Photo: Regional Conservation Partnership Program
Photo: UF Health
Photo: Illustration: Cooper Carry
Photo: Wolfson Children’s Hospital
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Northeast Florida Roundup
Conservation Boost
SPOTLIGHT
The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded the Gainesville-based Alachua Conservation Trust $25 million for its Lake to Lagoon conservation program in Flagler, Lake and Volusia counties. The award will help support the use of research-based management practices and advance land protection in the region.
The non-profit Alachua Conservation Trust aims to protect natural and recreational resources in and near North Central Florida. For the Lake to Lagoon program, it is working in collaboration with Volusia County and Stetson University.
The Lake to Lagoon region includes interior lakes and rivers as well as the Mosquito and Indian River lagoons along the Atlantic coast. The region is home to about 1 million people.
The funding will support a new land management program with the use of private lands and help to speed up conservation and agricultural easements, according to Heather A. Obara, associate director of the Alachua Conservation Trust. The funds also will be used to expand outreach and education programs about Lake to Lagoon conservation.
The award is one of 81 funded projects from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, totaling $1.1 billion in awards around the U.S. It is part of the Natural Resources Conservation Service Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
REAL ESTATE
- David Nunes will retire at the end of March from his role as CEO and member of the board of Rayonier, a Jacksonville-based timber and real estate company. President and CFO Mark McHugh will become CEO and join the company’s board when Nunes retires. Nunes joined Rayonier in 2014 as COO and became CEO shortly thereafter.
HIGHER EDUCATION
- The Jacksonville University College of Law is slated to move to a permanent space in downtown Jacksonville by summer. The school has signed a long-term lease on more than 50,000 square feet within four floors of the former Atlantic Bank Building. Classes will continue at the VyStar Tower until the space is ready. JU’s law program had its inaugural class in fall 2022.
LOGISTICS
- Suddath Global Logistics, the supply chain management division of the Suddath Cos., has rebranded as NXTPoint Logistics.
WEALTH MANAGEMENT
- Mercer Global Advisors of Denver has acquired Paragon Wealth Strategies of Jacksonville. Founded by Jonathan Castle and Michelle Ash, Paragon has served more than 400 clients with $495 million in assets under management.
LAYOFFS
- Tyson Foods has closed its Jacksonville meat-processing plant, eliminating 219 jobs. It’s one of eight plants the company is closing around the U.S.
- Clothing retailer Venus Fashion will lay off 129 workers at its Jacksonville headquarters early this year. The layoffs will include various directors and senior managers as well as other employees.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
- The United Way of Northeast Florida is donating $10 million to help provide more affordable housing to Jacksonville residents. The at the museum that will include an amphitheater and multiuse space.
- Mayo Clinic is contributing $5 million to the I.M. Sulzbacher Center, which supports adults and children who are homeless and others who need health care. Mayo Clinic will be the designated health care partner in the $46 million, 17-acre Sulzbacher Enterprise Village project, which will provide housing, health care, job training and education services. Enterprise Village is expected to be completed by 2026.
BANKING
- Jacksonville investors led by Scott Verlander, former senior vice president of retail and affiliate banking of Jacksonville’s Ever- Bank, have acquired a controlling position in the Claxton Bank, a $158-million community bank in Georgia. Verlander is now the bank’s CEO. Verlander told local news sources that they will look to eventually expand the bank into Jacksonville.
