JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The City of Jacksonville and new owners of the Laura Street Trio have reached a draft agreement expected to be signed by Thursday at the latest.
Action News Jax reported last week that the sale of the cluster of historic buildings hinged on a $800,000 lawsuit.
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“We’re going to make a very strong run at making this thing work,” Mike Weinstein, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s chief of staff, told council finance committee members Tuesday. “We’ve spent many, many years at it. But I think it’s a totally fresh start and we will see where it goes.”
Council members previously pushed for the lawsuit to be dropped to help the sale go through.
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The city said while it won’t drop it, they have agreed to freeze the suit for up to four years. The draft agreement gives the new owner, Live Oak Contracting, up to 48 months to fix the code violations that have racked up against the buildings for years under SouthEast Group.
Deegan, the city’s General Counsel, and Weinstein met with Live Oak and its attorney for an hour Monday and came to an agreement.
It requires the purchase to be done by the end of the year, a concrete deadline for a term sheet, and a start date for construction.
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