Baltimore Development Corporation president and CEO Colin Tarbert has been selected to be the next CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) of Jacksonville, Florida.
Tarbert was the unanimous choice of the DIA’s board after he and two other finalists were interviewed to replace its current top executive, Lori Boyer, who is retiring June 30. The authority received 173 applications for the job and announced the board’s decision this week.
Tarbert, 44, disclosed in February that he would step down at the BDC on June 13 but didn’t say what he would do next. He has led the agency since 2019 and was in other Baltimore City government roles before that.
A replacement for Tarbert has not been named, but the BDC board met in closed session on Thursday to talk about its search for one. Its search committee is led by BDC chair Augie Chiasera.
News of Tarbert’s selection was first reported by business publications in Jacksonville. His appointment is contingent on the authority, its board and Tarbert reaching agreement on a contract.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan issued a statement supporting Tarbert.
“In my conversation with Colin, it was clear he has the experience, vision and passion needed to build on our fast-growing momentum in downtown Jacksonville,” Deegan said. “I look forward to working with him.”
The DIA is a quasi-independent economic development organization with a mission that’s similar to the BDC in Baltimore. Another similarity is that Jacksonville had a waterfront festival marketplace modeled after Harborplace in Baltimore, called Jacksonville Landing, but it has been torn down for other uses. In Baltimore, a developer wants to raze Baltimore’s festival marketplace to make way for other uses.
The other DIA finalists were: Lara Fritts, division director of the Frederick County Department of Economic Opportunity in Maryland, and Danny Chavez, former chief economic development officer for the city of Waco, Texas.
The Jacksonville Daily Record quoted Tarbert as saying that his years in Baltimore provided valuable experience for his new position in Florida.
“It feels like the last two decades have been preparing me for this role,” Tarbert was quoted as saying, adding that the Jacksonville job was “the only position I think I’d relocate for.”
