A proposal to buy a small parcel of land in the Brentwood area to stop a liquor store from opening across from a charter school could come before the Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday night.

Several committees voted last week in favor of the purchase, a step toward using the property as either a community center or some other public purpose.

In a 5-1 vote, the Neighborhoods Committee voted to move forward with the potential $1.8 million purchase of the property at 865 Golfair Blvd., across the street from KIPP VOICE Academy.

Councilwoman Tyrona Clark-Murray voted against the purchase, saying, in advance of the vote, that she felt that paying far more than the earlier purchase price was “shameful” and set a bad precedent.

Neighbors have complained about the proposed liquor store for months. Daryl Joseph, director of Jacksonville Parks, Recreation and Social Service, said no definitive plans are set for the site, but the goal is for the building to be used to benefit the community, no matter the use.

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“Right now the building is a blank canvas,” Joseph said. “I don’t want to stand here before you and tell you that we’re going to do X. … No, there needs to be some research done based on the community needs.”

Among the potential uses are addressing the food desert in Northwest Jacksonville, as well as a “workforce component.”

“There’s hundreds of things that we could do with this facility, other than just a traditional community center use,” Joseph told representatives. 

He also said the existing building would be used, rather than building new.

“We probably couldn’t build that facility for less than $1.5 million, or at least close to where (the appraisal) is,” Joseph said. “So we (would) be spending about that same amount from a construction standpoint.”

Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman, who represents the area, said whatever is decided will enhance the community.

“Can we make everybody happy? No,” Pittman said. “But I think we can meet each other halfway and see what we can make in terms of a facility for that community.”

Council President Ron Salem asked Joseph to clarify restrictions on the property, and Joseph assured council members that once the city owns the land, it would have to follow rules for parks and the property could not be resold without compensation or replacement.

Clark-Murray told her colleagues that she served on the Northwest Citizen Planning Advisory Committee for the area back in 2020 when a former Planning Commission approved the store. The Planning Commission approved business four months before KIPP received bond financing approval to build the school.

“COVID or no COVID, we were committed to representing the community because nowhere in this city should there be a liquor store within a certain feet of an elementary school,” Clark-Murray said. “We pleaded our case, but the Planning Commission at that particular time disregarded our pleas and so now we’re going to … pay $1.8 million for property that a gentleman paid less than $150,000 for. That is shameful, and I think it is setting a dangerous precedent.”

She said the issue speaks to what damage can be done if board members “are not diligent about their job and if they don’t understand the communities that they serve.” 

Neighborhoods Chair Michael Boylan said the makeup of the Planning Commission has changed to be more responsive to citizen needs. But he said the liquor store issue remains one that needs to be corrected. An independent appraisal listing the market value for the land and building at $1.8 million made sense to pay, given the cost of construction, he said.

“I think the investment we are making is appropriate based upon the assessed value of the property,” Boylan said. 

City Council is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 117  W. Duval St.