Let me ask a hypothetical question for those disagreeing with Field...if you were trying to get The Shipyards in the hands of private developers and were at a conference with the largest developers in Florida and the Southeast, would you aggressively market the property to them?
Definitely. I'd also like to know why it wasn't done before, or if it was, why nothing happened. Anyone know?
Good questions. Would this board agree that being at a conference with the largest developers in Florida and the Southeast last August, and not actively marketing the project, means we really have to way to know what the interest would have been?
BINGO!
This needs to be immediately scrapped until after the elections.
Restore the Public Trust
We *do*have a way to know what the interest is. Any large developer in Florida or around the Southeast worthy of consideration already knows about the Shipyards property because they have folks in-house who look for these types of projects. Do you honestly think we have some sort of hidden jewel that could be developed if only the City made the right parties aware that Jax is (and has been) sitting on a hidden jewel lo these many years ? ? ? Seriously? Big developers have to
find projects; I'm guessing here but I'm sure they prefer to do so before the project is finalized if at all possible *and* while they still have time to work the politics and find out the "players," so to speak, then they have to bid on them, and win those bids. To me, it is unrealistic in the extreme to think this property hasn't been well-vetted and assessed, with local politics factored in.
Shad's our guy. Hopefully he has some entities who are ONLY interested if Shad is heading the process up, because they have faith in him. To me, that's our best bet. The sports complex could be a really nice spot for an entertainment district and I'm hoping Shad can make it happen. That seems to be the direction of multiple sports teams (e.g., the Braves & the Packers) and it makes a bunch of sense.
