Jacksonville Jaguars president Mark Lamping has been a busy man as of late. In an article by the Florida Times-Union, Lamping announced that a development deal is “very close” to being finalized to be sent to the City Council with hopes to break ground on Lot J (adjacent to TIAA Bank Field) in the spring.
There was a great deal of progress made towards the project in the summer of 2019 when Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry announced a financial framework for the city’s contribution towards funding the project. It was then revealed that the city would fund $233.3 million towards the project, which is a neighborhood centralized around an entertainment district, with $208.3 of that being hard money.
The development of Lot J has long been a goal for Jags owner Shad Khan dating back to 2018. He partnered with Cordish Companies for the development of the district. The national developer has worked on various project like the Jags’ with different sports franchises such as the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and Texas Rangers.
Lamping also said the cost for the project, which was originally projected at $500 million, had risen to $700 million. However, he didn’t say that any additional money would be needed from the city and added that Khan and the Cordish Companies were able to finance their portions of Lot J and would split the private investment with each other on a 50-50 basis.
Back in January of 2018, we previewed what we believe the project could look like when completed based on the Cordish Companies’ projects in the past. In all probability, the project could also include a high-end hotel, various sports bars in the entertainment district, and restaurants.