NEWS

NEWS

March 23, 2018

Developer of solar-powered town selected to lead The District development

By: Vicki Parsons - IT

By Allison Colburn  – Reporter – Real Estate & Economic Development, Jacksonville Business Journal

Mar 22, 2018, 4:48pm

The development company behind the nation’s first solar-powered town, Kitson & Partners, has been hired to execute the development plan for The District.

Elements of Jacksonville LLC, lead by Peter Rummell and Michael Munz, announced the decision Thursday. They did not disclose terms of the deal.

For the past several years, Palm Beach Gardens-based Kitson has been developing Babcock Ranch, an eco-friendly city near Fort Myers. The city will operate entirely off of solar-powered energy. Along with a solar field, the town will have solar panels integrated throughout the community on rooftops and standalone structures.

Munz and Rummell are aiming to bring Kitson’s innovative values to the massive health- and wellness-focused development on the Southbank.

“The District is unlike any other project we have seen, which is exactly what drew our interest from the first time Peter and Michael discussed it with us,” Tom Hoban, president and CIO of Kitson, said in a release. “We see a lot of cross-over between our work at Babcock Ranch and the unique aspects of The District and we are honored to be a part of it.”

Kitson will oversee all work conducted on the site. The company’s portfolio includes 21,500 residential units, 6.8 million square feet of commercial space and 1.5 million square feet of retail center space

Negotiations on the development agreement are still in the works and have to be approved by the Downtown Investment Authority and City Council. The planned closing date is scheduled for July, with horizontal development expected to begin shortly after.

More than 200,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of office space, 1,170 residential units, a four-acre park, a marina and a hotel are planned for The District.