Restaurant and Rooftop Bar Planned for Old Fire Station

[Steve]

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2020/06/11/sandy-yawn-firehouse-downtown-jacksonville.html?iana=hpmvp_jac_news_headline

Anyone see that coming?

[acme54321]

Interesting.  Risky move.

[thelakelander]

Pretty cool. We noticed the post earlier today. That entire strip of old buildings in the vicinity of Broad Street between Adams and Beaver has the potential to be a pretty unique district. It reminds me a lot of what Beale Street was before it came back. There are a ton of themes she could go with. It's the last thing left from when the area was a red light district, jazz and blues era strip, chinese district and home to the first black owned theatre in the south.

[MusicMan]

I saw it through Facebook. I went through that building a couple of times. Not a lot left. She bought a shell in poor condition. And I have no idea about parking. From what I could tell it had no parking. Guess that will reveal itself in the next few months.  I do wish her the best. The link says it need someone with vision. I will add to that: CASH.

[itsfantastic1]

I was actually looking at putting something similar in the building. Distillery/liquor store 1st floor, restaurant 2nd, bar roof. The building is an absolute shell. Even the emergency side door technically opens onto the other property. There is not any sort of parking on the land, but there are nearby lots that could be leveraged.

Unfortunately it was outside my comfort, skills and financing so I wish her well... I really look forward to seeing her ideas! She got a great price so it'll be interesting what the cost of renovating and getting the space up to standards will be.

[Bill Hoff]

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2020/06/11/sandy-yawn-firehouse-downtown-jacksonville.html?iana=hpmvp_jac_news_headline

Anyone see that coming?

Hopefully it doesn't suffer the same fate as Levels, and countless other projects that were announced loudly, then died a quiet death without notice.

[aubureck]

An update on the proposed restaurant in the old firehouse at 618 W Adams.

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2020/07/09/reality-tv-yacht-captain-plans-to-transform-centur.html

She says the firehouse in poor condition and will need to be demolished.  She plans on copying the existing building with a new build.  She also believes all of this can be done by the end of 2020.  She's been told it's more realistic to expect it to be completed by 1Q 2021.  It doesn't appears that she has plans in hand and definitely hasn't started the permitting process.

[thelakelander]

The article makes it appear that she doesn't know much about development and didn't do enough due diligence before purchasing the property. She won't be through DDRB by the end of the year, much less it being completed by 1Q 2021.

[aubureck]

That's exactly what it sounds like to me as well.  These are absolutely unrealistic expectations for any building, let alone one in a downtown area with an extra layer of review.  It doesn't sound like she has a solid business plan for the restaurant either.

[thelakelander]

I got that impression as well. I wish her well but I would not be surprised if her plans change and a restaurant never materializes.

[MusicMan]

"She says the firehouse in poor condition and will need to be demolished."

Hmmmm...glad she's discovered that AFTER purchasing it. 

[bl8jaxnative]

The article makes it appear that she doesn't know much about development and didn't do enough due diligence before purchasing the property. She won't be through DDRB by the end of the year, much less it being completed by 1Q 2021.

Or that's how she would like it to appear?

[fsu813]

I'm sorry, but this is borderline hilarious.

After announcing the big plans....

1. Figured out it'll be "too much money".
2. Suggested Formula 1 racing in Downtown, but is "not sure what happened" after she pitched it.
3. Huge advocates for Downtown revitalization, but only stays at hotels near the St. Johns Towncenter, because they're "newer and nicer".

Good lordy.

Full article:
https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/below-deck-mediterranean-star-seeking-investors-for-downtown-restaurant

[thelakelander]

It's very strange that they would not have had an estimated cost of the investment before acquiring the building. Also, I can't imagine many investors wanting to put their money into a $5 million seafood restaurant with no parking in LaVilla. That's a lot of fish to sell in order to break even. Last, is she aware of the downtown historic preservation trust fund? She should be tapping into that instead of trying to raise $5 million from the private sector.

[Steve]

I'm not following this one. To that point, the new incentives programs are actually pretty good downtown....now.

It seems like the Code Compliance one could definitely be used here to make up part of the gap.