What's in store for '24? Eight news developments taking shape in year to come

David Bauerlein, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
Updated ·7 min read
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Artist's renderings of proposed stadium upgrades were on display as Jacksonville Jaguars Team President Mark Lamping talked to the audience at his 14th Jaguars Town Hall session at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens on June 22.
Artist's renderings of proposed stadium upgrades were on display as Jacksonville Jaguars Team President Mark Lamping talked to the audience at his 14th Jaguars Town Hall session at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens on June 22.

The Chinese New Year will celebrate 2024 as the Year of the Dragon, but in Jacksonville, it's going to be the Year of the Jaguar.

Or at least, the year of what the city of Jacksonville is willing to pay for renovating EverBank Stadium so the Jaguars will keep playing in it for another generation.

Other anticipated news developments to watch in the coming year will unfold at City Hall, in courtrooms, in the Duval County School Board meeting room, at the airport, on the highway to the airport, and in the state Legislature. Here are eight stories to watch.

Goal for stadium talks is deal by spring

The negotiations for a renovated stadium and long-term lease with the Jaguars are shaping up as the biggest story to watch in 2024. The sheer financial scale of the endeavor would make it the single most expensive civic building in Jacksonville history.

Mayor Donna Deegan said she hopes the city and Jaguars owner Shad Khan can have a deal in place by the spring.

The Jaguars proposed to package the stadium renovations with development of property outside the stadium for a total cost of $2 billion with the city paying half of it and Jaguars owner Shad Khan responsible for the other half.

The cost for the stadium part of that would be between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion, the team said back in the summer when it unveiled a design for an overhauled structure with a shade covering, wider concourses and other upgrades.

Key question: What will the cost breakdown be between the city and the team for a deal that extends the current lease beyond the 2029 football season?

Trial of former JEA executives set for February

A trial date for former JEA executives Aaron Zahn and Ryan Wannemacher is coming up on Feb. 5, provided all the pre-trial motions are wrapped up by then so jury selection can begin almost two years after a grand jury indicted them in connection with the attempt to sell the city-owned utility.

Federal prosecutors have indicated they plan to call dozens of witnesses including former city and utility officials, bankers, lawyers, consultants and at least two employees with NextEra, the utility giant that bid $11 billion in an unsuccessful effort to acquire JEA in 2019.

Former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn with his wife and attorney leave Jacksonville's federal courthouse after his first appearance following his indictment in March 2022.
Former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn with his wife and attorney leave Jacksonville's federal courthouse after his first appearance following his indictment in March 2022.

Zahn and Wannemacher were indicted in March 2022 on conspiracy and wire fraud charges alleging they conspired to create a plan that would have paid out tens of millions of dollars to JEA employees in the event of a sale of the city-owned utility. Zahn, who was CEO, and Wannemacher, who was the utility's chief financial officer, both pleaded not guilty.

Key question: Will the incentive plan that sunk the JEA sales attempt after it became public also result in criminal convictions?

School board will try again to land a superintendent

Duval County’s School Board halted its search for a new superintendent in October as School Board Chair Kelly Coker said the district was "struggling with the applicant pool."

The board decide to push back the search until spring 2024 and agreed to keep Superintendent Dana Kriznar, in that post through June 30 with the expectation that next superintendent will be on board in June or July of 2024.

Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dana Kriznar, at left, and former superintendent Diana Greene take part in an event at Rutledge H. Pearson Elementary School, the first new school building built with the half-penny sales tax that Duval County voters approved in 2020.
Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dana Kriznar, at left, and former superintendent Diana Greene take part in an event at Rutledge H. Pearson Elementary School, the first new school building built with the half-penny sales tax that Duval County voters approved in 2020.

The school district fielded dozens of applications in 2018 when the board hired Diana Greene, but it only received 10 applications in 2023. Other large Florida school districts have faced challenges in recruiting superintendent candidates.

Key question: Will the school district try again in 2024 and be able to attract more qualified candidates the second time around?

State might reverse moving Confederate monuments

Mayor Donna Deegan ordered the Dec. 27 removal of statues from the Confederate monument in Springfield Park after years of community debate over whether such tributes should be in public spaces in Jacksonville.

The state Legislature still could try to reverse that decision and force reinstallation of those monuments and the Confederate monument that Lenny Curry took down from James Weldon Johnson Park in downtown when he was mayor.

The pedestal and commemorative plaque that held up the bronze statue of a woman reading to two children is strapped to the bed of a flatbed truck after being removed from the "Women of the Southland" monument Dec. 27 at Springfield Park in Jacksonville.
The pedestal and commemorative plaque that held up the bronze statue of a woman reading to two children is strapped to the bed of a flatbed truck after being removed from the "Women of the Southland" monument Dec. 27 at Springfield Park in Jacksonville.

State Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, would force local governments to cover the full cost of putting back any historical monuments removed since Jan. 1, 2017. State Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, would impose that requirement on historic monuments removed since Oct. 1, 2020.

Key question: Will Black and Martin get legislation approved this year after their monument bills in 2022 fell short in the Legislature?

Construction slated for airport concourse and parking garage

The Jacksonville Aviation Authority could start construction in the summer on a new concourse for more planes and a new 2,400 space parking garage for more cars at Jacksonville International Airport.

The parking garage would expand space for parking within walking distance of the airport's front entrance. It will be built on existing surface parking, so the aviation authority has been working on ways to offset that loss of surface parking during construction that would last for 12 to 18 months.

An artist's rendering shows the planned $300 million Concourse B expansion at Jacksonville International Airport. The six-gate concourse will have a similar modern design as the two existing concourses and feature an abundance of glass and natural light.
An artist's rendering shows the planned $300 million Concourse B expansion at Jacksonville International Airport. The six-gate concourse will have a similar modern design as the two existing concourses and feature an abundance of glass and natural light.

The new concourse still must go through an environmental assessment required by the Federal Aviation Authority. The timetable for completion of that study will affect when construction starts on the terminal.

Key question: When will groundbreaking be for the long-planned new terminal, and what new routes will it attract?

I-295 interchange in north Jacksonville nears completion

For most people flying out of Jacksonville, the road to the airport has taken them through a construction zone at Interstate 95 and Interstation 295 since 2016 when work started on a bigger interchange.

Archer Western won the $176.8 million project in 2016 and it's been hit with a series of delays. The latest target date for finishing the work is this April.

Key question: Will the state Department of Transportation push back the completion date?

Nixon versus Priestly Jackson heats up House contests

State Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, will face a challenge from former City Council member Brenda Priestly Jackson for a state House seat.

A year ago, Nixon considered running for the City Council district that Priestly Jackson represented. Priestly Jackson ended up not running for re-election after redistricting put her and fellow council member Ju'Coby Pittman in the same council district.

Now Priestly Jackson has filed for the state House seat represented by Nixon.

Florida Rep. Angie Nixon speaks Monday, Aug. 28, 2023 at James Weldon Johnson Park in downtown Jacksonville, Fla. In light of the recent shooting at the Dollar General, that left three African-American individuals dead, hundreds came out to rally against white supremacy.
Florida Rep. Angie Nixon speaks Monday, Aug. 28, 2023 at James Weldon Johnson Park in downtown Jacksonville, Fla. In light of the recent shooting at the Dollar General, that left three African-American individuals dead, hundreds came out to rally against white supremacy.

The race between those two well-known figures is shaping up as the marquee matchup of local contests for the state Legislature.

At the federal level, it will be a presidential election year and the race for Congress would get a big twist if the Florida Supreme Court were to strike down redistricting that created a congressional seat covering a large portion of Duval County plus all of Clay and Nassau counties. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, won that seat.

But groups challenging the redistricting say the map diminished the ability of Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice. Previous maps had districts that went from Jacksonville to Tallahassee since 2015 and from Jacksonville to Orlando before that. Those districts elected Black Democrats to Congress.

Key question: How will the Supreme Court rule and what will voter turnout be in 2024 election?

Jacksonville economy has momentum going into new year

The Jacksonville metropolitan area had the second-highest gain in jobs on a year-over-year basis for any of Florida's metropolitan areas from November 2022 to November 2023.

The Jacksonville area added 28,400 new private sector jobs over that time frame, second only the Miami metro area picking up 44,300 new private sector jobs. Education and health services created the biggest gains for the Jacksonville area, and it lead the state for growth in the number of construction jobs.

Key question: Can the Jacksonville area build on job growth that's tied to the national economy?

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Major news events in 2024 for Jacksonville area