1320 Ionia. Bulldozer is at the house

[Noone]

You forget, Gaffney did more for the "other side" than the public will ever know ...

And.....

[avs]

I just Googled the  location..... I ll bet anything  the house across the street from it is soon to follow

Not that is means anything, but there were people living in the hosue across the street last year

[sheclown]

AVS. I know I was in that house
Picking up a donation for the thrift store. Now I know why.

[peestandingup]

I just Googled the  location..... I ll bet anything  the house across the street from it is soon to follow

Not that is means anything, but there were people living in the hosue across the street last year

They were likely squatters. I checked on this house last year. The address is 1323 Ionia Street. The past residents quit paying property taxes years ago & it was set to go to tax deed auction. It did but no one bid on it.

Here are a couple of old posts I made about it then:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,7389.msg128635.html#msg128635

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,7389.msg128691.html#msg128691

[peestandingup]

And here is sheclown's post about it being on the bulldoze list:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,13320.msg247183.html#msg247183

So yes, it seems that it will come down. It's a shame that there's so many roadblocks to buying homes like this BEFORE they get into this shape. I tried.

[avs]

The house across the street I am talking about is pink and they were renters, my friend who lived across the street knew them

[iloveionia]

1323 is on the eminent danger list.
It is the last remaining historic home on that side of the block.  The 2 houses north of it are modular homes and the rest of the block on that side is vacant lots. 

1323 Ionia is owned by, wait for it, wait for it: Tarpon LLC.
It was purchased in a tax deed sale in 2010 for $7,600.
I would gather the tenants were not squatters and Tarpon kicked them out once they became owners.  I remember the people that lived there.

[sheclown]

The bulldozer has not been moved. It is still there.

[peestandingup]

^Thats because it's still hungry. It's looking at the house across the street.

Regarding Tarpon. Is this some kind of agency that goes around buying up tax deed homes to just let them get bulldozed? Here's a silly question: Why are agencies like that even allowed to purchase these homes? Why doesnt the city hold special auctions for homes such as this that can only be bid on from individuals who plan on actually living in the home??

I remember reading about New Orleans doing similar auctions with their post-Katrina homes & it being very successful. They still do it I believe & it's saving their historic fabric actually. But that New Orleans & this is Jacksonville.

[Ernest Street]

Wow sheclown...that is one of those pictures that speak a thousand words.

looks like the "Demosaurus-Historicus"  is going to wake up hungry at any moment and start swinging at the surrounding structures.

[iloveionia]

I weep for this house.

Wrong, wrong, wrong on every level.

[peestandingup]

Regarding Tarpon. Is this some kind of agency that goes around buying up tax deed homes to just let them get bulldozed? Here's a silly question: Why are agencies like that even allowed to purchase these homes? Why doesnt the city hold special auctions for homes such as this that can only be bid on from individuals who plan on actually living in the home??

I remember reading about New Orleans doing similar auctions with their post-Katrina homes & it being very successful. They still do it I believe & it's saving their historic fabric actually. But thats New Orleans & this is Jacksonville.

Here's a related article if anyone cares: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/04/brisk_sales_of_abandoned_prope.html

Again, what's our problem here in Jax & why can't we get similar things going? Seems to me the only way you can truly save these homes is to

A. Start low & sell them for cheap. DIRT cheap. And that also means knock off all the bullshit fines. No one's going to pay those fines on a bulldozed house anyway. And thats just dumb for the city to expect some potential owner to come along & pay for someone else's hardships & mistakes. Especially on an old historic home that's going to need a lot of work, in this type of climate, in this type of economy. It ain't gonna fly.

B. Tell home buying agencies, investors, flippers, etc to fuck off. You guys don't need anymore of that. Sell ONLY to individuals who want to take up residence in the home. They're the ones who are gonna be spending their hard earned money on a home for themselves, thus have the home's best interest in mind. Not looking to make money off it.

C. Set up some kind of fund for people to tap into for repairs, neighborhood contractors, etc. Even if a lot of it is from people around who just want to donate their services (like that's been done with Miss Maggies & others). I don't care how you do it, just get it done.

Do all that & you'll save your neighborhood. I guarantee it. I think anything else is just picking at the problem. I also imagine the city is probably in the way of this though. Jax isn't exactly New Orleans (which is some place that actually values their historic structures).

[ben says]

Speaking of New Orleans and 'valuing historic structures'--I believe Jacksonville could learn a lot from the city of Charleston. Moreover, that school (College of Charleston) pumps out dozens, of not hundreds of young adults from their Historic Preservation School (one of the largest historic preservation institutions in the country). I speak from experience: a lot of these students are interested in historic preservation, historic buildings, and preserving the past. Charleston is a saturated market, and they're looking for places to use their recently acquired talents. I'd love to see the City, or some like-minded Jax citizens, work to get some of these eager grads down here. This town is ripe for a revitalization.

[Timkin]

I personally think Tarpon, LLC is affiliated ,somehow with the "dark-side" .   They also bought PS#4 in a 2010 tax-sale....and get this ..

Their property is LANDLOCKED.  Are you going to tell me someone KNOWINGLY bought a property in a tax-lien sale , that was also landlocked.    That is , essentially like taking 86k (the purchase price of the School) and setting it on fire.

Initially I THOUGHT , Tarpon might finally be the saving factor for the School.  Now with two different corporations involved, one holding a landlocked building and land , and the other holding all the adjacent land,so that one cannot do anything without the other spells out to me .........Wait for it .........


   DISASTER

[ChriswUfGator]

The bulldozer has not been moved. It is still there.

If I had to guess, its next stop was unexpectedly taken off the schedule.

Poor MCCD...what a shame.