The city moved Friday to seize possession of The Jacksonville Landing, the copper-roofed mall on the downtown riverfront that opened to great fanfare in 1987 but has lost a spate of tenants and faced harsh criticism by city lawyers for shortcomings ranging from excessive vacancies to “unpleasant smells.”
A letter sent by city lawyers to the Landing’s owners said the city was immediately cancelling the long-term lease for the city-owned land on which the mall sits.
The letter also demanded Jacksonville Landing Investments LLC turn over the buildings, ratcheting up the legal pressure in a battle between the city and the Sleiman family over the Landing’s fate.
Toney Sleiman, the developer who leads the ownership group and blames the city for the mall’s condition, could not be reached for comment.
It’s not clear what impact the city’s letter will have on the day-to-day operation of the Landing. After the city put the owners on notice last October that they failed to run a “high-quality, first-class retail facility” as required by the city’s lease of the land, Sleiman Investments filed suit in November contending the city failed to hold up its end of the lease and has intentionally hurt the viability of the mall.
That lawsuit is still pending in state court.
The Rouse Company built the 126,000-square-foot mall as a festival marketplace akin to the famous Harborplace in Baltimore. Rouse struggled to make the Landing a success and sold it to the Sleiman family in 2003.
Both sides have hurled stinging accusations about who is at fault for Landing’s slide.
Mayor Lenny Curry has said Sleiman mismanaged the property, an accusation city lawyers argued in an Oct. 17 letter contending the owners had breached the lease agreement.
“There is peeling paint, plywood covering doors in the public areas, vacant spaces secured with chains and padlocks, leasable areas being used as storage space, unpleasant smells, dirt and grime, open demolition and an overall unattractive environment,” city lawyers wrote at that time, adding that the mall’s occupancy rate is far below industry averages.
Sleiman has countered that the city has sought to sabotage the Landing by failing to maintain exterior areas around the mall, interfering with celebrations revolving around the annual Florida-Georgia game by issuing “baseless alleged municipal code violations,” and ignoring the damage inflicted by hurricanes on the docks and bulkheads on the riverfront portion of the property.
“Not only are the docks an eyesore, but they are also unsafe for those potential patrons that may visit the Landing by watercraft,” the mall’s owners said in a court filing asking a judge to order the city to make repairs.
The letter sent Friday by the city General Counsel’s Office says that after the city notified the owners on Oct. 17 that they were in breach of the lease, Jacksonville Landing Investments failed to bring the property into compliance within the 30 days provided by the lease agreement. The city then declared the owners in default.
The letter says PNC Bank, which holds the mortgage on the buildings, did not pursue any of the rights it had under the lease agreement after the city informed the bank on Nov. 27 about the owner’s default.
The letter says the city is terminating the lease for the land and demands Jacksonville Landing Investments give the city “immediate access to, and possession of, the leased property and all building improvements and other fixtures therein.”
The city also called for the owners to turn over copies of all sub-leases at the mall.