The Park View Pavilion Coming Soon

[billy]

What is the environmental story with that site?

[thelakelander]

The city operated a coal gasification plant on the site a century ago.

The Superfund label would put the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in charge of deciding how to repair environmental damage around a site east of Main Street, where coal was converted into natural gas, starting in the 19th century.

The ground there contains coal tar, a cancer-causing material thought to have contaminated ground water entering the creek.

The full extent of the pollution isn't clear. The affected area includes vacant commercial buildings south of the creek and part of the park on the creek's north bank.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-02-22/story/toxic_past_haunts_future_of_jacksonvilles_hogans_creek#ixzz2de8Yiiwi

[chris farley]

It is my understanding that the gas plant was privately owned and that it has not been possible to trace the original owner (or matters to that effect).  If they could be traced or their "successors" then they could be held responsible for a clean up.
It is interesting - in the early 1900s a man named Segui drowned in Confederate park, which at that time was mostly deep cypress ponds, when they pulled him out of the filthy water (with a boat hook) he was covered in a black slimy grease.  If this grease was the by product of the gasification plant (creosote) then that could explain why the great fire was able to cross the "creek" at Hammatt's mill, on the north side just west of Main.  With that intense heat it seems the water would "burn".

[Demosthenes]

Lakelander, I thought I read on this site that the environmental issues were all made up to cause problems for the owner?

[thelakelander]

I believe Stephendare mentioned that in a discussion on this topic a few years back. He'd have to explain his reasoning though because there was definitely a coal tar/gasification plant on site around 1900. I have a picture of it from the Great Fire of 1901. Surprisingly, it didn't burn down.

[ChriswUfGator]

Lakelander, I thought I read on this site that the environmental issues were all made up to cause problems for the owner?

Not necesarily made up, but SPAR did get the brilliant idea to call the EPA trying to thwart VanWinkel, which actually resulted in the whole neighborhood being slapped with hazard warnings instead of just this one property. Then pretended like they had no idea how it happened.

[Demosthenes]

I thought the tags were related to ash from the Cleveland St incinerators, and stemmed from a law suit in the 90s that had the Feds requiring Jax to clean up of all ash sites? How is that related to this gasification plant?

[ChriswUfGator]

I thought the tags were related to ash from the Cleveland St incinerators, and stemmed from a law suit in the 90s that had the Feds requiring Jax to clean up of all ash sites? How is that related to this gasification plant?

Springfield had been off the radar until SPAR called the EPA, the ash-as-fertilizer mess wasn't known in the 90s. But then again you're not actually asking a question are you.

[urbaknight]

Update:

Sunday notebook: No sale yet for old Park View Inn lot

In case you're wondering what's going on with the old Park View Inn downtown, or what's left of it, the answer is not much. Tyler Saldutti of Prime Realty said he had a contract on the property from a group that wanted to build affordable apartments on the site at State and Main streets.

But that fell through.

He said the original plan was for a 24-hour pharmacy and a boutique grocery, but that didn't happen. He said there's been interest from convenience stores and fast food restaurants, but there's nothing signed yet.

In the meantime, Colliers International has taken over the listing.

full article: http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/400580/roger-bull/2013-09-01/sunday-notebook-no-sale-yet-old-park-view-inn-lot

Affordable apartments will never happen Downtown, nor will additional apartments in general any time soon. The city doesn't want people that need "affordable" anything anywhere near DT, nor any more residents in general.

[mtraininjax]

After driving by this place a few times with our Uber driver coming back from the beach. What is the story with this ugly eye sore of downtown? The Public/Private partnership never materialized?