City offering Snyder Memorial for Sale/Lease

[KenFSU]

Snyder is absolutely key to the continued redevelopment of Hemming Park.

Place HAS to be a bar or bar/restaurant, with outside seating either adjacent to or inside the park.

Get that stage built in Hemming (which sounds like its going to be more complicated than originally thought), and you're getting closer to a destination venue.

City offering Snyder Memorial, Brewster Hospital for sale or lease

Two of Downtown's historic buildings will be offered for sale or lease by the Downtown Investment Authority.

Requests for Proposals are being drafted for Snyder Memorial, the former Methodist Church at Laura and Monroe streets, and for Brewster Hospital at 843 W. Monroe St. in LaVilla, the hospital for African-Americans that opened in 1901.

Both buildings are owned by the city and have been vacant for years.

The authority's Strategic Implementation Committee on Monday put the finishing touches on the requirements to be included in the requests, including a $2,500 application fee due along with any proposal submitted.

"That would let us look at people who are serious about following through," said Guy Parola, DIA redevelopment manager.

The fee would be refunded to unsuccessful applicants.

Since taking over the building in 1992 after the Methodist Church disbanded the congregation, the city has invested almost $2 million in maintenance and repairs to the structure.

Parola said ideally, Snyder should be sold to someone who would put in a restaurant or retail store to add to activity along Laura Street near Hemming Park.

"It should have an open-door element," he said, as opposed to selling the building for development as office space.

Full story: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=547625

[strider]

How successful has doing RFP's and trying to control the who and what (more than zoning does) been for buildings like this?  Doesn't it make more sense to simply sell at whatever the market will bare?

[vicupstate]

Interesting tidbit that the article glosses over:

A third property, without historic provenance, also will be offered for proposals.

It's a poorly maintained structure at 324 N. Broad St., near the Duval County Courthouse.

"It's vacant and deteriorating. There's nothing special about it," Parola said.

Frankly the city needs to unload these properties to the best offer it gets, from a CREDIBLE backer.  They will all only deteriorate further under the city's ownership.  If someone is willing to renovate/upfit to a suitable use, rent it to them for a $1 per year for 5 years. 

[KenFSU]

^Agree in almost all instances, with the exception of Snyder.

It's too important strategically.

We need to sell that property to the right owner, even if it means sitting on it until the right owner comes along.

[strider]

The "right" owner?  I hear that about most of the city owned properties - what if the wrong owner ends up with it?  As if the wrong owner does not already own it.....

[KenFSU]

Oh, the wrong owner already owns it

But this a beautiful, historically significant property directly fronting one of the most strategically important blocks in the entire city (Hemming Park). A building that we've pumped two million dollars into restoring, opening up to a park that we've spent nearly a million dollars in the last year trying to clean up and energize.

Under the right ownership, or more importantly, under the right use case, Snyder can greatly activate the surrounding sidewalks and continue momentum for Hemming. Used improperly, it becomes yet another dead zone on the perimeter of the park.

We need this:





Not this:

[Tacachale]

COJ's ownership is likely a large part of why the building is still standing today, so there's that. At any rate, while the city (and authorities) could probably stand to sell off some property, there's no benefit to adopting a beggar mentality, where we just hand off every parcel to the first person who asks, regardless of what they're going to do with it. Snyder has potential beyond its monetary value to become a great asset to Downtown. And yes, that will take the "right owner".

[brainstormer]

The Snyder building is such a unique opportunity. Look at the amazing transformation of the Jaguar building into Cowford Chophouse. Snyder Church has the same potential. There are a number of community oriented developers in our city. It's time for more of them to step up and invest in restoring the fabric of our downtown.

[mtraininjax]

Snyder is absolutely key to the continued redevelopment of Hemming Park.

Horse Hockey! During the BJP it was the rallying cry that the Main Library was going to Save Hemming Park, then the Candy Apple moved in and it was going to save Hemming Park, the new Federal Building, the use of the Ed Ball Building, blah, blah, blah. Don't get me started about the Laura Trio.

No building will save Hemming, so get off that high horse. Hemming has to survive and grow on its own, not because of a building on the corner. There is no parking for Snyder, so private law firm? Uh, yeah, sure thing buddy, you can park X blocks away and we will validate your parking.

The City would be better off donating the church to a non-profit and allow them to use it as a community center or partner with the folks in the old main library for events or with MOCA.

[Captain Zissou]

Snyder is absolutely key to the continued redevelopment of Hemming Park.

Horse Hockey! During the BJP it was the rallying cry that the Main Library was going to Save Hemming Park, then the Candy Apple moved in and it was going to save Hemming Park, the new Federal Building, the use of the Ed Ball Building, blah, blah, blah. Don't get me started about the Laura Trio.

No building will save Hemming, so get off that high horse. Hemming has to survive and grow on its own, not because of a building on the corner. There is no parking for Snyder, so private law firm? Uh, yeah, sure thing buddy, you can park X blocks away and we will validate your parking.

The City would be better off donating the church to a non-profit and allow them to use it as a community center or partner with the folks in the old main library for events or with MOCA.

Hmmm... So you brag about your home's close proximity to Orsay as if that's a desirable trait. You opposed Mellow Mushroom because you thought it would bring too many people to the Avondale Strip. You protest the opening of the Roost because you think that will bring down Oak street with it's activity and draw of people.  However, you don't think that a bar or restaurant or other business could activate Hemming Park in the same way....??  That makes no sense.

Hemming Park is surrounded on 3 sides by government buildings that largely shut down at 5 pm.  The other side is an office that rarely has evening activity.  In spite of this, the park has managed to flourish in the past couple years due to active programming and special events.  If the outer square was made up of businesses that engaged the street and spilled over into the park, the whole area would be completely transformed. Go check out City Market in Savannah and tell me that complimenting uses around a public space doesn't drive street traffic.  Would your

[Kerry]

I think what mtraininjax was saying is that Heming's problems can't be fixed by building adjacent uses - as has been demonstrated by still needing to be resuced after significant public investment on adjacent blocks (which were the wrong kinds of pedestrian generating uses in the first place).  A bar isn't going to save it either.  It needs lots of residential near by or a significant hotel.

I wonder though, when one goes to HP what does one perceive the problem to be, or does one even see a problem?

[UNFurbanist]

Personally I think seeing this place as a bar/small music venue would be awesome! Maybe host events during the day? The building itself and it being right next to Hemming could be great for all kinds of occasions.

[tufsu1]

I think what mtraininjax was saying is that Heming's problems can't be fixed by building adjacent uses

The principles espoused by the Project for Public Spaces pretty much say otherwise (note the Inner Square and Outer Square concepts)

http://www.pps.org/reference/squaresprinciples/

[vicupstate]

It needs lots of residential near by or a significant hotel.

Which is one reason why the Laura Trio is so important. It does both and then some. 

[Kerry]

I think what mtraininjax was saying is that Heming's problems can't be fixed by building adjacent uses

The principles espoused by the Project for Public Spaces pretty much say otherwise (note the Inner Square and Outer Square concepts)

http://www.pps.org/reference/squaresprinciples/

Go through those 10 items and identify which ones HP is missing.  I think it has all 10.....yet, still needs to be saved.