JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Downtown Investment Authority voted 6-2 Wednesday to stop supporting EverBank retention grants intended to help keep the bank’s headquarters downtown.
In the hour-long discussion, the DIA and EverBank representatives presented points on why the DIA should support EverBank’s request to obtain nearly $10 million in taxpayer funding. The board ultimately voted against the grant.
A few board members suggested the money be best spent towards downtown’s economic development projects and attracting other major businesses to downtown Jacksonville.
The Jacksonville Daily Record reported that city and bank officials presented the proposal at the Feb. 9 meeting of the City Council Special Committee on the Future of Downtown, where it prompted discussion about the effect that losing EverBank and its 800 employees in the EverBank Center at 301 W. Bay St. would have on Downtown revitalization.
“There’s a healthy discussion as to whether or not you know we can afford the incentives to keep everybody down here I’m really confident and hopeful that they will stay whether they get the incentive or not, we want to keep them downtown and we’re hopeful that they will stay. We don’t want to see vacancy increase. We also want to be good stewards of public funding and make sure that those dollars that are used for incentives are going to have a return on investment for the city and for the taxpayers,” Collin Tarbert, the CEO of DIA, said.
The issue arises amid planned moves out of Downtown by Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the Duval County School District and Regency Centers. In the third quarter of 2025, Jacksonville industry market reports show Downtown vacancy rates of 28.1% to 28.8%.
Saying Downtown is at a “critical moment” with several public and private projects coming online, Downtown Investment Authority CEO Colin Tarbert said he worried that having another large employer uproot to the suburbs would hurt the momentum.
“It’s absolutely a step in the wrong direction, and I’m just not sure how far it will move us back,” he said.
Committee members and city officials said they were concerned that the incentives would set a precedent that would prompt other employers to seek city assistance to stay Downtown.
“I just worry that other people are going to come asking for the same thing,” member Raul Arias said.
“If I was in an office space Downtown … I’d say, ‘Hey I’m going to relocate too. What can you offer me?’Member Matt Carlucci said he could accept the incentive but requested a review at five years to determine whether it was still necessary. By then, he said, he believed Downtown redevelopment will have reached a point at which it will attract and retain employers without public assistance.
“This city has got really great momentum going, and we don’t want this hiccup to trip us up,” he said.
EverBank officials said they are committed to keeping its corporate headquarters downtown.
The final discussion is heading to city council where members will make a final vote on whether to move forward on providing EverBank downtown incentives. The next meeting is Feb. 24, at 5 p.m.