DCPS loses $250K after headquarters purchase agreement falls through

The district cancelled its purchase of a Baymeadows property after its headquarters sale fell through, causing it to lose the deposit.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The cancelled purchase of a new Duval County Public Schools headquarters on Jacksonville’s Southside has cost the district a quarter of a million dollars.

A DCPS spokesperson confirmed that, as part of the purchase agreement, the district had to pay a $250,000 deposit. The agreement was terminated after the inspection period ended, meaning that the deposit was no longer refundable.

The district had been planning to move to the new location on Prominence Parkway, off of Baymeadows Road, but cancelled the purchase after the sale of its current Southbank headquarters fell through.

Chase Properties was planning to spend around $17.2 million for the Southbank property in a deal that was approved by the school board in November 2025. Chase Properties CEO Michael Balanky announced he was backing out of the deal after learning that part of the property is part of a ‘Community Development District’ or CDD, for the nearby RiversEdge development.

Jacksonville City Councilman Joe Carlucci, who represents the Southbank, says the CDD creates hurdles for anyone wanting to buy the property.

“When someone buys it, they cannot just build whatever they want. And if they do build what is agreed upon by RiversEdge, it’s still going to carry a certain level of CDD fees,” Carlucci previously told First Coast News.

Carlucci and Balanky have expressed a desire to move forward with the deal somehow, with the possibility of removing the affected parcel from the CDD.