‘It feels like it’s personal:’ Jacksonville leaders fear city’s lawsuit against Laura Street Trio owners could stall development talks

The City of Jacksonville has filed a lawsuit attempting to collect more than $800,000 in fines dating back to 2015 from the owners of the Laura Street Trio.

The downtown properties have faced countless hurdles in the effort to negotiate a development deal with the city over the years.

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Now, some city leaders fear this suit will further stagnate negotiations.

In the lawsuit filed by the City of Jacksonville, the city is seeking to collect more than $800,000 in fines from the owners of the set of vacant historic properties in the downtown business district.

The suit alleges the owners have failed to maintain the properties and have been accruing daily fines of $250 dating all the way back to October of 2015.

RELATED: City of Jacksonville files lawsuit to force a foreclosure sale on Laura Street Trio

“I hate to say it, but it feels like it’s personal. Everyone says it’s not, but there’s a long history between the developer and the city,” Council Vice President Kevin Carrico (R-District 4) said.

Carrico, who Chairs the Special Committee on the Future of Downtown, said following the recent rejection of a development deal for the Laura Street Trio by the Downtown Investment Authority, he inquired about stepping in to handle negotiations.

But he said he was never informed by the city it intended to file the lawsuit.

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“The fact that it happened when I personally wanted to have a negotiation continue, it doesn’t look good. Doesn’t look good. If I’m the owner and I’m getting slapped with a lawsuit, why am I going to come back to the negotiation table?” Carrico said.

In a statement, the mayor’s office defended the decision to file suit.

“The owner of the Laura Street Trio buildings has been obligated to maintain the buildings and not allow them to deteriorate. By their own admission in public meetings, this has not happened, and we can no longer wait to preserve these historic buildings,” said a spokesperson for the mayor’s office. “Early negotiations have begun regarding the city purchasing the buildings.”

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But Carrico said he worries the suit sends a bad message and could hamper any future efforts to negotiate a deal with the owner, potentially leaving the properties vacant and deteriorating for years to come.

“I’m just trying to present something to the full body and see if I can get the whole council to agree on it and, man, it’s going to be a rough trudging ahead now,” Carrico said.

Action News Jax has reached out to the owner of the Laura Street Trio for comment on this story but has not heard back.

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