A five-year-old redevelopment on the Arlington Expressway is back in front of Jacksonville City Council tonight, this time for more money than it asked for the first time. On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, council is scheduled to vote on legislation that would award a $1.5 million Recapture Enhanced Value grant, a property-tax refund known as a REV grant, to the owner of the former FBI field office that reopened in January as Interra Apartments, per a Jacksonville Today report published September 21. The bill started at $1 million; council member Ken Amaro, who represents Arlington, won committee support last week to add $500,000.
The reason for the increase, per Jacksonville Today, is cost. The conversion that began in 2021 ran nearly $13 million over budget because of rising construction prices, and the city's first incentive agreement for the project expired before the building was finished. What council is voting on tonight is the second attempt to get city money behind a project that is already built, in the hope that it pulls the two vacant buildings next to it along.
What is on the agenda tonight
The legislation would award a REV grant to the project's ownership. Jacksonville Today identifies the recipient as 8000-1 LLC and the address as 8000 Arlington Expressway; the Jacksonville Daily Record's September 15 summary identifies the bill as Ordinance 2026-0588 and the recipient as Theotokos Holdings LLC at 7820 Arlington Expressway, for a portion of a three-building property. We carry both, and note that Jacksonville Today describes Theotokos Holdings as a company affiliated with the property's owner, Marc Kozman, and says the project is now moving forward in partnership with AXIA GeoCapital LLC.
The grant terms reported by both outlets match: the city would refund 75% of the new property tax generated by the building and site improvements over 11 years, with $1.5 million as the maximum the city would pay back. The bill cleared the Neighborhoods, Rules and Finance committees last week. The Daily Record reports unanimous votes in Neighborhoods and Rules and a 7 to 1 vote in Finance; Jacksonville Today reports that council member Michael Boylan cast the lone no vote in Finance over the reduced return on the city's investment, voted yes in Rules, and there questioned why the project includes no affordable housing.
From $820,000 to $1.5 million
The first deal, approved in October 2021 per Jacksonville Today, was an $820,000 REV grant tied to a $15.545 million capital investment. The Daily Record's 2021 coverage described it as a 10-year, 75% REV grant capped at $820,000. Construction delays meant that agreement expired before the project was completed, and the city's legislative summary now puts the final redevelopment cost of the FBI building alone at $28.5 million, with the owner having invested $35 million in the overall site, per attorney Steve Diebenow's testimony to committees on September 14.
The return to the city has fallen with the cost. Ed Randolph, the city's director of economic development, told council members the city would receive $1.34 for every $1 it invests, per Jacksonville Today, compared with the $2.01 to $1 estimated in the 2021 agreement. That drop is what drew Boylan's no vote in Finance. The buildings sit in what the city classifies as an economically distressed area, a designation that is part of the basis for the incentive.
What has been built and what has not
The former FBI office at 8000 Arlington Expressway reopened in January 2026 as Interra Apartments. The Daily Record's January 5 report, republished by Jacksonville Today, describes a six-story, 95,256 square foot building renovated into 95 one- and two-bedroom apartments, including two studio units. Jacksonville Today's September 21 report describes the same 95 units as market rate and says the building is one of three six-story structures on the 16.41 acre site.
Diebenow told committees that Interra is 70% occupied and that investors want to reach 90% before trying to obtain financing for the other two buildings, which remain vacant and shelled. He said they are still on track for apartment conversions but could not give council a definitive start date. Jacksonville Today reports that despite 24-hour on-site security, the owner and law enforcement have not been able to fully stop vandalism at the two unrenovated buildings, and Amaro said residents want a timeline because code enforcement becomes involved the longer the buildings sit. The owner, per Diebenow, has moved from his Arlington home into the new building to manage the project.
Council member Ron Salem, who lives in Arlington, supported the grant as a way to keep the redevelopment moving, per Jacksonville Today, saying the buildings had sat unused along the expressway for two decades or more.
Where the reports differ
Three items do not match across the sources we read. First, the address: Jacksonville Today and the January report use 8000 Arlington Expressway; the Daily Record's September 15 summary uses 7820 Arlington Expressway, which may describe a different parcel within the same three-building property. Second, the recipient: 8000-1 LLC per Jacksonville Today, Theotokos Holdings LLC per the Daily Record summary; Jacksonville Today's own account says Theotokos is affiliated with the owner and that the 2021 deal was with Theotokos. Third, the Federal Reserve's timing: Jacksonville Today writes that the Fed voted September 19 to raise its benchmark rate; the Federal Reserve's own implementation note is dated September 16, 2026 and sets a federal funds target range of 3.75% to 4% effective September 17. We treat the Fed's release as the record on that point.
What this means for Arlington buyers, sellers and renters
The direct effect of tonight's vote on anyone's home is small: a REV grant refunds tax the project pays, and the money does not come out of the general fund up front. The indirect effect is the one to watch. Ninety-five market-rate rentals on the expressway are already leasing, and two more buildings of similar size are waiting on occupancy and financing, which is why the Fed's September 16 quarter-point increase matters here. Higher construction borrowing costs push the second and third buildings further out, not closer.
For sellers in Arlington, a completed conversion on a long-vacant site is a data point to cite, dated and attributed, not a claim about what it does to values; we do not publish automated value estimates and this page does not change that. For renters comparing options, the January report puts the unit mix at one- and two-bedroom plus two studios; rents were not reported in the pieces we read.
The city's approach here, refunding new tax rather than paying cash up front, is the same structure council has been debating downtown, where the cash completion grant for the Riverfront Plaza tower is the sticking point; our coverage of the DIA's 8-0 vote on that $59 million package and the reworked Publix tower incentives lays out how the two grant types differ.
For the broader market context, see our Jacksonville housing market update, and for current listings along the corridor, homes on Arlington Expressway.
People also ask
What is Interra Apartments in Jacksonville?
Interra Apartments, also listed as Interra Apartment Homes, is the converted former FBI field office at 8000 Arlington Expressway in the Arlington area of Jacksonville. Per the Jacksonville Daily Record report published January 5, 2026, the six-story, 95,256 square foot building was renovated into 95 one- and two-bedroom apartments, including two studio units, and opened for leasing in January 2026. Jacksonville Today reported on September 21, 2026 that the units are market rate and that the building was 70% occupied, per the owner's attorney.
What is a REV grant in Jacksonville?
A Recapture Enhanced Value grant, or REV grant, is a City of Jacksonville incentive that refunds a share of the new property tax a project generates after it is built. It is not an upfront cash payment. For Interra Apartments, Jacksonville Today reports the proposed grant refunds 75% of the new property tax from the building and site improvements over 11 years, capped at $1.5 million. The city's economic development director told council members the city would get back $1.34 for every $1 it gives up, down from the $2.01 estimated under the 2021 agreement.
Will the other two former office buildings on the Arlington Expressway become apartments?
The owner says that is still the plan, but there is no date. Per Jacksonville Today, attorney Steve Diebenow told council committees on September 14, 2026 that the two vacant, shelled buildings on the 16.41 acre site remain on track for apartment conversions, and that investors want Interra to reach 90% occupancy before seeking financing for them. He could not give a start date. The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate a quarter point to a 3.75% to 4% target range at its September 16, 2026 meeting, which makes construction borrowing more expensive.
The takeaway
Council votes tonight, September 22, 2026, on a $1.5 million, 11-year REV grant for the former FBI building that reopened in January as the 95-unit Interra Apartments. The number is up from $1 million in the original bill and from the $820,000 deal that expired in 2021, and the city's projected return has fallen from $2.01 to $1.34 per dollar. The two remaining buildings on the site have no start date, and the owner's stated trigger is 90% occupancy at Interra. We will update this page with the vote result once it is reported.
Sources
- Jacksonville Today, "Redeveloped FBI building in Arlington in line for $1.5M tax break", by Mike Mendenhall, published September 21, 2026, 11:42 a.m.: jaxtoday.org
- Jacksonville Today (republishing the Jacksonville Daily Record), "Former FBI office in Arlington renovated into apartments", by Karen Brune Mathis, published January 5, 2026: jaxtoday.org
- Jacksonville Daily Record, "Eyeing future development, Council committees advance tax breaks for completed Arlington Expressway apartments", published September 15, 2026 (headline and published summary only): jaxdailyrecord.com
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, "Implementation Note issued September 16, 2026": federalreserve.gov
- Momentum Realty, "Riverfront Plaza Tower: DIA Approves $59M Incentives 8-0", September 15, 2026: movewithmomentum.com
How this article was prepared: every figure, date, name and quotation above is taken from the named reports and is attributed to the outlet that published it. The two Jacksonville Today reports and the Federal Reserve release were read in full; the Jacksonville Daily Record's September 15 report sits behind a paywall and is cited from its headline and published summary only. Where the outlets disagree, both figures are shown. Nothing here is a forecast, legal advice or a recommendation. Momentum Realty has no role in this project, in the ownership or in the city's decision. Nothing on this page describes any person or household as a resident or prospective resident; it describes a building, an ordinance and a public vote. Figures are deemed reliable but not guaranteed; verify against the city's legislative record before relying on them.