Abandoned Florida: The Jones Brothers Furniture Company
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cities/Jacksonville/History/Jones-Brothers-Furniture/i-pfK9KfW/0/L/DSC_2153-HDR-L.jpg)
Bullet of Abandoned Florida provides us with a rare look inside one of downtown Jacksonville's largest vacant early 20th century buildings: The Jones Brother's Furniture Company
Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2017-jan-abandoned-florida-the-jones-brothers-furniture-company
My eyes might be deceiving me, but looks ready for the wrecking ball to me. Is it really salvageable? To change the subject a bit, back in the early 80's, I frequented a bar that was on Main Street downtown called "The Flamingo" Lounge. I was very young back then and met two silver haired men that told me that they were the Jones Brothers and owned Jones Brothers Furniture Company, and they looked the part believe me. They frequented this bar often during weekdays after 5:00 PM. I remember asking the bartenders (John Weeks and Louise) were they who they said and they said yes. Question: Anyone know what the year was on those calendars on the wall? I sure would like to know.
^^ I'm not an expert but from the pictures the only issues are strictly aesthetic, nothing structural. There was a proposal to renovate it before the crash.
The year on the larger calendar looks like 1970.
-> October 4th shows as a Sunday and Oct 4th, 1970 was a Sunday.
Personally, I really like this building, but the price seems to be rather steep for the condition and location.
Love the random photo of the penis graffiti.
Also, that wallpaper and zebra mural will haunt my dreams.
What generally happens with old buildings like this when they hit the market? I can't imagine the cost of restoration or demolition would be cheap. Is blighted property typically priced as such (e.g. marked down versus just the empty lot, knowing that excessive work will be needed)? Would this property be a viable purchase to someone who didn't view it as a labor-of-love civic project rather than a purely business investment?
There were other photos (by Nomeus) in 2012 that showed a very cool couch - wonder what happened to it.
If you look at the purchase history ( http://apps.coj.net/pao_propertySearch/Basic/Detail.aspx?RE=0738570000 (http://apps.coj.net/pao_propertySearch/Basic/Detail.aspx?RE=0738570000) ) it seems like the building is really overpriced - not sure if anything at all was done to it to increase its value since the original owner sold it for $235k in 1990.
Loopnet shows an asking price of $750,000, btw.
I
If the area surrounding this building was vibrant, it wouldn't be crazy to pay $750k for it. But since that isn't the case, it will probably continue to sit. It doesn't help that there is no room for on-site parking or even to add an exterior elevator or stairwell.
The Petra flyer claims it does have on-site parking. Looking at Google Earth, there's a small gated surface lot behind the building.
Quote from: thelakelander on January 10, 2017, 02:50:54 PM
The Petra flyer claims it does have on-site parking. Looking at Google Earth, there's a small gated surface lot behind the building.
The city owns that, per the coj link in the prior post.
Evidently, when Petra acquired the building, it came with a DDA option to buy the parking lot from the from the city.
There is so much abandoned building stock downtown it scary. They should give it away or finance the purchase or it's going to sit forever.
Quote from: MusicMan on January 10, 2017, 04:03:09 PM
There is so much abandoned building stock downtown it scary.
It's all relative.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cities/Detroit-July-2016-1/i-P23JcRJ/0/L/20160703_140257-L.jpg)
DetroitYou should see some of the second and third tier US cities that had more early 20th century building stock than Jax.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cities/Atlanta-2016/i-c2dHssS/0/L/20160828_111523-L.jpg)
Atlanta
Quote from: thelakelander on January 10, 2017, 04:48:54 PM
You should see some of the second and third tier US cities that had more early 20th century building stock than Jax.
New Orleans is usually my go-to comparison for that. Sooooooo many empty buildings.
Is there another city in FLORIDA with this many large abandoned buildings?
In any other city this building would be snatched up for residential development in a heartbeat. One block from a Skyway station, two and half blocks from the Bus Depot, literally across the street from City Hall, and close enough to the stadium, museums, and nightlife neighborhoods.
Another case of the all too common Jacksonville Anemia.
That whole street looks dead, looks like a good spot for apartments maybe with ground level store/small cafe??
Quote from: vicupstate on January 10, 2017, 03:01:02 PM
Quote from: thelakelander on January 10, 2017, 02:50:54 PM
The Petra flyer claims it does have on-site parking. Looking at Google Earth, there's a small gated surface lot behind the building.
The city owns that, per the coj link in the prior post.
Oh, did not notice that - thought the lot was part of the building - makes the asking price even less attractive.
Quote from: MusicMan on January 10, 2017, 04:03:09 PM
There is so much abandoned building stock downtown it scary. They should give it away or finance the purchase or it's going to sit forever.
Problem seems to be that speculators are holding on to properties waiting for "someone" to start a development boom that will increase their properties' value. At the same time, there is no upkeep on the properties so they continue to rot away, making the area even less attractive.
I am happy for every building that is not demolished -for whatever reason - but this is not really helping DT.
Quote from: MusicMan on January 10, 2017, 11:36:26 PM
Is there another city in FLORIDA with this many large abandoned buildings?
Tampa. They have large abandoned cigar factories all over their core. They have their share of downtown buildings as well. Unfortunately, the most impressive ones have been torn down and turned into parking lots. Orlando didn't have much to begin with, so you can't really compare it, in terms of historic building stock. Miami has been on another level over the last two decades, so it's hard to compare it apples to apples as well.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Learning-From/Tampa-Dec-2010/i-XTFJCWt/0/L/P1430719-L.jpg)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Learning-From/Tampa-Dec-2010/i-wQPSNhX/0/L/P1430716-L.jpg)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Learning-From/Tampa-2014/i-3x3J3bf/0/L/DSCF4583-L.jpg)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Learning-From/Tampa-2014/i-xBZVQDg/0/L/DSCF4582-L.jpg)
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/images/tampa/DCP_4180.jpg)
^I'm still pissed off about this one. This was the old flagship Maas Brother's department store. In 2006, it was torn down for a development project that failed to materialize. Today, it's a surface parking lot.
Quote from: Keith-N-Jax on January 11, 2017, 01:34:55 AM
That whole street looks dead, looks like a good spot for apartments maybe with ground level store/small cafe??
This section of the Northbank is pretty bleak. Julia Street (a block west) may be the worst of all of them. However, I see buildings like this and others nearby (ex. Baptist Convention Building, Ambassador Hotel, etc.) as being prime candidates for FSCJ's push to add more student housing near their campus. This building is two or three blocks directly south and its pretty similar in design and size, as the Lerner Shops building they are renovating into dorms now.
Quote from: Gunnar on January 11, 2017, 08:22:25 AM
Quote from: MusicMan on January 10, 2017, 04:03:09 PM
There is so much abandoned building stock downtown it scary. They should give it away or finance the purchase or it's going to sit forever.
Problem seems to be that speculators are holding on to properties waiting for "someone" to start a development boom that will increase their properties' value. At the same time, there is no upkeep on the properties so they continue to rot away, making the area even less attractive.
I think the bigger Northbank problem is that we don't have a market that can support private sector restoration of large old buildings like this without some form of incentives or unconventional financing methods. All of the housing projects underway in the Northbank are either labor of love driven (Elena Flats) or subsidized with tax credits/incentives (ex. Lofts of LaVilla, Houston Street Manor, FSCJ dorms). Hopefully, the market will incrementally improve as some of the current projects are completed.
Quote from: thelakelander on January 11, 2017, 09:05:28 AM
Quote from: Gunnar on January 11, 2017, 08:22:25 AM
Quote from: MusicMan on January 10, 2017, 04:03:09 PM
There is so much abandoned building stock downtown it scary. They should give it away or finance the purchase or it's going to sit forever.
Problem seems to be that speculators are holding on to properties waiting for "someone" to start a development boom that will increase their properties' value. At the same time, there is no upkeep on the properties so they continue to rot away, making the area even less attractive.
I think the bigger Northbank problem is that we don't have a market that can support private sector restoration of large old buildings like this without some form of incentives or unconventional financing methods. All of the housing projects underway in the Northbank are either labor of love driven (Elena Flats) or subsidized with tax credits/incentives (ex. Lofts of LaVilla, Houston Street Manor, FSCJ dorms). Hopefully, the market will incrementally improve as some of the current projects are completed.
I agree with you on this one but speculators asking unrealistic prices does not help. I understand that the current owners want to make as much as possible but if the asking price is too high to begin with, it does not make it easier.
In the end, this will IMHO just make restorable buildings rot away to the point where restoration increasingly less attractive.
Quote from: Gunnar on January 11, 2017, 01:44:36 PM
Quote from: thelakelander on January 11, 2017, 09:05:28 AM
Quote from: Gunnar on January 11, 2017, 08:22:25 AM
Quote from: MusicMan on January 10, 2017, 04:03:09 PM
There is so much abandoned building stock downtown it scary. They should give it away or finance the purchase or it's going to sit forever.
Problem seems to be that speculators are holding on to properties waiting for "someone" to start a development boom that will increase their properties' value. At the same time, there is no upkeep on the properties so they continue to rot away, making the area even less attractive.
I think the bigger Northbank problem is that we don't have a market that can support private sector restoration of large old buildings like this without some form of incentives or unconventional financing methods. All of the housing projects underway in the Northbank are either labor of love driven (Elena Flats) or subsidized with tax credits/incentives (ex. Lofts of LaVilla, Houston Street Manor, FSCJ dorms). Hopefully, the market will incrementally improve as some of the current projects are completed.
I agree with you on this one but speculators asking unrealistic prices does not help. I understand that the current owners want to make as much as possible but if the asking price is too high to begin with, it does not make it easier.
In the end, this will IMHO just make restorable buildings rot away to the point where restoration increasingly less attractive.
The price could be impacting this property but it's hard to tell without more info. However, the fact that the privately funded market rate projects are happening outside of the Northbank (the Southbank has active projects) and don't involve expensive retrofits to large old buildings (even outside of DT, large adaptive reuse projects far and few inbetween) makes a strong statement about what the local market can support.
Lake, what type of redevelopment is going on in Tampa, compared to our urban core? The greater Tampa Bay area has almost 3 million people so that's a lot more than Duval County and surrounding area.
^Greater Tampa Bay's most vibrant downtown isn't Tampa's though. It's St. Petersburg. Also, although there's +3 million, there are multiple cities and downtowns. In Jax, not so much. Thus, in years past, DT Tampa and DT Jax were pretty close in scale and size. Since the 2000s, Tampa has seen significant development on the fringe of their downtown in places like the Channel District, Harbour Island and Ybor. Now DT Tampa appears to be finally coming into its own. I'll be doing an article on DT Tampa's growth pretty soon. It's been on my things-to-do list for a while now.
Quote from: thelakelander on January 11, 2017, 09:00:36 AM
Quote from: Keith-N-Jax on January 11, 2017, 01:34:55 AM
That whole street looks dead, looks like a good spot for apartments maybe with ground level store/small cafe??
This section of the Northbank is pretty bleak. Julia Street (a block west) may be the worst of all of them. However, I see buildings like this and others nearby (ex. Baptist Convention Building, Ambassador Hotel, etc.) as being prime candidates for FSCJ's push to add more student housing near their campus. This building is two or three blocks directly south and its pretty similar in design and size, as the Lerner Shops building they are renovating into dorms now.
I really do like this building and - leaving financial aspects aside - I think it deserves to be renovated and would actually make for a great mixed use candidate (it does have two entrances, one for the store front and one on the side if I remember correctly).
It would really be a shame to let that one go but I think with its size it would take some equally large pockets.
Quote from: stephendare on January 11, 2017, 01:46:27 PM
meh. the idea that there isn't a market is nonsense. The problem is truly the layers of government interference in the process.
I'm somewhat new around here, but I haven't heard that this is a large problem downtown before. Is there a previous article on this? If not, I think it would be very useful to discuss what exactly the inefficiencies are in redeveloping downtown.