Duval Schools has been actively working to sell its headquarters building with the help of Trinity Commercial Group for about a year. The board has voted twice in the last year on proposed contracts to sell the building. In a new round of bids, the district received offers from three companies for its headquarters building on Prudential Drive, records show.

Offers and Controversy

A central Florida real estate firm, Bainbridge Communities, offered $15.5 million for the district’s entire Southbank site, according to records the district provided. Ashco, a local firm, offered as much as $17.5 million. The final offer came from a local entrepreneur, Ade Ogunjobi, who has a standing federal injunction against him for securities fraud.

Officials have not yet said which offer, if any, they will select, and the district also has not said where it would move its offices upon selling its current headquarters building. A board workshop scheduled next week will include a “real estate update.”

The deal with the previous buyer, Chase Properties, collapsed when Chase said the district hadn’t disclosed the extent of a community development district bond debt that must be repaid. The nearly 5 acres of headquarters property is split between two parcels: a larger piece that includes the building and a smaller one that is a parking lot.

Original reporting: Jacksonville Today — read the source article.