Three months after Live Oak Contracting President Paul Bertozzi announced a tentative deal to purchase Downtown Jacksonville’s long-neglected Laura Street Trio, the agreement remains unclosed—and now, the city is taking action. With negotiations faltering, the city has resumed a foreclosure lawsuit against current owner SouthEast Development Group, citing more than $827,500 in unpaid fines for years of building code violations.

These buildings—once iconic landmarks in the heart of Jacksonville—have languished under the ownership of developer Steve Atkins, whose track record includes not only prolonged noncompliance with city codes, but repeated failures to meet terms of financial agreements with the Downtown Investment Authority (DIA). Despite years of promises, timelines, and rising public investment, meaningful progress has yet to be made.

SouthEast Development has long leaned on increasingly larger public incentives to keep the project afloat. What began as a $5.8 million ask ballooned to $87.2 million—nearly 46% of the project's estimated $191.2 million cost. Throughout that time, city leaders have grown increasingly skeptical of the developer’s financial solvency. Those concerns have proven valid: in addition to owing the city over $827,500 in fines, SouthEast also owes Dasher Hurst Architects P.A. a staggering $474,149.45 acccording to the Jax Daily Record for over a decade’s worth of work.

The Downtown Investment Authority’s approach to development incentives must be called into question. Agreements should not be structured in ways that allow developers to rack up nearly a million dollars in unpaid fines with little to no accountability. This failure of oversight, which predates Mayor Donna Deegan’s administration, should have been reconciled long ago.

Public safety is also at stake. The condition of the Trio raises alarms—not just about historical preservation, but about whether the structures themselves pose a danger to the public. This week, a building in the Phoenix Arts & Innovation District collapsed into Main Street, underscoring the risks posed by decaying properties across Downtown Jacksonville. Why hasn’t the city taken stronger action against owners of derelict properties? How many more collapses are we waiting for before public safety becomes a true priority?

As Jacksonville tries to revitalize its urban core, the city must ask hard questions: Should developers who repeatedly disregard safety, financial commitments, and timelines continue to be trusted with multimillion-dollar public incentives? Are we holding them accountable—or enabling chronic dysfunction at taxpayer expense?

The time has come for the city to re-evaluate its development strategy. Jacksonville deserves partners with both the financial backing and the integrity to follow through. The Laura Street Trio—and Downtown—deserve better.