLE DAILY RECORD / JACKSONVILLE RECORD & OBSERVER
JaxDailyRecord.com
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
Get In Touch! 904-725-4355 6747 Southpoint Parkway Jacksonville, FL 32216
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EXECUTIVE BOARD
SALES & MARKETING COUNCIL BREAKFAST FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2019
Alaina Record
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Personal & Professional Development Coach
As a leader you must: • See things as they are • See them better than they are • Make it the way you want to see it.
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Second vice chairperson Mattamy Homes
Join Coach and Consultant, Angi Bell, to take that first step in planning for an outstanding 2020 leaving enlightened, inspired, and motivated to create and implement your 2020 business plan.
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Immediate past chairman 318651-1
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JACKSONVILLE DAILY RECORD /J ACKSONVILLE RECORD & OBSERVER
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
JaxDailyRecord.com
THE BASCH REPORT
Cracker Barrel investing in new concepts our previous target also incorporated a small probability that the Stewart acquisition would close driving greater accretion than buybacks.” Fidelity is expected to use some of the cash it had targeted for the Stewart purchase on stock buybacks.
Fresh Market adds ex-Winn-Dixie officer
MARK BASCH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The restaurant chain’s acquisition of Maple Street Biscuit Co. follows its $140 million investment in Punch Bowl Social. From the opening of its first restaurant in Lebanon, Tennessee, 50 years ago, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. has grown into a significant national chain with 660 restaurants in 45 states. However, the company last week showed it is not sitting still with its iconic brand. Cracker Barrel acquired Orange Parkbased Maple Street Biscuit Co. Inc. for $36 million, bringing a new brand under its umbrella. That acquisition follows a July deal to invest $140 million into Punch Bowl Social, which it describes as an “experiential food and beverage concept” pairing food and drink with “social gaming.” Cracker Barrel’s investment is a noncontrolling interest with an option to eventually take ownership of Punch Bowl, which has 17 locations in 12 states. Before these two deals, the company’s only restaurants not operating as Cracker Barrels were seven Holler &
Punch Bowl Social
Punch Bowl Social is at 875 Battery Ave. SE, Suite 720, in Atlanta. The 27,000-square-foot restaurant, bar and entertainment concept opened in September 2017 in The Battery Atlanta adjacent to SunTrust Park, the home of the Atlanta Braves.
Dash Biscuit House locations. The company plans to convert those sites into Maple Street restaurants. The company continues to expand its Cracker Barrel concept with new locations, with a focus on California where it only has a handful of stores. More than half of its restaurants are in Southeastern states with Florida its biggest market with 60 stores, according to its annual report. It operates six locations in Northeast Florida. The headquarters remain in Tennessee. Cracker Barrel last month reported $3.07 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended Aug. 2 with adjusted earnings rising 40 cents to $9.27 a share. The company’s locations operate as restaurants combined with retail stores with an “old country store theme.” The restaurants accounted for 81% of
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sales last year. Comparable-store sales at the restaurants (sales at stores open for more than one year) rose 2.6% in the fiscal year but that was due to price increases. The average check rose by 3.3% but store traffic fell 0.7%. Comparable-store retail sales rose by 0.1% in the year. Longbow Research analyst Alton Stump said in a research note after the earnings report he is maintaining a “neutral” rating on Cracker Barrel stock. “In the long term, we remain largely positive on Cracker Barrel’s fundamentals, but refrain from recommending the shares pending further evidence of a sustainable recovery in Cracker Barrel’s same-store traffic,” Stump said. Cracker Barrel expects the Maple Street acquisition to be neutral to its earnings in fiscal 2020. The company projects adjusted earnings of $9.30 to $9.45 this fiscal year, but charges associated with the Punch Bowl deal are expected to lower its final earnings to $8.80 to $8.95
Analyst downgrades FNF as it nears price target
The third quarter likely was a boom period for title insurance companies like Fidelity National Financial Inc., as lower interest rates drove strong mortgage refinance volume. However, Fidelity’s stock already is trading at record-high levels, so one analyst downgraded the Jacksonvillebased company ahead of its third-quarter earnings report. “We are downgrading FNF to Market Perform from Outperform on valuation since the shares have only around 9% upside to our price target,” Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Bose George said in a research report. “However, we remain very positive on the outlook for the company and the sector,” he said. George set a $48 price target for Fidelity’s stock, which was trading at $44.17 at the time of his report last week. George said third-quarter mortgage volumes are projected to be 26% higher than last year, mainly because of a surge in refinancing activity. Fidelity’s stock has remained at high levels despite its planned acquisition of Stewart Information Services Corp. falling apart last month. Fidelity agreed in March 2018 to buy Stewart in a deal that would have increased its dominant share of the U.S. title insurance market from about 32% to 43%. However, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission opposed the merger on antitrust grounds and the two companies couldn’t reach an agreement with the FTC to resolve the issue. They agreed to terminate the merger last month. Bose said he lowered his price target for Fidelity slightly from $49 “because
The Fresh Market last week added another former Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. executive to its top management team. Dan Portnoy, a former chief merchandising and marketing officer for WinnDixie, was named chief merchandising officer of Greensboro, North Carolinabased Fresh Market. He joins Larry Appel, who was named CEO of the specialty grocer two years ago. Appel is a former chief operations officer and chief legal officer of WinnDixie. Portnoy is the second former WinnDixie executive recruited by Appel, after Mary Kellmanson joined Fresh Market as chief marketing officer in 2017. Appel, Kellmanson and Portnoy all were part of Winn-Dixie’s executive team before it merged with Bi-Lo LLC into Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers in 2012. Fresh Market operates 160 stores in 22 states, including five in the Jacksonville market.
Drone Aviation plans 1-10 reverse stock split Drone Aviation Holding Corp. is planning a 1-for-10 reverse split to lift its stock price for a Nasdaq listing, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week. The stock was trading at 83 cents on the OTCQB market with “a very limited market” for the shares, the Jacksonville-based company said in the filing. “Quotes of stock trading prices on an over-the-counter marketplace may not be indicative of the market price on a national securities exchange,” it said. Shareholders approved a resolution in June authorizing a reverse split to help the company meet minimum share price requirements for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. By issuing one share of stock for every 10 shares outstanding, it would lift the price to $8.30. The reverse split would reduce the number of shares outstanding from 27.6 million to 2.76 million. However, if the company achieves its Nasdaq listing, it intends to sell 1.2 million units in a public offering consisting of one share of common stock and one warrant to buy a share of stock. Drone Aviation, which produces specialized tethered aerial monitoring and communications platforms, recorded its first profitable quarter in the second quarter this year with net income of $53,814 on revenue of $1.4 million.
Obitx waiting for ticker Jacksonville-based medical cannabis company mCig Inc. spun off a marketing and advertising software subsidiary called Obitx Inc. into a separate public company in December. But while Obitx has been filing regular SEC reports, it doesn’t have a ticker symbol to trade the stock. In an update to shareholders last week, mCig Chief Executive Paul Rosenberg said Obitx is waiting for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, to approve its ticker. “The process of obtaining a trading symbol from FINRA has taken much longer than anticipated. All the required paperwork has been submitted to FINRA and we are expecting our stock symbol to be issued to Obitx in a timely manner,” Rosenberg said. Obitx reported no revenue for the six months ended July 31. MBASCH@JAXDAILYRECORD.COM
JACKSONVILLE DAILY RECORD / JACKSONVILLE RECORD & OBSERVER
JaxDailyRecord.com
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
DEVELOPMENT TODAY These are the largest commercial building permits by job cost issued Tuesday by the city of Jacksonville. AMUSEMENT RECREATION
APARTMENTS Village Walk Apartments, 7651 Gate Parkway, contractor is Cotton USA LP, repair fire damage, $32,500. CONDOMINIUMS Sugar Mill Two Condominiums Inc., 3801 Crown Point Road, No. 2021, contractor is Sangamon Stoli Enterprises Inc., siding installation and repair, $19,000. INDUSTRIAL Murphy Pipeline Contractors Inc., 12235 New Berlin Road, contractor is Tim Young Construction Inc., 10,000 square feet, new building, $358,700. OFFICE, BANK, PROFESSIONAL
Davis
SIGNS Spartina Cove, 13204 Spartina Grass Drive, contractor is Bent Construction LLC, monument sign, $228,015. Ida Claire, Breakfast Brunch Lunch Hours Supper, Entrance Seek and You Will Find, Florida Clairmont Motel No Vacancy, 10209 River Coast Drive, contractor is Taylor Sign & Design Inc., seven permits for wall and monument signs, $17,052. Cameron Pointe, 6300 Thatcher Lane, contractor is Bent Construction LLC, four permits for wall signs, $8,800. Quiznos, 214 N. Hogan St., contractor is Taylor Sign & Design Inc., projection sign, $2,150. Darby’s Dungeon, 14185 Beach Blvd., contractor is Taylor Sign & Design Inc., wall sign, $1,950. Azura Surgery Center, 2416 Dunn Ave., contractor is Taylor Sign & Design Inc., wall sign, $1,300.
Savage Property Development LLC, 6566 Commonwealth Ave., contractor is Emerald C’s Development Inc., 15,000 square feet, tenant build-out, $240,000.
STORES, MERCANTILE
RESTAURANTS
Compiled by Scott Sailer
Hop Shing Jacksonville Inc., 11101 Old St. Augustine Road, No. 5, contractor is The Varela Construction Group LLC, 1,000
CB Square, 9337 Atlantic Blvd., No. 8, contractor is Ladson Construction Co. LLC, storefront and canopy, $79,000.
Franklin
Hand
Abel
Blumeyer
Hightower
Promotions, hirings and happenings for business people in Northeast Florida. Send items to ssailer@jaxdailyrecord.com The Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute added five members to its board of advisers: Shantel Davis, vice president of real estate and facility management at CSX; received an MBA from JU in 2006. Fred Franklin Jr., managing director of Rogers Towers and chairman of the law firm’s board of directors; received a bachelor’s degree in political science at JU in 1977. Chris Hand, partner at Hand Law. Steve McInall, vice president of energy and water planning at JEA; received a master of public policy at JU in 2019. Chuck Wodehouse, retired president of CSX Technology The Northeast Florida Regional Council Regional Leadership Academy graduated its 14th class: Tyler Nolen, regional planner with the council; Susan Grich, president and CEO of the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida; Lori Boyer, CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority; Christine Hoffman, director of Beaches Museum and History Park and a Jacksonville Beach City Council member; Dave Rogers, vice chair of St. Johns County Soil and Water Conservation District 5; Taco Pope, assistant county manager, Nassau County; and Robbi Correa, president of Revitalize Historic Palatka. Jacksonville Country Day School added four members to the board of trustees: Michael Abel, co-founder of Abel Bean Law. Peter Blumeyer, attorney at Holland & Knight LLP.
Maggie Hightower, chief philanthropy officer at Nemours Children’s Health System Mark C. Preston, works with Habitat for Humanity of Jacksonville and the Ronald McDonald House. Michael Schmidt, owner of The Bearded Pig and Rec Room restaurants and Tomo Development. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Rod Odom and reappointed Laura DiBella to the Florida State College at Jacksonville district board of trustees for four-year terms. Odom, of Yulee, is a retired AT&T Southeast CEO. DiBella, of Fernandina Beach, is the port director for Fernandina Ocean Highway and Port Authority. She has served as executive director of the Nassau County Economic Development Board since 2014 and has been a member of the Florida State College at Jacksonville Business Advisory Program Committee since 2016. The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
City of Jacksonville, 10441 McAleer Road, contractor is Scaff Builders LLC, 576 square feet, Brookview Park pavilion, $28,000.
square feet, tenant build-out, $50,000.
Habitat for Humanity of Jacksonville promoted five staff members: Tom Cassaro is director of construction. He was a construction superintendent. Chris Folds is vice president of fund development and communications. Folds was director of fund development. Candace Johnson is communications and marketing manager. She was communications and marketing coordinator. Michael Kearney is chief financial officer. He was vice president of finance administration. Angela Leatherbury is chief operating officer. She was chief programs officer.
All Are Invited to Enjoy the Annual… L
This Saturday October 19 10am–3pm PROCEEDS BENEFIT
• Two Live Music Acts: Trevor Olson and Arian Greane • Food Trucks, Face Painting, Balloon Artist and Silent Auction • Local Vendor Booths, Carnival Games and Bounce Houses
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2001 International Golf Parkway 904.513.5740 markland.com DailyRecordFallFestivalFMarkland.indd 1
McKinney Levine Studio, Inc. (904) 655-6303 • for Carla Luigs of Hines (904) 599-9015 RunDate 17 Oct 2019
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Arthur Rutenberg Homes • CalAtlantic Homes • CornerStone Homes • Dream Finders Homes • Providence Homes
10/11/19 4:52 PM
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JACKSONVILLE DAILY RECORD /J ACKSONVILLE RECORD & OBSERVER
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
JaxDailyRecord.com
THE MARBUT REPORT
Sponsors needed for JBA annual Holiday Project advance at bit.ly/31ngeal for $10 including lunch.
Freed says no lawyer jokes
MAX MARBUT ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Special to the Daily Record
Gifts will be delivered to shut-in seniors. It’s almost the season to be jolly. That’s why the Jacksonville Bar Association kicked off planning for the annual Holiday Project on Tuesday. For committee Chair Kimberly Woods, an associate attorney at Boyd & Jenerette, it’s the eighth year she has been on the committee and her third year as chair. “This is a great way to give back. We need to know who wants to play Santa,” Woods said. Beginning Wednesday, association members may register at jaxbar.org to sponsor a holiday gift or gifts for a senior in Jacksonville who is served by the nonprofit Aging True’s Meals on Wheels program. Each senior submits a wish list of gifts, which the sponsor purchases, wraps and then delivers to the recipient at their home. Items most often requested are blankets, clothing, snacks and small appliances like
There’s a new class at the State Attorney’s Office Eleven attorneys joined the 4th Circuit State Attorney’s Office staff this month. From left, State Attorney’s Office County Court Division Chief LaTesha Campbell, Director John Kalinowski, State Attorney Melissa Nelson and Division Chief Katelyn Johnston with new Assistant State Attorneys Jack Moran, Jamie Cona, Dora McClain, Kimano Edwards, Sarah Usman, Gabriel Roberts, Sam Mizeras, Brittainy Joyner, Jesse Nardy, Laura Dadowski and Carly Hazelip.
toaster ovens and space heaters, Woods said. Sponsors also have the option to drop off wrapped gifts at the JBA office from Dec. 9-16 for delivery by volunteers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Woods said the event has grown to serve about 400 seniors each year. “We want to help as many people as we can and make them smile, so now’s the time to start gathering sponsors. We’d rather have too many sponsors than not enough,” Woods said.
Gibbs new DIA chair Attorney Craig Gibbs was elected chair of the Downtown Investment Authority board of directors, a nine-member group appointed by the mayor
and City Council. He joined the board that oversees Downtown commercial and residential redevelopment in January 2014 after being appointed by former Mayor Alvin Brown. Gibbs was a two-term member of the former Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, where he helped facilitate the addition of 1,700 jobs generating $89 million in annual payroll. He also served on the Jacksonville Super Bowl XXXIX Host Committee, which succeeded in bringing the NFL’s Super Bowl championship game to Jacksonville in 2005. Gibbs serves or has served on the boards of the Clara White Mission, the AME Housing Agency of Florida, Jewish Family and Community Services Citizen’s Advisory Board, Jack-
sonville Children’s Commission and GlobalJax.
Trippe to address Federalist Society The Jacksonville Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society has invited Charles Trippe Jr. to speak at its meeting at noon Tuesday at the Main Library Conference Center Downtown. Trippe is a partner with Abel Bean Law and former chief counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration, former general counsel for former Gov. Rick Scott and former general counsel for litigation at CSX Corp. His topic will be recent federal deregulation and the practical realities of dealing with the administrative state. Tickets may be purchased in
Attorney Mike Freed, a shareholder in Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart’s Jacksonville office, says he’s been “dabbling” in stand-up comedy. He’ll do more than dabble on Nov. 12 when he’ll appear on the stage during Laugh Out Loud Comedy Night at the Comedy Zone at the Ramada Jacksonville Hotel and Conference Center in Mandarin. Freed said don’t expect him to tell any lawyer jokes. “It will be observational humor. Parenting. Life. Being a little guy in a big guy’s world,” he said. Visit comedyzone.com for reservations.
Court to recognize minority contractors The public is invited to a dedication ceremony at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Duval County Courthouse. State Rep. Clay Yarborough has been invited to unveil a bronze plaque, inspired by a City Council resolution, recognizing the contributions made by Hispanic and minority contractors during construction of the courthouse at 501 W. Adams St. MMARBUT@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
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