Duval Schools will continued to be headquartered on the Southbank following the School Board's rejection of a sale and purchase of a Southside location. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on October 7, 2025 at 11:48 pm
Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Sign up for the Jacksonville Today newsletter.
The Duval County School Board on Tuesday unanimously rejected a retirement community developer’s offer to buy the school district’s Southbank headquarters for $20 million.
The board passed on selling the Prudential Drive property to Fleet Landing and, in another 0-7 vote, opted not to purchase a building in the Prominence office park near Baymeadows.
Board members’ reasoning for the no votes varied.
Cindy Pearson and Darryl Willie had concerns with both deals. For Reggie Blount, Melody Bolduc, April Carney and Charlotte Joyce, the proposed deal for selling the district’s current HQ was a no-go. Tony Ricardo did not give a reason for his votes.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Several members said they were disappointed they had not been given the opportunity to review all of the purchase offers the district received, and some questioned the transparency of the sale process.
Duval Schools received offers from 10 companies to purchase its riverfront property, and through a process of negotiations between each company and its real estate consultant, Trinity Commercial Group, the pool of offers was narrowed to three. Superintendent Chris Bernier then presented his selected offer to the board.
“All three offers were never presented to the board. I would have liked to have seen all three offers before I was presented with one,” Carney said.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
It became clear during the meeting that since Jacksonville Today reported the details of the offers, the district had received at least one additional offer: Chase Properties, whose highest offer had been $15 million, submitted an updated offer of $17.2 million. The specifics weren’t immediately available.
“If people really want to give a high bid, they could have given it at the beginning,” Willie said.
As the board then discussed the prospect of selecting the newest offer, Pearson voiced concern that to even discuss it wasn’t prudent. Bernier said that the bids had been received through an orderly process and were unsealed intentionally, but TCG’s previous descriptions of the process indicate a slightly different process.
All or nothing
Weeks ago, Bernier asked the board to consider the two real estate deals together. A last-minute adjustment to the agenda Tuesday afternoon let the board vote first on the sale and then on the acquisition instead of voting on the purchase first as originally planned.
Going into the meeting, more board members had previously expressed potential misgivings about the sale than about the purchase. The proposed contracts would have seen the district close on the purchase of the new building by the end of this year and close on the sale toward the end of next year.
Pearson said the deals left her feeling “pretty exposed” over the possibility that Duval Schools could end up owning two headquarters buildings if the sale of the Prudential Drive building were to fall through.
“To me, this feels risky, and it’s more risk than I am willing to vote on with taxpayer money,” she said, urging the board to “operate from a position of strength” and hold on to the HQ until a better offer arises.
Willie, who has long been opposed to moving the district’s offices outside the city’s center, seemed surprised to hear his colleagues lean toward voting down the sale to Fleet Landing.
“Well, this is interesting,” he quipped.
“We appreciate the thoughtful input that shaped this outcome,” Bernier said in a written statement following the vote. “We will continue to provide updates through our channels as we explore alternative relocation options.”
Josh Ashby, CEO of the retirement development Fleet Landing, whose offer was rejected, told Jacksonville Today in a text message after the vote: “Fleet Landing’s proposal represented the highest value to the District and was deemed the most likely to close. Should the Board choose to sell the property, we would welcome the opportunity to continue working collaboratively toward a plan that advances the District’s goals and contributes to the vitality of Jacksonville’s riverfront.”
