Metro Jacksonville

There are 24 bungalows in Dancy Terrace's enclave. 
All comdemned.
All separate properties.
All owned by about 13 owners (not-connected.)
One of the owners has followed PSOS' journey for the last year and a half of saving the houses.
This owner admires our dedication and work to make things happen.
He admires the spirit of the community.
This owner has welcomed PSOS to mothball his home.
"Whatever it takes."  The owner said. 
Yeah, you read that right. 
We are going to mothball a Dancy Terrace home.
This home will be the catalyst for the other owners to follow suit, I know it, I feel it. 
Whoo Hoo!  Let's get this started!!!!

Pictures to follow.

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/Redell2.jpg)

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/Redell1.jpg)

It begins with one....

Two Springfield residents (who have already donated plywood for one vacant home) have offered to purchase the plywood necessary to mothball a second Dancy Terrace bungalow. 

Now, Nicole just needs to find that willing owner!!

No one hunts for homeowners like our Nicole!

Nicole, you may want to reach out to the owner who has several of them listed through the agent.  In spite of their optimism, they really can't be sold since this is a PUD and restrictions make them nearly impossible to do anything with.

Met with HPC today and we will go on the agenda for January to mothball one of the Dancy Terrace bungalows.  We may be deferred until February if the COA application can not be complied on time, which simply means we'll be priority on February's agenda. 

What a great house.  Honest.  They are much bigger on the inside than it seems.  There was a time when code actually mothballed the windows: that means cut the plywood to fit inside the frame and through-bolted to the inside in 2 x 4s.  All but 2 of the 24 bungalows are properly "mothball boarded."  I believe this has saved the homes.  I do not know if code or previous owners boarded properly the windows, but they are done none-the-less and from a safety, preservation, and cost to mothball perspective it helps, so kudos. 



   

They may be small, but the floorplans are efficient.  They're just big enough for someone who wants their own space without the hassle of outdoor upkeep, and perfect for those who use public transportation.  They'd be such great little dwellings for a huge variety of folks - artists, students, senior citizens.  And unlike many homes in Spf'ld, because of the central walkway and side entrances I think several could even be made wheelchair-accessible.  That's a huge bonus for the disabled - especially since they are so close to a main bus line.  I'll bet the JTA Connexion could probably pickup/drop off from the side alleys.

I have been inside nearly all of them.  For as abused as they have been by the elements and vagrants, they aren't in too bad of shape.  The original construction was pretty sound.  I would love to see them occupied again in some fashion, either as residences or businesses or both.  There is parking space next to the laundry mat or on the Takee-Outee lot that the Terrance could use.

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/b67e698c.jpg)

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/60c58724.jpg)

The interior of this bungalow has been altered somewhat.  More than likely there was a wall/door combo between these two rooms.  That being said, the trim is still intact which is a great bonus and it would not take much to return this to its former charm.

These are set up as 3/1 with a utility room.  Looks are deceiving from the outside. 

Is that popcorn ceiling?  These seem like they could be great little rental units for someone that wants a little more privacy than an apartment would afford but doesn't want all the upkeep of a traditional home.

Great little rental units.

It would make a great little art park- a smaller version of tallahassee's railroad square: http://railroadsquare.com/map.html

Great example of what could be Jacksonville's version of a 'pocket neighborhood', which is a small neighborhood within a neighborhood that shares common spaces.


(http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img/upload/2012/01/03/kaid1/largest.jpg)


(http://pocket-neighborhoods.net/patterns/images/commons1.jpg)


(http://pocket-neighborhoods.net/patterns/images/layers-09.jpg)


(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2149/2294107543_0efd4dc13d.jpg)


http://pocket-neighborhoods.net/ (http://pocket-neighborhoods.net/)

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/katrina_cottages_find_post-kat.html (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/katrina_cottages_find_post-kat.html)

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/downsizing_the_footprint_with.html (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/downsizing_the_footprint_with.html)

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/using_backyard_cottages_to_abs.html (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/using_backyard_cottages_to_abs.html)

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/amazing_community_art_developm.html (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/amazing_community_art_developm.html)

http://www.tauntonstore.com/pocket-neighborhoods-ross-chapin-071275.html (http://www.tauntonstore.com/pocket-neighborhoods-ross-chapin-071275.html)




Exactly how far away is this from downtown, and what bus lines serve this pocket of homes?

Could be a great workforce housing initiative/demonstration(sustainable common community garden, transit-based workforce transportation, etc).

It is just a few miles north of downtown behind the kfc on mainstreet. The cross streets are main/hubbard and 10th/9th. I have been told there was interest in workforce housing but no one could get a deal because of number of owners. There are old photographs of dancy terrace when it was lived in http://gallery.myspringfield.org/Other/History/18004383_4247Qw#1501480859_95ngJcP
It is hard to beleive it was ever that way there if you look at it today.

another great example, albeit a bit more upscale, is Bungalow Terrace (just off Swann near Hyde Park Village) in South Tampa

There are several older threads here on metrojax  when these homes were on the market.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2007-apr-dancey-terrace-photo-tour

Don't see how many of the comments would be out of place now.  Skeptics were proved right, they usually are.

^ that is why I think it would be better used as artist space, similar to CORK.

What's the story on this place? Where they just to expensive to pull off?

Until we (the community, the investors, the city) decide what to do with these bungalows, they need to be mothballed to be protected.

Let's hope more owners will take up our offer to help them mothball!!

Quote from: civil42806 on January 04, 2012, 11:10:09 AM
There are several older threads here on metrojax  when these homes were on the market.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2007-apr-dancey-terrace-photo-tour

Don't see how many of the comments would be out of place now.  Skeptics were proved right, they usually are.

Yep those $189k price tags were a little  :o

I have contacted the listing agent of the 8 bungalows currently for sale. He is presenting an offer to the owner (not from me.) that doesn't mean a whole lot, but I asked if the agent would accept mothball and donation information and give it to the owner and he said he would. Doesn't hurt.

Code also visited Dancy Terrace yesterday:

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/6bba0cc7.jpg)

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/1946Redell.jpg)

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/Dancy.jpg)

The mothballing COA application goes before HPC on Wednesday the 22nd. 

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/coa--Redell.jpg)

yah!  The application was accepted.

Let's make this little bungalow look loved and valued.

(One down, only 23 left)

Thank you Ron, for trusting us to mothball your little house.

And thank you for grueling out a near 5 hour meeting! 
Yipee for Dancy Terrace!

It's finally here:  Dancy Mothball Day!  This Saturday, June 30th @ 9 am.

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/Redell2.jpg)

QuoteHelp us begin to save Dancy Terrace one bungalow at a time. Join us June 30th at 9 a.m. on Redell Street and help with general clean-up and exterior painting of one of Dancy Terrace's bungalows. We have the final order for the mothball COA and are ready to proceed. Crossing fingers we will do this 8 more times at the end of July and into August, but for now it is one bungalow at a time. Together we can make it happen! Contact me if you have questions. Or email: preservationsos@yahoo.com

One bungalow at a time.

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/Dancyporchfloor.jpg)

Work began this week.

And now we're ready for paint!

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/DSCN2869.jpg)

Heat index of 109 today didn't stop us from getting this bungalow ready for paint. 

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/DSCN2868.jpg)

Volunteers scraped and prepped.

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/DSCN2867.jpg)

Next step!  Blue paint. Black windows.  Faux sashes!

Nice!!

Another gem that many, including myself, probably didn't know existed. Great work.

http://learnyeats.com/DancyT/index.htm
Read more here.  We are trying desperately against huge odds to save this amazing historic treasure. We think it's one of the oldest, largest remaining cottage courts in the US. 

QuoteIn 1911, 24 small-scale look-alike bungalows were built on a section of land midway between Main Street and Hubbard Street in Springfield, the oldest residential neighborhood in Jacksonville Florida. Arranged in two rows of 12 houses each running south to north between 9th and 10th Streets, the little vernacular frame houses faced each other across a sidewalk-way (instead of a street), with small lawns on either side.

Architecturally such a complex was known as a Bungalow Court and this particular bungalow court was known as Dancy Terrace (sometimes called Redell Street). DancyT and "the T" are my short-terms for Dancy Terrace, which is important to me personally because (1) it was home to my Mother (Joan (Jo-Ann) Thomas) and her Thomas family during the 1920s and 1930s, and (2) DancyT was the setting of many of the Jack and Judy stories my Mother told us (my brothers and me) as we grew up in Murray Hill.


Bungalow Courts

Bungalow Courts are an interesting phenomena in the history of North America architecture. Somewhat of a merge between apartment buildings (none too private and frequently "no children") and the single family bungalow (out of the question due to high cost and maintenance for many people), they represented an innovative approach to changing urban housing requirements of the first few decades of the 20th century.

Whether originally housing workers in the film industry in California, the shipbuilders and harbor workers of Seattle or the railway workers, tradesmen, small business owners and professionals in Jacksonville, Bungalow Courts were intended for residents who wanted more independent lifestyle yet within a protected more focussed environment, with some yard or garden. Architectural styles varied from region to region, court to court as did the arrangement of the houses within the court itself. DancyT, was laid out in the "parallel bar formation", an early arrangement preceding that of the U-shaped courts of the later 19-teens and 20s.

Today, all over North America, bungalow courts are being landmarked and preserved. DancyT, now known to be one of the earliest bungalow courts in North America as well as one of the largest, has now been added to that list. Following many years of neglect, abuse and the more recent attempt on the part of one owner to have the entire court demolished, DancyT is now being renovated by the new owners who are working according to Preservation Guidelines to produce an up-scale high quality gated community. The new name will be Dancey Terrace II

http://learnyeats.com/DancyT/index.htm

Although the up-scale high quality gated community didn't work out, the bungalows are still there and waiting for their next reincarnation. 

Hey sheclown,
Look at the layout of the Thomas house as diagrammed at learnyeats.com...looks almost exactly like a mirror image of #1946.  As we walked through the house yesterday we were trying to figure out if it was really three bedrooms originally.  Could it be that the third bedroom in the back was originally the kitchen?

Also, is this one of the blocks where the numbers decreased by 200 at some point?  The Thomas house is stated to be #2117, does that mean it is actually today's #1917?

Quote from: sheclown on July 01, 2012, 09:46:02 AM

QuoteIn 1911, 24 small-scale look-alike bungalows were built on a section of land midway between Main Street and Hubbard Street in Springfield, the oldest residential neighborhood in Jacksonville Florida. Arranged in two rows of 12 houses each running south to north between 9th and 10th Streets, the little vernacular frame houses faced each other across a sidewalk-way (instead of a street), with small lawns on either side.

Architecturally such a complex was known as a Bungalow Court and this particular bungalow court was known as Dancy Terrace (sometimes called Redell Street). DancyT and "the T" are my short-terms for Dancy Terrace, which is important to me personally because (1) it was home to my Mother (Joan (Jo-Ann) Thomas) and her Thomas family during the 1920s and 1930s, and (2) DancyT was the setting of many of the Jack and Judy stories my Mother told us (my brothers and me) as we grew up in Murray Hill.


Bungalow Courts

Bungalow Courts are an interesting phenomena in the history of North America architecture. Somewhat of a merge between apartment buildings (none too private and frequently "no children") and the single family bungalow (out of the question due to high cost and maintenance for many people), they represented an innovative approach to changing urban housing requirements of the first few decades of the 20th century.

Whether originally housing workers in the film industry in California, the shipbuilders and harbor workers of Seattle or the railway workers, tradesmen, small business owners and professionals in Jacksonville, Bungalow Courts were intended for residents who wanted more independent lifestyle yet within a protected more focussed environment, with some yard or garden. Architectural styles varied from region to region, court to court as did the arrangement of the houses within the court itself. DancyT, was laid out in the "parallel bar formation", an early arrangement preceding that of the U-shaped courts of the later 19-teens and 20s.

Today, all over North America, bungalow courts are being landmarked and preserved. DancyT, now known to be one of the earliest bungalow courts in North America as well as one of the largest, has now been added to that list. Following many years of neglect, abuse and the more recent attempt on the part of one owner to have the entire court demolished, DancyT is now being renovated by the new owners who are working according to Preservation Guidelines to produce an up-scale high quality gated community. The new name will be Dancey Terrace II

http://learnyeats.com/DancyT/index.htm

Although the up-scale high quality gated community didn't work out, the bungalows are still there and waiting for their next reincarnation. 

What is the situation with this place?

I know SOS rescued one... the above one , I presume which is about to be painted. 

Who owns the rest of them?   Given their age, I would imagine these are well-built structures. 

What is the asking price for one in as-is condition?

Sadly, after the last owner went under, the bungalows got split up as a result of the foreclosure. There are now about 6 or so different owners, with two of them holding larger pieces and the rest owning one or two. I don't think anyone of them is actively marketed right now, so it is hard to guess how much they would sell for. But in their current condition, I would think maybe $1,000.

One thing some of the current owners may not realize is the fact that the path in the middle is private. The only public access to the "landlocked" bungalows is via the alley in the back. These bungalows only make sense together.

I hope the current owners will sell at a reasonable price or work on making these inhabitable, maybe finding a legal structure to combine these bungalows again.

I will be submitting 8 more COAs for mothballing this week to HPC for 8 of Dancy Terrace's bungalows.
Grin.

Quote from: iloveionia on July 04, 2012, 12:22:21 PM
I will be submitting 8 more COAs for mothballing this week to HPC for 8 of Dancy Terrace's bungalows.
Grin.

Nicole has spent an enormous amount of time tracking down and contacting owners, talking by phone and email, explaining, begging, deal-making, friend-making, and mostly helping not hindering.

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/nicolesassignment-1.jpg)

All in a effort to save the houses.

We're getting there!

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/samonroof.jpg)

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Dancyfauxsashes.jpg)

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/dancyinblue.jpg)

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/nicoledancy--heart.jpg)

Go, SOS !!!!

Quote from: hooplady on July 01, 2012, 12:54:26 PM
Hey sheclown,
Look at the layout of the Thomas house as diagrammed at learnyeats.com...looks almost exactly like a mirror image of #1946.  As we walked through the house yesterday we were trying to figure out if it was really three bedrooms originally.  Could it be that the third bedroom in the back was originally the kitchen?

Also, is this one of the blocks where the numbers decreased by 200 at some point?  The Thomas house is stated to be #2117, does that mean it is actually today's #1917?

I think you are right hoop lady.

Well, now we know.

Your efforts are just incredible , folks :) <3

Nicole's day yesterday was spent putting up these wonderful mothball signs at Dancy.  The end result of hours of her hard work. 

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/1913Dancy-1.jpg)

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Dancy1941-1.jpg)

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Dancy1935-1.jpg)

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Dancy1929-1.jpg)

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Dancy1921-1.jpg)

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Dancy1917-1.jpg)

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Dancy1907-1.jpg)

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Dancy1950-1.jpg)

Mothballing these additional eight houses will do much to protect Dancy Terrace and remove some of the blight and neglected atmosphere of this wonderful gem.

Kudos to all of you !!!

I just love those blue mothballing COA signs. 

1946 is close to being done.  Let's get this sucker inspected by this time next week.

(http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab165/sheclown/dancygettingdone.jpg)

Need someone to:

paint decking boards

secure last decking board

clean out inside the house

paint the rear of the house.

Nicole is going to finish up the north side, do the landscaping.

Let's get it done and get it off our plate!!!!

I think I am supposed to paint the rear of the house. Will take care of it this weekend.

(http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii530/iloveionia/dancydone.jpg)

90% done.

Stain porch floor
Paint west side of house (back)
Make 1 crawl space enclosure
Clear work supplies from interior

Then 100% done and ready for final inspection

Quote from: movedsouth on July 16, 2012, 02:38:01 PM
I think I am supposed to paint the rear of the house. Will take care of it this weekend.

We've saved it for you.  :)

It looks great

Final Inspection for 1946 Redell (Dancy as I like to call it) was completed today by Lisa.
We "passed." 
The bungalow will earn it's mothball certificate. 
Whoot!  Whoot! 

We clocked over 200 hours of volunteer work to make it happen and spent just under $800 in materials to finish the COA requirements.  And it is indeed true, this one bungalow was certainly the catalyst to (now) own the other 8 bungalows we submitted mothball COAs for. 

and for an update on the bungalows:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php?topic=18718.0

http://www.preservationsos.org/

looks very nice congrats