Jacksonville is getting out the checkbook to keep one of its best-known corporate names close to home. On April 13, the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee cleared the way for legislation that would offer The Winn‑Dixie Company a roughly $12 million package of taxpayer-backed incentives to keep its headquarters at its Westside campus.
The proposal combines a $6.5 million headquarters retention grant with a 20-year, 50% Recapture Enhanced Value (REV) tax rebate worth up to $5.5 million. In return, Winn‑Dixie would be required to operate at least 13 Winn‑Dixie stores in Jacksonville, up from 12 today. The company is also projecting a $65 million capital program and up to 200 new headquarters jobs, which city staff say would grow the local headquarters workforce to about 700.
The MBRC unanimously approved the Office of Economic Development’s request to move the deal to City Council, according to the Jax Daily Record. An OED memo reviewed by the committee describes the REV as a 20-year, 50% refund on ad valorem taxes and projects roughly $1.04 in public return for every $1 of incentives.
What’s in the package
As reported by the Florida Times‑Union, the incentive package would center on a $6.5 million Headquarters Retention Grant, paid out in $1.3 million annual installments beginning in October 2027. That cash support would be paired with a $5.5 million REV grant that refunds a share of new tax revenue over 20 years…