https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2020/06/11/sandy-yawn-firehouse-downtown-jacksonville.html?iana=hpmvp_jac_news_headline
Anyone see that coming?
Interesting. Risky move.
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.
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.
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.
Quote from: Steve on June 11, 2020, 11:01:31 PM
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.
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 (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.
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.
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.
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.
"She says the firehouse in poor condition and will need to be demolished."
Hmmmm...glad she's discovered that AFTER purchasing it.
Quote from: thelakelander on July 10, 2020, 07:27:32 AM
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?
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
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.
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.
She lost anyone with any sense of reality a long time ago when she said she wanted to turn Jacksonville into a super yacht destination. That's like someone buying a 3,000' tall mountain in Colorado and claiming they want to become the state's preeminent skiing/boarding destination.
Yesterday a golf course, today an F1 circuit.
This city truly has hit rock bottom. What an absolute laughing stock we are.
Quote from: landfall on March 16, 2021, 03:27:03 PM
Yesterday a golf course, today an F1 circuit.
This city truly has hit rock bottom. What an absolute laughing stock we are.
actually F1 would be a step up from a golf course
^ Don't you worry, I'm sure Daniel Davis will whip things into shape!
Turn the landing into a cricket field.
Let's level all of Downtown (we are off to a good start!) and replace it with a solar farm. At least it will be generating some positive energy ;D.
Update: Demolition is on the way. Building dates to 1914.
QuoteDemolition in review for Capt. Sandy Yawn's proposed Downtown restaurant building
Citing mold damage, the reality TV star said the structure had to come down; she still hopes to operate a rebuilt Maritime 618.
The city is reviewing a demolition permit for 618 W. Adams St., the building that Capt. Sandy Yawn, star of the Bravo reality TV series "Below Deck Mediterranean," said in 2020 she wanted to restore into the Maritime 618 restaurant.
Last March, Yawn said the restoration cost might be "too much money."
Yawn said June 10 she and partner Chad Quist could not restore it.
"It is full of mold," she said.
After the deadly collapse of the Surfside Champlain Towers South condominium on June 24, 2021, "we don't want to take a risk."
The coronavirus pandemic that started in March 2020 also affected plans as the hospitality industry faced restrictions.
Yawn said she still would like to operate the Maritime 618 restaurant.
She and Quist hope to find interested investors that would develop a structure and they would complete it.
"Someone build it, we can fill it," she said, including bringing celebrities for a grand opening.
If not, she would like to create a center that could provide support or services to people in need Downtown.
Yawn and Quist plan to retain the property that records show is about .10 acre.
She said they have designs in place for the restaurant. The maritime618.com site remains active.
In September 2020, they said architect Brooke Robbins of Robbins Design Studio of Jacksonville was leading the design and renovation of the 7,600-square-foot commercial building.
It was planned for three floors comprising a ground-floor restaurant, second-floor private club and rooftop lounge.
It included a teaching kitchen, designed by Beverly Grant, founder of Fort Lauderdale catering and crew placement firm Culinary Fusion. Students with interest in the maritime industry could earn certifications.
"I love Downtown Jacksonville," Yawn said June 10.
"Jacksonville has so many things to offer" with waterways.
Yawn said riverfront development plans by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan are an example of Downtown activity, as well as a working shipyard that can maintain large yachts and ships.
She said again that she is interested in bringing a Formula 1 car race to Downtown Jacksonville.
"If that can be a race in Downtown Jacksonville, that changes everything."
She envisions floating docks in the river Downtown for superyachts to pull up for race viewing.
Yawn told The Meninak Club of Jacksonville on March 15, 2021, that she pitched the idea to the mayor's office a year before.
Yawn told the club it would take three years of planning and $40 million after signing a contract to host the race in Jacksonville.
Yawn said the superyacht clientele could help support Shad Khan's proposed Four Seasons hotel in the Shipyards area.
On May 8, the Miami Grand Prix F1 race debuted in Miami Gardens. CNBC reported it attracted more than 300,000 people with a projected $400 million economic impact.
According to the permit application, ELEV8 Demolition will remove the two-story, 6,840-square-foot structure, and 760 square feet of unenclosed space, in LaVilla, a block from the Duval County Courthouse.
Quist signed the Notice of Commencement on June 9 for the demolition.
The demolition plan dated June 9, 2022, says the job will done with an excavator. Debris will be hauled to a certified landfill. Asbestos will be removed by a certified asbestos contractor before demolition.
A safety fence will be put up around the property.
Demolition work will be 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily for the five-day project.
Yawn, through Yawn Properties LLC, bought the building June 7, 2020, for $185,000. It was built in 1914, property records show. It is not designated historic on the Duval County Property Appraiser site.
Yawn and Quist registered Yawn Properties LLC with the state in 2016. It is based in West Palm Beach.
Yawn posted on Twitter on June 11, 2020, that she bought the former firehouse with plans for a restaurant and details and a name to follow.
She captioned a post of a picture of herself in front of the building "SOLD! Working on the details and plans for my new project in JAX. Need a name for the restaurant & rooftop bar. And Go..."
Yawn announced plans in September 2020 to restore the former Fire Station No. 4 into the Maritime 618 nautical-themed restaurant, lounge and club.
It was slated to serve "yacht-style cuisine and international seafood and cultural fares."
Quist said then that construction would start in January 2021 and be completed that November on the three-floor facility.
At the Meninak Club of Jacksonville meeting March 15, 2021, Yawn said she and Quist were seeking investors for the estimated $5 million project.
"My partner and I go, 'that's too much. For a building that people want to save that we can't save,'" she said. "I have hope that I can find another investor."
This story has been updated from the original with new content.
https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/demolition-in-review-for-capt-sandy-yawns-proposed-downtown-restaurant-building
She's nuts.
Quote from: thelakelander on July 10, 2020, 07:57:23 AM
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.
She got herself into something she has no clue of what she's doing. It's a shame that LaVilla could lose another building because of this foolishness. The demo permit should be denied based on those crazy excuses about it having mold and the condo collapse in South Florida. Total apples and oranges.
She should sell the building and take her concept elsewhere. It doesn't make sense for this particular site anyway, building or no building. She should hook up with Fuqua or Related to do her project at one of their proposed riverfront restaurant spots.
Pretty deplorable to exploit the collapse of the 12-story residential Surfside condo tower to justify your failure to develop a two story restaurant.
Gross.
I was in the building before she bought it. It was nothing but a shell. so I don't know where the mold is living. and of course, it could be remediated especially since it has no interior framing, etc..... to complicate things.
So damn disappointing to see this happen ...again.
Damn. Sheesh. Well I never...and never will. What a waste.
$185k for .10 acre in LaVilla was not a bargain to start with and certainly not with $15-?K in demo expenses on top of that.
Sec. 320.407(b) requires HPC review of a demo permit for any structure "determined to be eligible for individual listing on the NRHP".
This language is pretty vague and could boil down to interpretation and historical narrative. It would be good to better understand the building history, as well as know who is the person with the authority to make this final determination?
I can't wait until we let this person who is in over their head demolish this building so it can become an empty lot for 10-20 years.
She should talk to the folks at Bravo about doing a Reality show based on this project. Just need to figure out how to loop in some young attractive guys and girls to be a part of the story. Bravo could provide some much needed capital.
Quote from: vicupstate on June 14, 2022, 09:41:44 AM
She should talk to the folks at Bravo about doing a Reality show based on this project. Just need to figure out how to loop in some young attractive guys and girls to be a part of the story. Bravo could provide some much needed capital.
or HGTV or the Magnolia Network ... :)
Quote from: Josh on June 14, 2022, 08:23:13 AM
I can't wait until we let this person who is in over their head demolish this building so it can become an empty lot for 10-20 years.
Doesn't help that there's no strong local policies in place to protect most of the remaining old structures in LaVilla. The entire neighborhood is still vulnerable to people who don't know its history, aren't apart of the community and don't care about it. You know its bad when you don't even really need true HPC review or approval to raze century old structures.
Today at the COJ Historic Preservation Commission meeting during public comment, it was suggested that the Commission open a landmark application to possibly designate this structure as a historic landmark. HPC agreed, will sponsor the application, should delay the demo from moving forward until that process is complete.
Quote from: Josh on June 14, 2022, 08:23:13 AM
I can't wait until we let this person who is in over their head demolish this building so it can become an empty lot for 10-20 years.
Whoa. Hey now. Downtown Jax can always use another parking lot. That's what I call "activated space." Who needs some ol' building?
Quote from: fsu813 on June 22, 2022, 07:34:53 PM
Today at the COJ Historic Preservation Commission meeting during public comment, it was suggested that the Commission open a landmark application to possibly designate this structure as a historic landmark. HPC agreed, will sponsor the application, should delay the demo from moving forward until that process is complete.
Unless the owner just goes ahead and knocks it down followed by the City issuing a sternly worded letter, and nothing more.
The $5 million estimate to renovate is ludicrous.
Quote from: MusicMan on June 23, 2022, 08:54:36 AM
The $5 million estimate to renovate is ludicrous.
well it cost over $6 million for Cowford Chophouse - and that was 5+ years ago
The cost is ludicrous. The $5 million is the estimate for her financially unfeasible dream, not the cost to renovate the structure into a more suitable use for the building and location. Her concept would be better off as a restaurant/yacht club space at the Four Seasons, One Riverside, former Landing, former Courthouse or River City Brewing development sites.
Quote from: thelakelander on June 23, 2022, 12:43:54 PM
Her concept would be better off as a restaurant/yacht club space at the Four Seasons, One Riverside, former Landing, former Courthouse or River City Brewing development sites.
Those sites also make more sense from a branding perspective. Why would you put a Yacht themed restaurant in "The River City" on "The First Coast" a half mile from the nearest water? She should engage these developers early and get on their program. Would likely cost much less than what she's trying to do. It would also allow patrons arriving by boat to experience the yacht lifestyle experience she is going for.
Imagine if she put $10 million into that building. It would be really neat-o!!
Look, I hate everything that has transpired since she bought it. But it was on the open market AND NO ONE ELSE STEPPED UP TO BUY IT.
It sucks but there is a reason we have a market economy. It would have been great if a sensible person with a financially feasible plan stepped forward, with plans to save it and come up with a cool and creative adaptive re-use. But that did not happen.
I love Cowford. He spent more as I understand it because it needed serious foundation work, and he made a spectacular restaurant. Nicest downtown by far IMO.
She's got a brick shell that needs an interior build out.....
You can get a very nice 7000 sf home on the water for $3 million, so not sure what the hell she plans on spending $5 million on at that site.
Quote from: MusicMan on June 23, 2022, 02:29:45 PM
Imagine if she put $10 million into that building. It would be really neat-o!!
Look, I hate everything that has transpired since she bought it. But it was on the open market AND NO ONE ELSE STEPPED UP TO BUY IT.
It sucks but there is a reason we have a market economy. It would have been great if a sensible person with a financially feasible plan stepped forward, with plans to save it and come up with a cool and creative adaptive re-use. But that did not happen.
I love Cowford. He spent more as I understand it because it needed serious foundation work, and he made a spectacular restaurant. Nicest downtown by far IMO.
She's got a brick shell that needs an interior build out.....
You can get a very nice 7000 sf home on the water for $3 million, so not sure what the hell she plans on spending $5 million on at that site.
The previous owner was wanting more than $500k for the building, with submitted offers in over the years below that price. It seems really odd that the current ownership group got it for the price they did. There is something here that doesn't pass the smell test.
If I'm her I'm selling. Screw the sunk cost fallacy, don't throw more good money after bad, especially when you're sinking more money just to demolish one of LaVilla's rare remaining historic buildings.
Quote from: Tacachale on June 23, 2022, 03:36:32 PM
If I'm her I'm selling. Screw the sunk cost fallacy, don't throw more good money after bad, especially when you're sinking more money just to demolish one of LaVilla's rare remaining historic buildings.
The fact that she isn't willing to sell to the (at least) two offers currently on the table is just more of this:
QuoteThere is something here that doesn't pass the smell test.
Quote from: tufsu1 on June 23, 2022, 10:44:29 AM
Quote from: MusicMan on June 23, 2022, 08:54:36 AM
The $5 million estimate to renovate is ludicrous.
well it cost over $6 million for Cowford Chophouse - and that was 5+ years ago
I thought that Cowford actually spent closer to $10 million on their project, but regardless, isn't that building much larger than the one being discussed here? And, as noted by others, it's not just the money, but the degree of work that needs to be done. I seem to recall that Cowford had to dismantle some brick structures, brick by brick, and then put them back together again. That doesn't necessarily apply here.
Quote from: fieldafm on June 23, 2022, 05:08:10 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on June 23, 2022, 03:36:32 PM
If I'm her I'm selling. Screw the sunk cost fallacy, don't throw more good money after bad, especially when you're sinking more money just to demolish one of LaVilla's rare remaining historic buildings.
The fact that she isn't willing to sell to the (at least) two offers currently on the table is just more of this:
QuoteThere is something here that doesn't pass the smell test.
The plot thickens .....
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on June 23, 2022, 06:37:11 PM
I thought that Cowford actually spent closer to $10 million on their project, but regardless, isn't that building much larger than the one being discussed here?
Cowford is larger, but not substantially and much of the difference is the enclosed space on the rooftop level. It is however in a much more prominent location, which potentially justifies that level of renovation for a restaurant space. This building is across from the courthouse, but it is otherwise an island that is disconnected from the heard of downtown.
Capt. Sandy's plans for LaVilla building tangled in history
Full article: https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/capt-sandys-plans-for-lavilla-building-tangled-in-history
Thanks for your work on this.
Thanks! I don't know what the ultimate outcome will be but there are people in the community working behind the scenes to give it a fighting chance at revival and reuse. Hoping Yawn will get help in selling the building and shifting her proposed concept to a riverfront site that makes more sense. Reading the article, she purchased the site unseen, so its clear the proper amount of due diligence has not taken place.
Quote from: thelakelander on July 08, 2022, 10:47:35 AM
Thanks! I don't know what the ultimate outcome will be but there are people in the community working behind the scenes to give it a fighting chance at revival and reuse. Hoping Yawn will get help in selling the building and shifting her proposed concept to a riverfront site that makes more sense. Reading the article, she purchased the site unseen, so its clear the proper amount of due diligence has not taken place.
I think she may have been way over her head from the beginning, and "shot from the hip" regarding the purchase, plans and her vision for a possible reuse of this building leaving out "due diligence" as you've said. I agree, she needs to sell it, move on, and let's preserve this historic part of the LaVilla Neighborhood for something sensible and that would fit in. In the late 50's to early 60's my Mom lived at 626 West Adams Street in a red brick 2 story building next to a Bakery (its no longer there). When I would come visit during the summer, I could smell the pastries baking from my Mom's second story apartment. She's almost 85 now and I don't think she would remember what this building was.