The fortunes of The Jacksonville Landing continue to decline.
The iconic, orange-roofed riverfront mall has closed its food court. In fact, it closed the mall's entire second floor.
The move comes after years of declining retail options, an ongoing legal dispute with city of Jacksonville and – in August -- a mass shooting.
Still the wholesale closure came as a surprise to locals like Dawn McDermott.
“I think the Jacksonville Landing food court being closed -- it’s a tragedy man. There’s a lot of money being lost up there … and a lot of people turning around going someplace else.”
Other Landing patrons like Mark Crosier were less dismayed by the news.
“Nobody was ever up there anyway,” he told First Coast News. “The service wasn’t good. Most of the places were empty. It didn’t look clean.”
Sheryl Mickley called the closure “a shame” and said she hopes for brighter days in The Landing’s future. “It can,” she said when asked if the mall’s fortunes can turn around. “This is a nice facility.”
Michael H. McNaughton, Chief Operating Officer for Jacksonville Landing Investments, said the food court “officially closed in October due to lack of support and sales from area workers and residents.” He added, “We remain optimistic about the future of the property and are currently actively working on repositioning the use of this portion of The Landing.”
However, the company used the opportunity to launch a new offensive in its increasingly bitter war with the city – effectively withholding rent to offset deterioration of The Landing.
“Effective immediately, The Landing has elected to exercise appropriate ‘self-Help’ provisions and will take on these items of disrepair and offset the costs through withheld rent. Furthermore, The Jacksonville Landing has never delayed payment to the city, even during these difficult times of political dysfunction, and will continue to push for redevelopment as it has since 2003.” (The full Landing statement is below.)
The city of Jacksonville, which is suing the Landing for breach of contract and trying to evict Sleiman Enterprises, said it didn’t know about the closure until notified by media.
In a statement, Mayoral Chief of Staff Brian Hughes said, “COJ has acted to terminate the lease with JLI because they have failed to maintain a high-quality, first-class retail facility. Seeing closed food service areas and barriers in front of escalators only reinforces our position. The City was not notified and first learned from press accounts. As of today, the City has not received any calls or emails from citizens voicing any distress about the loss of this particular food venue downtown.”
Full Landing statement:
The campaign by this administration to seek eviction of Landing ownership continues to take a toll on this nationally recognized landmark to the detriment of residents and visitors alike.
The City, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL EXTERIOR CARE AND MAINTENANCE, has willfully and brazenly ignored their obligations to maintain the property as agreed. The Landing Docks have been inaccessible and in a state of disrepair for years. As a water centric city, turning away and depriving throngs of people hoping to disembark at The Landing and points beyond hurts not only The Landing but all of downtown, stifling economic activity and civic engagement. Additionally, property landscape is unattended and unkempt. Sidewalks and pathways are broken and deteriorating. Lamp posts, lighting and other critical items remain in disrepair. Like many of the properties physical attributes, public perception of The Landing is deteriorating. This trend must be addressed.
The City by willfully neglecting its duties has created an environment in which, The Jacksonville Landing has struggled to compete in for commercial viability and market relevance. We are thrilled to learn of the many initiatives sponsored by the city to improve and enhance the greater downtown area and its viability to provide a sustainable marketplace as other cities have succeeded in doing. As the “core of downtown” and “the city’s front lawn,” we humbly ask to be included in such plans. As The Landing, for over 30 years, has worked tirelessly to deliver a project with limited surrounding support.
Effective immediately, The Landing has elected to exercise appropriate “self-Help” provisions and will take on these items of disrepair and offset the costs through withheld rent. Furthermore, The Jacksonville Landing has never delayed payment to the city, even during these difficult times of political dysfunction, and will continue to push for redevelopment as it has since 2003.
Ironically, The spirit and intent of the property designed as a “Festival Marketplace” by James Rouse many years ago, was to bring people together. With nearly 40 years remaining on the lease for the property, we remain hopeful and continue to invite the city to enter into a productive and mutually beneficial discussion to work together on improving downtown and restoring The Jacksonville Landing as the catalyst for public activation, congregation and unification as it was intended decades ago.”