new residential downtown

[jerry cornwell]

Tacachale, the city can condition the RFP to ensure that the building is not torn down. It can also write the RFP in ways that will result in a desired use being selected.

And if a legit buyer doesn't meet the conditions of the RFP then the building will just sit vacant like it currently is. There's really nothing to lose. Like Lake said, we'll never know if we don't try.

Oh, finehoe,  let ME start your excellent idea. One to allow all to see EXACTLY what Ron is getting involved in.

There arn't any legit buyers in the sense that the city sees it. Its not an auction in any sense of the word. The city asserts a value for the building and starts an RFP from there with the condition that the assessed value be met.
  I went  through this in requesting (and getting) an RFP for 324 N. Broad street, a dilapidated building across from the new courthouse parking lots. We were quoted around $400,000 renovations just to legally open the door. The city had the property accessed at $340,000(!!!). If it costs $400,000 just to open the door, you should give me $60,000 just to take possession of it. I'd be doing YOU a favor. Thousands of dollars of legal fees, renovation quotes later, my bid (which included my wife's impeccable credentials as a WSJ illustrator relocating from NYC) was denied.
  The building sits, or i should stay is falling, slowly and surely into the ground across from the new courthouse. Which it complements "gorgeously".
  God bless the Mayor, I feel fortunate to have him in city hall. But, in terms of DT "development", The city can go to Hell. Which, in many ways DT, they are!
  Id like to note that Ron wouldn't have been able to perform the miracle he did, had he had to go thru the City.
Even the more reason to salute him today! 
I say to all here at MetroJax, THIS is the major problem our downtown is as it is today! There IS sufficent demand for residential living in downtown. Many here alone would love to live downtown. But with the real estate controlled by a handful of people who have NO interest in residential growth DT, downtown continues to go down the tubes.
I believe Ron paid a high price for the building he bought. But, again, he did it because he wanted to, to do the right thing for downtown. A profit was last on his mind!

[CityLife]

Jerry, sadly your example isn't an isolated incident. The city has similarly dropped the ball on 9th and Main and I'm sure there are others as well.

Snyder can be a major catalyst for revitalization of the Laura St corridor and Hemming Plaza. With that in mind the city could hypothetically sell the property for less than its assessed value IF there was a buyer that would do great things with it like a museum, arts collaborative, live music venue, etc. The property is not currently generating any revenue for the city, it is not generating any property taxes, and is being severely underutilized. So get it in the hands of someone who can do something great with it.

Our city offers a multitude of financial incentives to developments. Snyder is an opportunity to incentivize positive development downtown at no cost to tax payers. In fact it will be a net benefit to tax payers once it gets back on the tax roll. Win win.

Also, the RFP has to have weighted values for specific projects in the event that there are comparable bids. Not positive, but believe they also can condition them so that only certain projects can be approved for a building. So they could write the RFP to only accept winning bids for x types of uses.

[Tacachale]

^The city still owns it but they aren't doing anything with it.

Snyder does get used for performances during ArtWalk...and I believe will once again be used at Jazz Fest this year

^So they use it for about three hours 12-15 out of 365 days of the year?  In other words, they aren't doing anything with it.  It would be nice to see COJ issue an RFP and return it back to the private sector.

That implies there'd be a buyer, or at least a buyer who wouldn't tear it down. The city should be a partner in whatever happens with the building. Currently it gets some use and can be rented out for events (I almost rented it for my wedding). The use can be expanded, but it's unlikely its future would be brighter in private hands.

We'll never know if we don't try.  If a guy like Ron is willing to take a chance on the two structures across the street, who knows who will possibly step up to the plate if presented the opportunity.  Right now, we're assuming something may not materialize resulting in doing absolutely nothing, which causes the building to further decay and the surrounding area/park to have less vibrant activity.  Nevertheless, to truly activate Hemming Plaza's outer square, these buildings need to be used for everyday activities.  Event rental and opening the doors for a couple hours one evening per month isn't enough.

We've tried before, and no serious takers emerged. That's the problem.

This is really a discussion for another thread, but at this point it would be preferable to see the city just make better use of the building. There's no reason they can't lease it out themselves for regular use (again, assuming there are any takers). In fact, as the city doesn't necessarily need to generate a profit, it would likely be even easier for them than for a private entity. Find some other band to take over like before, or otherwise run it as a performance venue. Waiting for Godot here isn't likely to work any better during the recession than it did before it.

[CityLife]

I know of one person who was seriously interested, but the price wasn't right.

Also, I can't remember when that happened, but was the new library built yet? Was Chamblins open? Was the Laura St. Streetscaping done? Was Dalton Agency there? Was there Facade Improvement money available? If not, then you can't assume nobody would be interested now given the recent improvements to the area.

[Debbie Thompson]

Back to Ron's project...thanks for the update.  Can't wait to see it.  And bless you for hiring a homeless man, who is doubtless extremely grateful for the gainful employment.  Hope that works out well for both of you.  A real win-win.  And Breaking Ground...excellent.  Love them. 

I really would love to see you continue to blog about the project and post pictures as you go along. 

[climber]

Just an idea for the potential first floor restaurant: go to the Top in Gainesville or the Floridian in St. Augustine...

[JeffreyS]

Tacachale, the city can condition the RFP to ensure that the building is not torn down. It can also write the RFP in ways that will result in a desired use being selected.

And if a legit buyer doesn't meet the conditions of the RFP then the building will just sit vacant like it currently is. There's really nothing to lose. Like Lake said, we'll never know if we don't try.

Oh, finehoe,  let ME start your excellent idea. One to allow all to see EXACTLY what Ron is getting involved in.

There arn't any legit buyers in the sense that the city sees it. Its not an auction in any sense of the word. The city asserts a value for the building and starts an RFP from there with the condition that the assessed value be met.
  I went  through this in requesting (and getting) an RFP for 324 N. Broad street, a dilapidated building across from the new courthouse parking lots. We were quoted around $400,000 renovations just to legally open the door. The city had the property accessed at $340,000(!!!). If it costs $400,000 just to open the door, you should give me $60,000 just to take possession of it. I'd be doing YOU a favor. Thousands of dollars of legal fees, renovation quotes later, my bid (which included my wife's impeccable credentials as a WSJ illustrator relocating from NYC) was denied.
  The building sits, or i should stay is falling, slowly and surely into the ground across from the new courthouse. Which it complements "gorgeously".
  God bless the Mayor, I feel fortunate to have him in city hall. But, in terms of DT "development", The city can go to Hell. Which, in many ways DT, they are!
  Id like to note that Ron wouldn't have been able to perform the miracle he did, had he had to go thru the City.
Even the more reason to salute him today! 
I say to all here at MetroJax, THIS is the major problem our downtown is as it is today! There IS sufficent demand for residential living in downtown. Many here alone would love to live downtown. But with the real estate controlled by a handful of people who have NO interest in residential growth DT, downtown continues to go down the tubes.
I believe Ron paid a high price for the building he bought. But, again, he did it because he wanted to, to do the right thing for downtown. A profit was last on his mind!

Perhaps if an RFP is submitted as public record we here could start bringing pressure to have a reasonable project move forward. In fact perhaps we should look at all RFPs going forward. Just to make sure the city isn't letting the hope of better get in the way of good as it did in Jerry's situation.

[Tacachale]

Just an idea for the potential first floor restaurant: go to the Top in Gainesville or the Floridian in St. Augustine...

+1000. Those are some of the coolest restaurants in the state and would make a killing in Jacksonville.

[Overstreet]

Make sure your contractor has his relatively new required lead abatment certifications. Also do an asbestos survey.

[Charles Hunter]

Ron, have you considered Crowd Source funding?  The 5 Points --> SunRay Theater was successful in getting renovation  money.  Don't remember what their goal was, but I'm sure it was much less than $600k.

[Timkin]

It is a beautiful building.. Easy to see through the decay to the gem it actually is. I cannot wait to see the finished product.  Two of my favorite features in the building :  The Stair case.. and the claw-foot bathtubs !!!

Good luck Ron!  Thank you for saving one of our historic landmarks !!!!

[jerry cornwell]

Make sure your contractor has his relatively new required lead abatment certifications. Also do an asbestos survey.

When I looked into the building in 2006-7ish I thought the realtor told there was asbestos issues. That being said, Overstreet makes a strong point.

[jerry cornwell]

Snyder can be a major catalyst for revitalization of the Laura St corridor and Hemming Plaza. With that in mind the city could hypothetically sell the property for less than its assessed value IF there was a buyer that would do great things with it like a museum, arts collaborative, live music venue, etc. The property is not currently generating any revenue for the city, it is not generating any property taxes, and is being severely underutilized. So get it in the hands of someone who can do something great with it.

Exactly. My wife and focused along arts collaborative. I can only reason that the city was focusing on the future value of 324 N. Broad st with the completion of the courthouse and looked towards $$$, instead of residential presence.
  FWIW, We bought a house on Oak street 3 blocks from 5 points and last spring got in to CoRK as one of the original tenants. So the depressing rejection by the city led to a blessing that went with us to Riverside. It seems after we moved to Riverside, the city seems to be heading in a definitive good direction. At least for us in the artist community.
  I went DT last Saturday night, had a late dinner at Chomp,Chomp, and saw the Burro bar jumping. Underbelly's is kicking off Jun 3rd down off Bay street. And it will be a BIG kick. This is the direction that is most definitive for our downtown.
But it is detrimental when one comprehends that, in the spur of the moment , Burro bags could be kicked out in an instant. Such happened last year with Nullspace , an under recognized contemporary art gallery. We need to have a firm establishment of ground roots small business like this, Burro bags in particular, which is directly connected to residential growth (in that many of these owners would like to live at their work). These are young, a bit in experienced individual people, who lack the experience and credentials of Ron Chamblin ( although Ron has the vibrancy of any 20 year old!)
This is not the direction the city and even a majority of Jacksonville sees DT going. They see a huge business moving thousands of workers into our skyscrapers. The results are not going to work within the premise that this website projects, a Metropolitan Jacksonville with a definitive, CULTURAL center in its historical center, downtown.
You would think, after the past, what 30 years, the city would pick up the message. But, as downtown gets worse, they haven't.
As Ive said before, when one looks for examples of urban revitalization the example of a re awakened Greenwich East Village (which our downtown most closely resembles a la 1970s) seems most appropriate than others to look into.

[ronchamblin]

Just an idea for the potential first floor restaurant: go to the Top in Gainesville or the Floridian in St. Augustine...

+1000. Those are some of the coolest restaurants in the state and would make a killing in Jacksonville.

Thanks I'll going to Gainsville soon, and will ck it out.  And St. Aug. is close for the other.

Ron, have you considered Crowd Source funding?  The 5 Points --> SunRay Theater was successful in getting renovation  money.  Don't remember what their goal was, but I'm sure it was much less than $600k.

What a great project. Ron, will any of the Laura facade grant money be available for the project?

That's good advice on the Crowd Source funding.  And there are some funds available from the Laura grant.  I'm not sure how much at present.  Given my lack of ready funds now, I really should take the advice and work through any possibilities.  I am lazy on this fund acquisition kind of thing, but it costs me.  I must change this habit. 

Again, this kind of project is fun, as it provides problems to solve.  In the end, the building will become something much better that it has been, and will be one more addition to the city core assets and ambiance.  It's completion will add a little weight to the momentum of core revitalization, and will, along with similar projects, eventually allow a threshold to emerge, after which much needed and powerful "natural" forces and pressures inherent in a vibrant city will come into play, giving opportunity where there are now roadblocks, allowing confidence where there is now fear, offering freedom where there is now rigidity and restrictions, ultimately facilitating and allowing others to more easily engage the city core. It will become easier for new businesses to open and survive, and increasingly attractive for new residents to select the core as a good place to live.

[Anti redneck]

You're a good man, Ron. You should do some more investments around downtown.