By Matt Galnor
Times-Union staff writer

The challenges of rehabilitating historic structures often are as phenomenal as the architectural intricacies found in and around the buildings.

In addition to the sheer expense of renovations, interested owners must battle to meet current building code standards and find tax credits to cushion the financial blow. And not all owners are willing to embark on such a project.

So Matt Carlucci is making it one of his top three priorities as Jacksonville City Council president to help find ways to remove some of those challenges and breathe life back into now-vacant buildings.

"There's no question it is quicker, cheaper and easier to develop empty land for an apartment complex," said Mike Langton, a managing partner of LB Jax Development, which is trying to put loft apartments in a 81-year-old, three-story building on West Adams Street. "You just cannot renovate an old building as easily as you can build a new building."

Carlucci saw the difficultly, and the rewards, while working with a group to restore St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in the mid-1990s.

"I saw the excitement that was shared by senior citizens, middle-aged adults and young people alike that saw the value in bringing back an old building and making it a contributing structure to the entire community again," Carlucci said.

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  Bob Snow, a concrete finisher, pitches in to help remove scaffolding and sweep the floor during restoration work on the church in 1997. -- John Pemberton/Staff--------------------------------------------------

He is creating the Historic Downtown Task Force to bring more landmarks to a similar state by trying to remove some of the obstacles associated with renovating those older buildings. He has identified 10 buildings as a starting point for future development, and groups including the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission are continuously working on projects for other downtown properties.

"That's an environment of authenticity [in historic buildings] you can't replace, and we can't lose that," Carlucci said. "That's an investment in more than bricks and mortar. That's an investment in our heritage and that's an important part of our community."

That authenticity also equates to renovation nightmares -- both monetary and legal -- for potential developers.

Carlucci's task force, expected to be named this week, will look at a handful of possibilities, including changing parts of the building code to take the age and character of the buildings into consideration and creating a historic district, which carries federal tax credits with it.

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  The renovated church is shown in 1998. -- John Pemberton/Staff--------------------------------------------------

Many in the industry say the public spotlight likely to accompany a task force charged by Carlucci may be the spark needed to make redeveloping the buildings more attractive to developers.

"What ... Carlucci's task force can do is create community consensus around the projects," said Paul Krutko, director of the Downtown Development Authority.

"I think there's been a lot of people ... that have been concerned with this and we're just very pleased to see someone is taking the leadership to try to make sure something very positive happens with these buildings," said Joel McEachin, senior historic preservation planner for the city.

Carlucci is planning a spectacular start for his new task force early next month, with a trolley tour of the downtown and walk-in tours of about four of the buildings on his list.

Some of the other buildings on the list, Carlucci was warned by Krutko and McEachin, aren't safe to walk through in their current state. Some have leaky roofs and other structural problems that will only drive up rehab costs the longer the buildings sit vacant.

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  The 13-story Roosevelt Hotel firstd as the Carling Hotel. It is being considered for reuse as an apartment building. -- File--------------------------------------------------

Creating a historic district could speed up the process of getting several buildings, possibly a block or two, redeveloped quickly with the help of a 20 percent tax credit on the renovations. All of the buildings Carlucci identified are either on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, meaning the projects would qualify for the tax credits.

Yet several other buildings, such as the Underwood Building on North Hogan Street, may be surrounded by historic structures but not qualify for the credits on its own, Krutko said.

In a historic district, if a building contributes to the character of the district, it becomes eligible.

The advantage of the district, Carlucci said, is that developers could just go ahead with their project -- knowing in advance the tax credit is taken care of.

"Suddenly, a developer has an interest in a building and the tax incentive is already there," Carlucci said.

But can the developer meet code standards at a reasonable cost, even after tax credits?

Langton, for example, ran into problems when he wanted to renovate a narrow, winding stairwell in the building his group is renovating. The stairwell was too narrow to meet current code restriction, but he was able to get a variance that allowed him to meet the requirements by adding another stairway. He said similar compromises will have to be made as more building are revamped.

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  The Rhodes-Futch-Collins Building is the last of the pre-War War i skyscrapers, marking the end of the Jacksonville Renaissance. Its facade may be incorporated into the new main library. --------------------------------------------------

"The bottom line is you do not have to take an older building and renovate it to the point that it is a completely new building in order for it to be a safe building," Krutko said.

Langton also cited the owners of some buildings as an impediment to progress, saying he has had discussions with owners regarding five other properties and was unable to get anywhere.

About half of the buildings on Carlucci's list are locally owned, Krutko said, but some of the out-of-town owners are as far away as Ireland and Germany.