If the price is
right, city officials want to buy a trio of vacant downtown
buildings at Laura and Forsyth streets.
Yesterday, at the Historic Preservation Task Force meeting,
Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Paul Krutko told
task force members that Mayor John Delaney has given him the go
ahead to start a process that could lead to the city buying the
Florida Life, Old Florida National Bank and Bisbee buildings.
After Krutko's announcement, members of the task force applauded
and then unanimously voted to support the concept of Delaney's plan.
The three buildings have a special place in the history of
Jacksonville as they represented the rebirth of Jacksonville's
business district in the early 1900s after the Great Fire of 1901
destroyed many downtown buildings.
The buildings were among the first to be built after the tragedy.
At least two local developers are interested in redeveloping the
buildings.
The redevelopment of downtown buildings has been at the forefront
of city officials' agenda for the past three years.
Developers have received city financial assistance that has
provided funding for residential projects.
Krutko said if the city buys the buildings, the city plans to
seek proposals from developers who are interested in redeveloping
the buildings.
In about three weeks, city officials will have an appraised price
for the three buildings that are two blocks north of the
Jacksonville Landing and two blocks south of Hemming Plaza.
The buildings are owned by Angela Schneider, who lives in
Germany.
According to Duval County property appraiser's records, Schneider
bought the buildings on April 29, 1999, for $1.9 million. Yesterday,
the assessed value of the buildings was $1.2 million, according to
county records.
The owner is willing to sell the buildings, according to Maurice
Nichols of Jacksonville, the property manager of the buildings.
Past prospective buyers have been unable to buy the buildings
because they found that it was too costly to redevelop the buildings
without city assistance.
The buildings' owner has not had the property appraised nor
established an asking price, he said.
"If we feel the appraisal price is OK, then we could go ahead
with a deal, but if not, we would seek other avenues," Nichols said.
He said there are others who have expressed interest in buying
the property and have been told to make offers.
Delaney will determine whether the city is willing to pay the
owner's asking price. If a purchase agreement is drawn up between
the owner and the city, City Council members would have to review
that agreement.
If the process goes uninterrupted, the city could buy the
buildings in January 2002, Krutko said.
"The how of all of this is going to be discussed right here,"
said City Councilman Jim Overton, a task force member.
The buildings are among 10 located downtown that members of the
task force will pay special attention to, in terms of preservation
or redevelopment efforts.
The task force does not have governing authority, but its 28
members include influential civic and business leaders, including
five City Council members. At the nearly two-hour meeting at City
Hall, Krutko urged task force members to galvanize public support
for the city's effort.
"This would be the most important historic preservation since the
St. James Building," said Wayne Wood, the Jacksonville historian who
wrote Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage. The St. James
building was renovated and became Jacksonville's City Hall.
"These are three of the most significant buildings in Duval
County because they are together, and they all face the corner in a
unique way," Wood said.
Michael Munz, a task force member, said the city must realize
some taxpayers may not recognize the importance of spending tax
dollars to buy the buildings.
"The vision to the general public is different than ours," Munz
said.
Task force member Barry Allred said he supports the project but
cautions city officials not to use too much public money to buy the
three buildings.
The buildings have historical significance in Jacksonville.
During the city's rebuilding efforts after the Great Fire of
1901, the Bisbee and Florida Life buildings held the designation as
the city's first skyscrapers and tallest buildings at 10 and 11
floors, respectively.
The buildings were constructed between 1908 and 1915 during a
spurt of building that took place after the fire. For about the past
15 years, the buildings have not had tenants, according to the the
property manager.
Mike Langton of Langton Associates in Jacksonville, who is
developing the W.A. Knight Building, 113 W. Adams St., into 12 loft
apartments, said he is interested in redeveloping the buildings.
Craig Meek, owner of Meek Associates in Jacksonville, said he,
too, might be interested in pursuing a redevelopment agreement with
the city.
Meek said he spent about $150,000 in preliminary work, including
the construction of a 5-foot scale model for the redevelopment of
the buildings.
Meek's plan was a mixed-use development that would consist of a
parking structure, stores, office space and condominiums.
