Council committee reviews three appraisals for 801 West Bay amid proposed land swap with Gateway Jax

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee reviewed three independent appraisals for 801 West Bay Street — also called the Interline Brands property — and discussed a proposed land swap with Gateway Jax on April 1.

The briefing, delivered by Philip Peterson of the council auditor's office, presented three reconciled appraisals: $5,350,000 (Colliers, Dec. 6, 2024), a multi-parcel valuation produced for Gateway Jax by CBRE (Dec. 10, 2024) that separated the site into parking parcels and office building values, and a CompPro Consultants appraisal (Mar. 18, 2025) that produced a reconciled value of $6,750,000.

The appraisals also included values for two downtown parcels that are part of the proposed swap: the Riverfront Plaza parcel (1.2 acres, Colliers, Dec. 23, 2024 — $3,410,000) and the East Landing parking lot (1.77 acres, Colliers, Dec. 23, 2024 — $1,620,000). Together those two swap parcels were presented as worth just over $5,000,000, after accounting for multiple easements, a 30-foot JEA sewer easement, access/truck easements adjacent to the Hyatt property, and development setbacks and height limits tied to river and bridge ramp proximities.

Why it matters: Council members said they want a clear, mutually agreed appraisal before acting. One route under discussion is a city purchase of 801 West Bay for transfer to the University of Florida; the other is a land swap with Gateway Jax that would move downtown parcels into a development plan. Either choice could lead to subsequent funding requests from the administration and/or the Downtown Investment Authority for related project costs.

Key details from the briefing

- Colliers appraisal (Dec. 6, 2024): reconciled value $5,350,000 (sales comparison $5,300,000; income approach $5,400,000). - CBRE appraisal (Dec. 10, 2024) prepared for Gateway Jax: treated the site as three parcels (western parking lot, office building, eastern parking lot); listed separate land values and hypothetical stabilized/investment scenarios depending on lease commencement dates. - CompPro Consultants appraisal (Mar. 18, 2025): sales comparison $6,810,000; income approach $6,660,000; reconciled $6,750,000. - Riverfront Plaza (NE portion of Old Landing): Colliers valuation $3,410,000 (1.2 acres). - East Landing parking lot: Colliers valuation $1,620,000 (1.77 acres) after accounting for a 30-foot JEA sewer easement, other access easements, 50-foot river/bridge setback and local height limits.

Council and stakeholder positions

Brian Wall, chief executive officer of Gateway Jax, told the committee that his organization had just received the CompPro appraisal and wanted time to have CBRE and CompPro discuss the differences. "We just, you know, received and had the chance to review this over the weekend," Wall said. "It appears that this third appraisal has, you know, has used a a number that we just we wanna talk to the appraisers about... Hopefully, that can happen this week just so we can put that to bed and better understand where that's coming from."

A finance committee member who introduced legislation to pursue a purchase said the latest $6.75 million reconciled appraisal made purchase a feasible option and expressed interest in quickly negotiating a price and transferring the property to the University of Florida. That speaker said he had received mixed advice from real estate and DIA insiders and planned follow-up meetings with Gateway Jax to seek a negotiated sale price rather than a public negotiation in committee.

Next steps and outstanding questions

- Gateway Jax and city appraisers will try to reconcile the difference between the CompPro appraisal and the CBRE/Colliers values; Gateway Jax requested a CBRE-CompPro discussion this week. - Council members asked when the total project cost for the University of Florida campus (beyond property acquisition) will be presented; the chair said a calendar of follow-up briefings is being assembled to bring full project cost estimates within about 60 days. - No formal acquisition, swap or vote occurred in this meeting. The committee discussed legislation introduced to start a purchase but did not take a final vote on any transaction.

What the record shows

No acquisition vote was recorded during the April 1 finance committee meeting. Committee members heard appraisals, questioned Gateway Jax and requested a meeting between appraisers to reconcile the differing values.