According to our news partner Jax Today<\/a>, Corner Lot Development Group and Aspect Holdings LLC want to sign the school as an anchor tenant for 25,000 square feet of office space in its $160.5 million hotel and convention hall proposal at 330 E. Bay St. on the Downtown riverfront. <\/p>\nWhat the vote does \u2014 and doesn\u2019t \u2014 do<\/p>\n
Aundra Wallace, president of Jacksonville-based development firm JAXUSA, addressed the council before the vote to clarify what the legislation actually authorizes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not \u2014 this legislation [is] authorizing any funds to be expended at this respective point in time,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cYou still have to go through the Downtown Investment Authority\u2019s disposition process, term sheet negotiation, as well as a redevelopment agreement that has to come back to you for final vote.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wallace acknowledged the process was unconventional, noting that funds are being set aside before a term sheet or redevelopment agreement has been finalized \u2014 the reverse of the typical order. He said the timeline was necessary to meet the Culinary Institute\u2019s board\u2019s schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you take this step this evening, this gives us, the Downtown Investment Authority and others, the opportunity to continue to negotiate with the Culinary Institute of America,\u201d Wallace said.<\/p>\n
Culinary Institute touts San Antonio success as Jacksonville blueprint<\/p>\n
Robert Jones, vice president of strategic partnerships for the Culinary Institute of America, addressed the council and pointed to the Culinary Institute\u2019s San Antonio campus as the model for what Jacksonville could become.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat began in 1946 as a bold mission by two visionary women to train returning GIs from World War II has today grown into a global institution shaping the future of food,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
Jones said the Culinary Institute currently operates campuses in New York, California, Singapore and Texas, and highlighted the economic transformation San Antonio experienced after the Culinary Institute\u2019s arrival there just over a decade ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, just over a decade after opening the campus in San Antonio, it is a UNESCO creative city of gastronomy, has three Michelin stars, and dozens of James Beard Foundation recognized chefs that are CIA alumni,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
He added that the hospitality industry in San Antonio has grown to more than $21.5 billion annually, fueled in part by food tourism tied to CIA programs.<\/p>\n
Jones also highlighted the Culinary Institute\u2019s work with military veterans \u2014 a point of particular relevance for Jacksonville, home to one of the largest military populations in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough our ProChef certification program, service members and veterans receive industry-recognized certification to create a more seamless pathway into civilian life after they leave the service,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThe same can be true for Jacksonville in the months and years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Council President Carrico noted the bill was fast-tracked to the floor to meet the CIA\u2019s board meeting timeline and thanked fellow council members for their alignment on the issue.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 The Jacksonville City Council voted 16-2 on Tuesday to approve an emergency ordinance that endorsed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[121088,116,118,117],"class_list":["post-285384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-culinary-institute","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}