The CEO of Chase Properties is still looking to purchase the DCPS headquarters on Prudential Drive.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The prospective buyer behind the initial sale of the Duval County Public Schools headquarters wants to try buying it again, but this time, he will only move forward if a special development district is removed from the property.

The school board originally approved the sale of the headquarters in November 2025 to Chase Properties. In February, the developer pulled out of the deal after learning part of the DCPS property falls under a Community Development District. CEO of Chase Properties Michael Balanky said they were not made aware of the CDD at the time of the sale agreement.

“I think it was just an oversight. It’s a left-hand, right hand, they’ve got staff, and then they got consultants. I’m sure the staff thought the consultant was turning everything over. The consultant probably thought the attorneys were turning everything over, and it just never got to us,” Balanky explained.

Balanky has been part of Jacksonville’s Southbank for decades and was one of the original developers of RiversEdge.

“I basically grew up on the Southbank and then 35 years later, we bought this property and built the highrise where I live. My dad lives here as well,” Balanky said.

He wants to continue developing the waterfront by building a mixed-use space with luxury condos on the site of the DCPS headquarters.

“We want to build on the school board site, kind of a ‘Residence at the Ritz’ type concept, not necessarily would it be a Ritz, but something of that caliber. We want it to be a real high luxury condominium, mixed-use facility, with some hotel components which Jacksonville sorely needs more hotel rooms, and some retail, some great restaurants. I just think it’s gonna be dynamic,” Balanky said.

Balanky’s dreams are not dead, despite pulling out of the initial sale agreement with DCPS. He still wants to buy the district headquarters on Prudential Dr. as long as he does not have to pay the Community Development District. 

The problem stems from the parking lot next to the headquarters building which is used for employees. It falls under a Community Development District which was created by the owners of Riversedge, the land along the Southbank next to DCPS. It is owned by Preston Hollow Capital.

Balanky said it could cost anywhere from $6 million to $18 million on top of the $17.2 million he would be spending to buy the headquarters property.

“There’s a metric involved and there’s a price per unit for condominiums. There’s a price per unit for apartments, price per unit for hotels, price per foot for retail. So it depends on how much you build. So if you build 100 units, it’s going to be one price. If you build 300 units, it’s going to be three times that price.,” Balanky explained.

Balanky told First Coast News he is willing to work with DCPS and Preston Hollow to come up with a solution. He either wants to buy the DCPS property without the parcel of land that includes the employee parking lot, or he wants the CDD to be removed.

“If they decide not to, we’re happy to just buy the building parcel where the building is, which is not encumbered by the CDD, and we would move on with instead of doing a two tower project like we had proposed, we would do a one tower project there,” Balanky said.

First Coast News asked DCPS if the district would be willing to sell the parcel that does not include the parking lot with the CDD and a spokesperson is working on a statement. In the meantime, DCPS confirmed they have received bids for the property and they are not able to share specific details about those bids right now.

First Coast News also reached out to Preston Hollow Capital. A spokesperson said they are speaking with DCPS to come up with a solution.