At a time when Jacksonville faces projected annual budget deficits of over $100 million for the next five years, it’s refreshing to see members of the City Council applying much-needed scrutiny to how public dollars are used. The recent $2.56 million incentive request for the Juliette Balcony redevelopment at 225 N. Laura St.—a restaurant and short-term rental project pitched as a catalyst for revitalizing Downtown’s "main street corridor"—deserves exactly the kind of tough questioning it received during the April 7 Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee meeting.

The project, led by Avant Construction and the Godwin family, promises to restore a historic 1904 building, bringing a restaurant to the ground floor and eight short-term rental units above. These types of preservation efforts can and often do play a role in reactivating underused downtown spaces. However, the price tag for taxpayers—$2.56 million in forgivable loans through the Downtown Preservation and Revitalization Program (DPRP)—immediately raised red flags for several council members. And rightly so.

Council Member Michael Boylan questioned the disparity between the city’s contribution and the developer’s. While Avant claims it is bringing in $5.8 million in financing, the city’s redevelopment agreement only shows $900,000 in private equity—an “awful big number” for the public to swallow, Boylan said. Council Member Joe Carlucci echoed those sentiments, warning this could be the last DPRP project approved without deeper evaluation of how incentive figures are calculated.

Incentives Should Serve the Whole Community, Not Just Developers

The City's willingness to hand out millions in forgivable loans for a restaurant and short-term rentals raises pressing questions about our development priorities. Why are we incentivizing tourist accommodations and new restaurant competition on Laura Street when surrounding businesses—like Chamblin’s Uptown continue to struggle without similar support?

Worse, this project does absolutely nothing to address the glaring absence of affordable workforce housing downtown. Jacksonville’s working families are being priced out of the urban core, and the homelessness crisis continues to escalate, especially in the very blocks surrounding this development. A revitalized façade means little if residents and businesses must navigate encampments, boarded-up storefronts, and a growing population left behind.

Historic Preservation Is Important—But Context Matters

The DIA’s Downtown Preservation and Revitalization Program has a noble mission: saving Jacksonville’s historic architecture while breathing new life into our downtown. But context matters. Investing $2.56 million into eight short-term rentals and a restaurant, while ignoring more inclusive housing needs, represents a skewed vision of “revitalization.” Preservation should be a tool for community benefit—not just developer profit.

Moreover, questions linger about what's next. In December, the Godwins purchased the adjacent Mags Café property for $1.4 million. Will they now seek another multi-million dollar public incentive for that site as well? Will it be more short-term rentals and another restaurant? If so, how much taxpayer money will we be asked to contribute, and at what point does the city begin demanding more in return—more housing affordability, more social impact, more fairness?

Accountability Is Not Anti-Development—It’s Smart Governance

To be clear, questioning the Juliette Balcony deal is not a stance against development or historic preservation. It’s a call for balance, accountability, and equity. The City Council's job is to ensure that public investments align with public good—not just private ambitions. Scrutinizing these deals ensures that taxpayer dollars go toward projects that benefit all residents, not just visitors or developers.

As downtown Jacksonville continues to grow and evolve, we must ensure that our revitalization strategy is inclusive, forward-thinking, and fiscally sustainable. Kudos to the Council members who are pushing for transparency and fairness in the use of public incentives. Their diligence sends a clear message: revitalization must serve the whole city—not just the top of a development pro forma.