{"id":284014,"date":"2025-10-07T13:09:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T13:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/284014\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T13:09:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T13:09:11","slug":"concerns-raised-that-retirement-community-could-replace-dcps-headquarters-along-riverfront","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/284014\/","title":{"rendered":"Concerns raised that retirement community could replace DCPS headquarters along riverfront"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. <\/strong> \u2013 As the Duval County School Board prepares for a pivotal vote on the future of its Southbank headquarters, some Jacksonville residents are raising concerns about what could take its place.<\/p>\n

The top bidder for the prime riverfront site is Fleet Landing, a nonprofit organization that operates retirement communities. The group has offered $20 million to purchase the current Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) headquarters building, which overlooks the St. Johns River.<\/p>\n

RELATED <\/b>| Deal or No Deal? Duval County Public Schools headquarters move still not final<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

The district is considering relocating to a $14 million office building in Baymeadows, and while discussions around moving the headquarters have been ongoing for years, the process gained momentum in the past year under Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier.<\/p>\n

Fleet Landing\u2019s offer emerged from a pool of 10 proposals submitted through an open bidding process. <\/p>\n

News4JAX reached out to the nonprofit about why they think a retirement community is a good fit for the property, but they referred us to DCPS.<\/p>\n

News4JAX reporter Briana Brownlee<\/a> filed a public records request asking for all 10 bidders who submitted proposals. At this time, the request has not been filled, so it\u2019s unclear what other options were on the table to take over the prime real estate.<\/p>\n

But many Jacksonville residents say they only recently learned that a retirement community is the likely replacement for one of the city\u2019s most high-profile waterfront properties.<\/p>\n

And that news didn\u2019t sit well with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cNooo,\u201d said resident Kisha Shabazz, laughing in disbelief. \u201cCan I say that? I love the retirees, but there is so much more you can do with that space. Given the stadium and the renovations and all of the things they are doing downtown, why not use it for upscale dining and really leverage the river and what it\u2019s there for?\u201d<\/p>\n

Shabazz isn\u2019t alone. Residents shared similar reactions \u2014 not out of opposition to seniors, but out of a desire to see the space turned into something more lively and accessible to the broader public.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe river is a resource, and right now it is underutilized,\u201d said longtime Jacksonville resident Sherman Wilner. \u201cIt should be our showcase. Right now, it\u2019s underused.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others imagined restaurants, public spaces, or even a local marketplace that would serve families and visitors. They said with stadium renovations and other downtown projects already in motion, this property should add to the city\u2019s energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful spot,\u201d said Suzanne Pohlman, who\u2019s lived in Jacksonville for decades. \u201cIt would be nice to keep Jacksonville feeling like a hometown, not just chain restaurants. Let\u2019s make it a place where families want to gather.\u201d<\/p>\n

The public isn\u2019t the only group voicing hesitation. District 3 school board member Cindy Pearson, who voted to allow negotiations to move forward, said she still has unanswered questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the purchaser isn\u2019t paying full property tax, what does that mean for downtown development \u2014 and what\u2019s the benefit to the community?\u201d Pearson asked at a recent board meeting.<\/p>\n

Pearson\u2019s concern stems from Fleet Landing\u2019s nonprofit status, which could reduce the site\u2019s future property tax contribution \u2014 a sticking point for those who see downtown development as vital to Jacksonville\u2019s economic health.<\/p>\n

The school board is scheduled to vote Tuesday night on whether to approve the headquarters sale and move forward with the relocation plan.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 As the Duval County School Board prepares for a pivotal vote on the future of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":164900,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,26459,8314,56179,3188,723,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-284014","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dcps","10":"tag-duval-county","11":"tag-duval-county-public-schools","12":"tag-fl","13":"tag-florida","14":"tag-jacksonville","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115333048973362147","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}