Renovations to Everbank Stadium and public investment in the Jacksonville Museum of Science & History\u2019s new home top the list of the most expensive projects in the mayor\u2019s proposed $586.11 million Capital Improvement Plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mayor Donna Deegan\u2019s annual infrastructure spending proposal would appropriate $220 million next year of the city\u2019s $775 million portion of its $1.55 billion split with the Jacksonville Jaguars to renovate the city-owned football stadium.<\/p>\n
The capital plan, unveiled alongside Deegan\u2019s $2.026 billion general fund budget Monday, breaks down what the mayor called a budget \u201cheavy on infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The $27 million for the MOSH\u2019s move to a new Downtown Northbank facility would be the city\u2019s final installment of a $50 million pledge to help the organization with the design and relocation work. The museum\u2019s total cost<\/a> is expected to be at least $131 million.<\/p>\n UF Health Jacksonville would get $24 million in the plan for capital improvements, an annual contribution council approved years ago totaling $284 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s also $25 million to continue construction of the city park at Riverfront Plaza Downtown.<\/p>\n The mayor also highlighted $6.179 million for sidewalk repairs, $5.75 million for new sidewalks and $8.85 million for the city\u2019s solid waste projects.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s infrastructure plan comes in at $98 million less<\/a> than the plan approved by City Council last year.<\/p>\n In a news conference Monday after her budget address to City Council, Deegan said her administration has spent the last two years removing projects with no funding plan from the list to reduce the amount of debt the city would need to complete them.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of the 132 projects on Deegan\u2019s proposed list, including the stadium renovation, $437.54 million is funded by debt financing. It\u2019s typical for cities to fund major infrastructure projects through debt.\u00a0<\/p>\n Documents in the capital plan show the remaining $130.56 million is funded by fuel and bed tax, grants and cash on hand.<\/p>\n \u201cIt simply means that there\u2019s no reason to put those projects on the books until we\u2019re ready to do them,\u201d Deegan said.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery budget is a choice. It\u2019s also a statement of our values. So we had to balance what money we have this year versus what do we really have to fund,\u201d she said. \u201cYou see it\u2019s a very infrastructure heavy budget. And the reason for that is it\u2019s a top priority for us. I personally believe, if you take care of public infrastructure, everything else follows.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Deegan, a Democrat, is facing a Republican-majority City Council that wants to see non-public safety spending shrink this year, to prepare for the possibility of big money losses if Florida voters approve a property tax cut referendum<\/a> in November.<\/p>\n For council Finance Committee Chair Will Lahnen, the magic number is $832 million. That\u2019s where non-public safety spending was in this year\u2019s city budget. He told Jacksonville Today he\u2019d like the final general fund budget to come in at or under that amount.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for the capital improvement plan, he said some projects have increased in cost, and that\u2019s what he\u2019ll be focused on during the Finance Committee\u2019s budget hearings in August.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a fairly lengthy list of projects noted as having cost increases,\u201d Lahnen said. \u201cWe\u2019ll be getting more information about those. Particularly on some of those projects that were approved in prior years, but not all of them have started. So if there has been a big cost increase to a project that hasn\u2019t started yet, I think we need to redebate that.\u201d<\/p>\n Project price tags<\/p>\n Here are 10 of the most expensive projects in Deegan\u2019s capital budget proposal:<\/p>\n Roadway resurfacing: $31.13 million<\/p>\n Deegan\u2019s proposed budget would increase spending on countywide road resurfacing to $31.13 million, up from $13.2 million in this year\u2019s plan. In her speech Monday, the mayor claimed the city has paved more miles of roadway in the last three years than in any other three-year stretch in the last decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n Septic tank removal: $25 million<\/p>\n Work began in March to replace and remove more than 300 septic tanks in the Christobel neighborhood<\/a>. But JEA and the city have been slowly working to replace aging septic tanks in Jacksonville\u2019s historically underserved neighborhoods for years and get residents connected to the public wastewater system. In the early 2020s, city leaders called compromised septic tanks a $2 billion problem. Deegan\u2019s proposed capital plan increases funding by $9 million over this year\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n Chaffee Road: $15 million\u00a0<\/p>\n The city has been working on the $82.63 million street and traffic control improvements of Chaffee Road from Normandy Boulevard to Crystal Springs Road for several years. The corridor has seen rapid residential and commercial development in recent years. A budget breakdown in the capital plan shows 2026-27 is the final year of financing for the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n Old Middleburg\u00a0103rd \u2013 Branan Field: $15 million\u00a0<\/p>\n This will be the third year city officials have put money toward plans to expand the road to four lanes with a closed drainage system, new curbs and gutters, bike lanes and sidewalks. Budget documents say the $124 million project is needed to improve bicycle, pedestrian and vehicle safety.<\/p>\n Oceanway Center and Brentwood branch libraries: $15 million<\/p>\n The city plans to build a 30,000-square-foot library at 12210 New Berlin Road in the Oceanway Neighborhood and completely replace the existing library at 3750 Springfield Blvd. in Brentwood. This year, the city would spend $8 million on the Oceanway library and $7 million on the Brentwood branch. The total project costs are $26.85 million and $15.188 million, respectively. The city has not given a definitive date to complete the Brentwood project. But budget documents say the Oceanway Center is scheduled for completion this year.<\/p>\n JSO warehouse consolidation: $10 million\u00a0<\/p>\n The Sheriff\u2019s Office has asked the Deegan administration and council to approve spending for the project that would consolidate several evidence and equipment warehouses and possibly some JSO offices, into a single facility at 1357 W. Beaver St. If approved, the project would be completed in 2027.<\/p>\n Acree Road bridge replacement: $9.75 million<\/p>\n This money would replace three timber bridges on Acree Road that the Florida Department of Transportation has deemed structurally deficient, according to the budget. \u201cEmergency maintenance and bridge closures in the past few years have shown these bridges to be near the end of their useful life,\u201d budget documents say. The project was originally scheduled to be completed two years ago.<\/p>\n Northbank Riverwalk bulkhead replacement: $9 million<\/p>\n These dollars are part of a $74.64 million, multiyear replacement of the St. Johns River bulkhead system on the Downtown Northbank. The work is also scheduled to get another $9 million in 2027-28 to finish the project.<\/p>\n Emerald Trail \u2013 Hogan\u2019s Creek to Riverwalk: $8 million<\/p>\n This segment of the larger $279 million, 30-mile multiuse Emerald Trail project connecting the city\u2019s urban neighborhoods to Downtown would extend the Hogan\u2019s Creek Greenway along the creek corridor to the south of Duval Street. There, plans show it will create a loop connection on the east side of Downtown with the Northbank Riverwalk and EverBank Stadium, VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Last year, the Trump administration pulled<\/a> the largest grant ever awarded to Jacksonville that earmarked $147 million from the federal government to help complete the Emerald Trail.<\/p>\n If council approves this line item, budget documents show the $30 million segment is still scheduled to receive $8 million over the next two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Equestrian Center \u2013 Mounted Unit Facility: $8 million<\/p>\n JSO\u2019s mounted horse unit is currently located Downtown. The Sheriff\u2019s Office has told the Deegan administration that relocation to the Equestrian Center on the Westside will be healthier for the horses and allow for future growth. The $11.25 million project was originally estimated to be completed in 2025.<\/p>\n