Duval Schools committee narrows relocation bids down to 9 companies including JTA, Florida Blue

Major Jacksonville employers, prominent developers and one city government agency competing to purchase the Duval County Public Schools' riverfront headquarters or help the school district relocate to a new space have made it past an initial scoring committee and await the School Board's blessing, a decision nearly two decades in the making.

A memo put together last month by the school district's purchasing department made recommendations for the district to launch relocation negotiations with groups including Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Miami-based Related Development LLC and others.

Bidders can have different intentions, including to sell, buy, trade, lease or develop space with Duval Schools. For now, this process is part of a cone of silence, meaning details released to the public are scarce.

In 2020, after years of discussion, the School Board unanimously voted to launch the relocation process, an effort downtown advocates hope will result in a more vibrant use of the Southbank waterfront. Selling the building has been mentioned in passing at School Board meetings for years without official action. School Board Member Lori Hershey said recent Southbank development inspired her to put something official on the books.

Down from 16 bidders: Florida Blue, CSX among 16 bidders interested in helping Duval Schools with relocation, including from its riverfront headquarters

Background: Duval School Board votes to consider selling riverfront property

Bidders were invited to submit proposals toward purchasing the district's 1701 Prudential Drive headquarters as-is, purchasing surplus properties as-is or being a part of the school district's relocation — such as by selling or leasing office space to the district.

Public records show at least 40 groups looked over the school district's plans and a total of 16 bids were made. Until now, bids were not distinguished between groups interested in purchasing property from versus selling property to the school district.

According to the Purchasing Department's memo, the search committee — which was composed of six school district employees — ranked bids within three categories: selling its Prudential Drive headquarters, obtaining a new headquarters property and selling its surplus warehouse property located at 11231 Phillips Industrial Blvd.

Duval Schools received 16 bids in total

In total, Duval Schools received 16 bids toward its relocation efforts.

Of those, some included companies that bid for more than one aspect. For example, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority expressed interest in purchasing Duval Schools' current headquarters and in relocating the school district's hub. The Times-Union requested related documents from JTA, but the request has not been fulfilled as of publication time. A JTA spokesman said he could not comment on the agency's bids, citing privacy laws.

Because school officials are using a process known as an "invitation to negotiate," the exact details of the bids and the negotiations will be secret until the board chooses a group to finalize a deal with.

"Due to confidentiality at this stage of the process, we cannot say anything about what was specifically proposed at this time," Duval Schools spokesman Tracy Pierce said.

The evaluation committee recommended JTA move on to the negotiation phase in both instances. The JTA board voted unanimously in February to submit a bid but did not provide details about its offers, according to the Daily Record.

Other notable bidders included the Jacksonville-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida health care company and CSX Transportation, though the latter did not move forward in committee recommendations.

The memo reveals the committee's top picks for each of the three categories.

Here's how the evaluation committee ranked bids:

Companies bidding to purchase the Phillips Highway warehouse

1. East Group Property - recommended for negotiation phase

2. Merritt Acquisitions LLC - recommended for negotiation phase

3. The Easton Group - not recommended  

4. The Southside Industrial Development Group - not recommended 

Companies bidding to purchase the Duval Schools Headquarters

1. Related Development LLC - recommended for negotiation phase

2. Jacksonville Transportation Authority - recommended for negotiation phase

3. PSF 1 Jax Metro LLC - recommended for negotiation phase

4. Silver Hills and The Edwards Companies - not recommended 

Companies bidding to relocate Duval Schools headquarters

1. Blue Cross and Blue Shield - recommended for negotiation phase

2. PSF 1 Jax Metro, LLC - recommended for negotiation phase

3. Vanderbilt Office Properties & SREIT - recommended for negotiation phase

4. Suddath Van Lines Inc. - recommended for negotiation phase

5. Amkin West Bay, LLC - recommended for negotiation phase

6. Jacksonville Transportation Authority - recommended for negotiation phase

7. CSX Transportation, Inc. - not recommended 

8. Midtowne Centre Office, LLC - not recommended 

9. Ryan Companies US Inc. - not recommended 

10. Spectrum Properties LTD - not recommended 

What's next

Now that the evaluation committee has decided who should move on to the negotiation phase, the School Board needs to approve the committee's shortlist, said Terrence Wright, the school district's purchasing services director.

The board is expected to vote on the shortlist Tuesday. The board can also make recommendations or vote to cancel or postpone the negotiations.

After receiving the School Board's approval, the school district's negotiation team — which is different from the evaluation committee and has not yet been appointed — will devise a "negotiation strategy," Wright said. That team will consist of local education leaders. There's no set timeline for the process beyo Tuesday's board meeting.

Scores awarded by the evaluation committee won't carry over to the negotiation phase. Negotiations could include multiple rounds, Wright cautioned.

"The focus of the negotiations will be on achieving the solution that provides the best value to DCPS," a memo presented to the School Board said.

Ultimately, district leaders say the school district's goal is to operate more efficiently in a space that can accommodate about 620 employees. They're aiming to downsize by about 21,000 square feet and are willing to spend up to $60 million over a 20-year period on its potential new home. The district's nearly 5-acre Southbank space has been considered lucrative for years, appraised for a value of about $13 million in 2019.

Emily Bloch is a youth culture and education reporter for The Florida Times-Union. Follow her on Twitter or email her. Sign up for her newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Duval Schools relocation: 9 companies' bids selected to move forward