JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Wheels are in motion to revitalize the Downtown Jacksonville riverfront and the surrounding area.
One big part of that, the so-called “Stadium of the Future,” is closer to reality. The Jaguars and the city will reveal the framework of a deal for the estimated $1.4 billion renovations.
But it is not the only major project underway downtown.
There’s the Four Seasons hotel, the Laura Street Trio and the recently completed Florida Theatre renovations.
The Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) is deeply involved in all of these projects, and the agency is now going under the microscope, with the City Council president asking how effective the DIA has been and if changes are needed.
But one thing that might not change is the CEO. Lori Boyer has been leading the agency since 2019.
Last summer, the DIA board voted to give her a one-year extension and a $10,000 raise, bumping her salary to $221,000 a year.
That contract is currently scheduled to end in June, and the DIA is again recommending extending Boyer’s contract. The agency is expected to vote on the extension next week.
The board hasn’t released any specifics on the extension. According to our partners at the Jacksonville Daily Record, Boyer said she would welcome a two-year contract extension if the board offered one.
This comes as the DIA is coming under fire by some council members as a new committee has been formed to see if changes need to be made.
After that announcement late last month, Boyer told News4JAX she considers the scrutiny an “opportunity to focus on downtown.”
“The council, obviously, has the authority and the opportunity anytime they want to look at various things in the ordinance code and agencies they’ve set up to see if they’re performing the best. And, frankly, I kind of welcome the opportunity to focus on downtown,” Boyer said.
She adds there’s been a lot of focus on the stadium and the jail and affordable housing and all these other topics so this could open discussion on downtown development.
Boyer said much of the delays in Downtown projects are not because of DIA but are individual developers who might be having trouble with contractors -- and that is normal.
“Certainly, there are projects that have started and have been completed,” Boyer said. “It is all about particular developers and their contractors and whether they’re all able to implement and execute. That’s not the city’s job. We don’t build it for them.”
The DIA’s next board meeting, and the vote on Boyer’s contract, is scheduled for Wednesday.
