Christopher Wickersham Interview: Historic Demolitions

[Metro Jacksonville]

Christopher Wickersham Interview: Historic Demolitions



Attorney Christopher Wickersham sat down with Stephen Dare to talk about the issue surrounding the devastating demolitions of historic properties by the City of Jacksonville. Procedures not followed, positions abused, money improperly used.  Does the City have a prodigious problem on its hands?  Find out more after the jump!

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2013-nov-christopher-wickersham-interview-historic-demolitions

[BridgeTroll]

Great interview... I'm not usually a spelling nazi... but the caption under Chris has mis spelled his name...

Chrstopher Wickersham Jr.

[peestandingup]

I don't think its enough for it to just stop or for the city to have to pay the money back. The damage is done & you can't get those structures back, the residents can't get their investments back, etc.

People need to go to jail for this, especially you know who. Its criminal.

[sheclown]

Preservation SOS is very fortunate to have the elegant and suave Chris Wickersham on our board. 

Great job Stephen -- you are so YOU and you are always YOU whatever you do.

Informative and entertaining.  Thank you for helping PSOS and preservation in Springfield, a neighborhood you love.

[sheclown]

Thanks sheclown!  Chris is absolutely magnificent.

It is so vexing to find out how badly the city has misused the very money that would have stabilized the neighborhoods around downtown and the historic core.

Its not just Springfield..  How much of the historic core of La Villa and downtown was wholesale demolished by the Jack Dynamite era using Federal money set aside specifically for stabilizing and preserving the historic fabric?

Jacksonville has been an entitlement community which has received CDBG money for over 30 years.  Do you really think the city spent its own money to run those bulldozers?

[Noone]

My post have been removed. Thank you for not banning me. I'm not the bad guy.

[Noone]

OK, I'll take the mistaken guy.

Super Interview.

I wanted to point out when you talk about HISTORIC DESIGNATION.
And yesterday at the 11/13/13 Jacksonville Waterways Commission meeting item number III on the agenda was
BLUE WAY DESIGNATION. Nobody on Waterways or the entire city council for that matter had a CLUE about this. Backroom deals.

Councilwoman Daniels will you now attach an amendment to 2013-384 for 24/7 Public Access to Hogans Creek? The applicant was supportive after the 6/25/13 full meeting of the Jacksonville city council. Pull the tape. So much more.

[sheclown]

Thanks sheclown!  Chris is absolutely magnificent.

It is so vexing to find out how badly the city has misused the very money that would have stabilized the neighborhoods around downtown and the historic core.

Its not just Springfield..  How much of the historic core of La Villa and downtown was wholesale demolished by the Jack Dynamite era using Federal money set aside specifically for stabilizing and preserving the historic fabric?

Jacksonville has been an entitlement community which has received CDBG money for over 30 years.  Do you really think the city spent its own money to run those bulldozers?

what do you mean, entitlement community?

It means that we are so poor the federal government just automatically gives us money each year. 100s of millions actually

[HangingMoth]

I agree, this interview lays this problem out very clearly. I have a question to those who might know, is there anything that COJ could do to try to correct the harm these demolitions have had on Springfield's development? Maybe incentives for businesses and residents to rehabilitate old structures, or flat out dropping any rolling fines, or maybe even stating a city funded 'mothballing task force.' Anything to help these buildings become more likely to be occupied. Paying back the money and seeing some heads roll will send a message, but shouldn't COJ also try to help make up any lost ground due to their negligence?

[Bill Hoff]

Christopher Wickersham Interview: Historic Demolitions



Attorney Christopher Wickersham sat down with Stephen Dare to talk about the issue surrounding the devastating demolitions of historic properties by the City of Jacksonville. Procedures not followed, positions abused, money improperly used.  Does the City have a prodigious problem on its hands?  Find out more after the jump!

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2013-nov-christopher-wickersham-interview-historic-demolitions

An interesting point of view on past events, as always. Seperating fact from fiction is the tricky part.

However, when speaking specifically about current efforts to preserve the historic housing stock in SPR, I think you've laid out some of the current challenges & opprotunities with COJ well.

[Bill Hoff]

I agree, this interview lays this problem out very clearly. I have a question to those who might know, is there anything that COJ could do to try to correct the harm these demolitions have had on Springddressyfield's development? Maybe incentives for businesses and residents to rehabilitate old structures, or flat out dropping any rolling fines, or maybe even stating a city funded 'mothballing task force.' Anything to help these buildings become more likely to be occupied. Paying back the money and seeing some heads roll will send a message, but shouldn't COJ also try to help make up any lost ground due to their negligence?

There's lots of possibilities out there. Both public, like Councilman Lumb's oft talked about legislation, and private.

It'll take time to see what pans out.

[HangingMoth]

I agree, this interview lays this problem out very clearly. I have a question to those who might know, is there anything that COJ could do to try to correct the harm these demolitions have had on Springddressyfield's development? Maybe incentives for businesses and residents to rehabilitate old structures, or flat out dropping any rolling fines, or maybe even stating a city funded 'mothballing task force.' Anything to help these buildings become more likely to be occupied. Paying back the money and seeing some heads roll will send a message, but shouldn't COJ also try to help make up any lost ground due to their negligence?

There's lots of possibilities out there. Both public, like Councilman Lumb's oft talked about legislation, and private.

It'll take time to see what pans out.

Hopefully, this will help the city realize what a gem of a neighborhood Springfield is and what a waste it would be not to invest and capitalize on its potential. But I agree only time will tell.

[CityLife]

Thanks sheclown!  Chris is absolutely magnificent.

It is so vexing to find out how badly the city has misused the very money that would have stabilized the neighborhoods around downtown and the historic core.

Its not just Springfield..  How much of the historic core of La Villa and downtown was wholesale demolished by the Jack Dynamite era using Federal money set aside specifically for stabilizing and preserving the historic fabric?

Jacksonville has been an entitlement community which has received CDBG money for over 30 years.  Do you really think the city spent its own money to run those bulldozers?

what do you mean, entitlement community?

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/comm_planning/communitydevelopment/programs/entitlement

Eligible Grantees

Eligible grantees are as follows:
•principal cities of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs);
•other metropolitan cities with populations of at least 50,000; and
•qualified urban counties with populations of at least 200,000 (excluding the population of entitled cities) are entitled to receive annual grants.

HUD determines the amount of each entitlement grant by a statutory dual formula which uses several objective measures of community needs, including the extent of poverty, population, housing overcrowding, age of housing and population growth lag in relationship to other metropolitan areas.

Eligible Activities

CDBG funds may be used for activities which include, but are not limited to:
•acquisition of real property;
•relocation and demolition;
•rehabilitation of residential and non-residential structures;
•construction of public facilities and improvements, such as water and sewer facilities, streets, neighborhood centers, and the conversion of school buildings for eligible purposes;
•public services, within certain limits;
•activities relating to energy conservation and renewable energy resources; and
•provision of assistance to profit-motivated businesses to carry out economic development and job creation/retention activities.

Ineligible Activities

Generally, the following types of activities are ineligible:
•acquisition, construction, or reconstruction of buildings for the general conduct of government;
•political activities;
•certain income payments; and
•construction of new housing by units of general local government

[mbstout]

Very well explained and a tragedy for the neighborhood.
Jax needs better policies, more checks & balances, and more individuals looking to save and rehab historic structures on a smaller scale.  This NY Times article explains what's happening in Buffalo to their historic structures and areas:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/garden/small-scale-developers-big-dreams.html?_r=0

[mbstout]

We don't want to end up on the same path as other cities (Detroit, Baltimore etc) that view wholesale destruction of unique historic assets as a solution to the problem.
The only difference between Jax and the cities mentioned in this article -
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/us/blighted-cities-prefer-razing-to-rebuilding.html -
Is that Jax is a GROWING CITY, not a SHRINKING ONE!
We should be attracting young educated professionals to stimulate the local economy and not handling them off to larger, more desirable markets (ie ATL, NYC, Austin, Portland...)