The incoming president of the Jacksonville City Council has raised doubt about a proposed $28.5 million cash grant to bring a Publix Downtown.<\/p>\n
During an appearance Monday on WJCT News 89.9\u2019s First Coast Connect<\/a>, President-elect Nick Howland said city leaders will need to make tough decisions during this summer\u2019s city budget hearings to prepare for less revenue, in the event that Florida voters pass a referendum in November to reduce property taxes.<\/p>\n According to Howland, one casualty could be the proposed cash grant meant to help developer Gateway Jax Inc. build a 14-story, $138 million mixed-use tower<\/a> that will include a Publix grocery store.<\/p>\n The project is part of the developer\u2019s broader $1 billion Pearl Square<\/a> neighborhood, which is under construction in Downtown Jacksonville\u2019s NorthCore.<\/p>\n Howland called the eventual decision \u201ca tough one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone agrees that that would be a fantastic project. The question is do we have the money,\u201d Howland said Monday. \u201cRemember when I mentioned we\u2019ll take a look at this budget this summer with a fine-tooth comb and we\u2019ll ask three questions: Is it core? Is it duplicative? And do we have the money? We may just have a simple case here of not having the money for that.\u201d<\/p>\n The city\u2019s Downtown Investment Authority is still negotiating details of the incentives deal for the Publix-anchored building. And the tentative deal still has several steps before it would reach City Council for approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are excited to work with incoming Council President Howland to continue building on the success of the previous public-private partnerships between Gateway Jax and the City Council to advance shared goals for the infrastructure of Downtown Jacksonville,\u201d a Gateway Jax spokesperson told Jacksonville Today in an email Tuesday.<\/p>\n Mayor on Downtown Publix <\/p>\n Mayor Donna Deegan, who will present her proposed city budget to council in July, has been a booster of the Pearl Square development. During an appearance on First Coast Connect<\/a> on Tuesday, Deegan called the Publix \u201cessential to the success of that urban core Downtown.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s been a food desert for a long time, and that Publix needs to go in,\u201d Deegan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In November 2025, Gateway said it planned to seek $48 million in public incentives to bring the 35,000-square-foot grocery store and pharmacy to Downtown, which will also include 285 apartments and another 7,000 square feet of retail.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gateway Jax CEO Bryan Moll said in May that demolition was expected to begin this month on the former First Baptist Church auditorium that currently sits on the site at 119 W. Beaver St.<\/p>\n