Real Estate & Property Law

Future Expansion in Jacksonville

By Alan Ackerman

Biz Journal

JACKSONVILLE — The Jacksonville Port Authority is looking at alternative ways to acquire waterfront property for future expansion.

The authority is discussing with several property owners the possibility of entering a long-term lease or an owner-financing arrangement. Under the latter, which the authority prefers, the original landowner would hold the mortgage and the authority would own the property and make annual payments, said David Kaufman, the authority’s senior director of planning and properties.

Attempted land acquisitions recently have been marked with legal disputes and a game of musical chairs, as in the case of the authority originally wanting to place the Hanjin Shipping Company Ltd. on the 167 acres owned by Zion Jacksonville Limited Partnership. The authority later balked at using eminent domain and instead opted to have Hanjin’s terminal share Dames Point with the TraPac Terminal.

Kaufman said the authority is discussing alternative deal structures with the property’s owner, Abraham Zion.

It is amazing that there was once a 'need' to condemn private property for a user who chose not to buy, but rather acquire through a governmental agencies powers to acquire. Apparently the 'necessity' was not there. 

But for the Brigham Moore Firm properly defending the eminent domain action by obtaining just compensation, the owner would have been deprived of basic constitutional rights.   

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on December 18, 2008 (boomark / email).