The Pearl DARTed by COJ / JSO

[jacksonvilleconfidential]

I would have shown up but unfortunately I have a job that I have to be up early for in St. Augustine and Im a severe alcoholic and when i start drinking I cant stop. So I stayed home.

[froth]

That was a quick turn around. I cant believe they turned a condemned building into a safe place in just 4 days. According to the sign the city posted that building was an unsafe structure due to be domolished. Hmmmmmm. Maybe things werent as bad as they said on the news. Maybe the city has a little egg on their face for this one.

[RiversideGator]

Good for you Jax By Default.  If the rest of Springfield followed your excellent example it would have a much better chance of becoming a great Community of Location.

Speaking of this, how is your new Community of Location coming on Main Street between 7th and 8th?  Any updates on an opening date?

[jbm32206]

They always say it's to be demolished...so you can't go by that. Anyway, I'm glad she's open and I certainly wish her the best.

As for Springfielders going there....that's not my kind of crowd...so I'll leave it to the younger ones to go show support....

[David]

They always say it's to be demolished...so you can't go by that. Anyway, I'm glad she's open and I certainly wish her the best.

As for Springfielders going there....that's not my kind of crowd...so I'll leave it to the younger ones to go show support....

Go on Friday nights! That's the old people's night, so of course i'll be there.

[hillary supporter]

3 cheers for steve on those 3 email links; sharp!!!

[David]

Yep yep! I saw some comments on jax.com about how sending emails to the city was a waste of time, but I think if enough people do it and frame their point of view properly and in a civil manor, they might give you a listen. Between that and the owner of Pearl knowing some people that work in the city, I think that helped get through the coj/jso shenanigans with haste! That and the no drugs being found thing. That's also good

[RiversideGator]

I forgot to mention this:  the last several times I visited The Pearl, the rear exit was chained and locked (as mentioned in the letter from Igou).  I also thought this was odd and a clear safety concern although it wasnt that crowded when I was there so I wasnt personally worried at that time.  For some reason (probably neighbor's complaints), they have stopped using the outside area to the rear of the structure which was such a nice place to sit.  They also closed off the rear exit to this area in what appears to have been an illegal fashion.  I am glad the City did something about this.

[JaxByDefault]

The outside patio of the Pearl is presently closed because the new bar in the middle of the patio needs to go through the COA process. From what I understand, there also need to be some upgrades made for handicapped accessibility. Neighbor (or SPAR) complaints likely did draw attention to non-permitted construction on the patio, but the patio is not closed because of neighbor complaints on account of noise or other disturbance. The Pearl's patio is somewhat buffered from residences by commercial property and the Solomon Lodge.

The orange notice will probably remain on the exterior until all of the cited violations (including those for the patio) are remedied. However, the bar is now allowed to open the building.

No one argues with the city inspectors citing a property for multiple code violations. However, it was a poor choice to use a nighttime DART raid on this property. 

[sparhater]

I am sure it was SPAR. Rumors are running all over the neighborhood that it is SPAR, but what do you epect from a bunch of LOLAS? Mayeb the Pearl did not "give' enough money to the crime fund....more breaking news to come on on that front

[JaxByDefault]

I too am often disappointed with SPAR, Sparhater, but --to be fair-- they were not the only complainant here.

Part of their self-stated mission is to make sure historic properties in the district use the COA and permitting process. There was more than one complaint made about the Pearl that triggered code inspections (and an ill-advised DART raid), including at least one CARE request/report that was not filed by SPAR or its leadership. 

Any neighborhood organization would be wise to contact business owners directly before taking their laundry list of neighborhood complaints downtown. SPAR would benefit from more direct and pleasant relations with local business owners--and perhaps correct their growing negative reputation with potential investors. A neighborhood organization should call a business owner and say "I notice you're building something...can we help you with the permit process.…" If that fails, "I'm sorry, but we have some concerns about the property that we feel we need to raise with the city. We'll email you a draft of our complaint in advance so that you can correct any of our misstatements and we can add your objections." If SPAR did that in reference to the Pearl, then I applaud them. If they did not, they should change their protocol.

I will say that as a neighborhood resident, I did not appreciate them circulating with their weekly SPAR update a letter from a city official that (1) said that the Pearl was a targeted because of competent evidence of drug activity, (2) contained missing information about the number and nature of the arrests made, and (3) did not provide an update on the status of the Pearl. It seemed a bit lazy and disingenuous with the facts, but probably not maliciously so.

[sparhater]

Does anyone remember the Springfield Farmers Market? Lots of complaints....lots of rumors about that one too. Again there are a couple of people making decisions for the whole neighborhood and a LOT of people are not happy about it. The neighborhood vision should not be about a couple of neighbors dreams, it should be for the whole neighborhood, and this is where SAPR fails, miserably.

[jbm32206]

I agree, that the vision seems to be rather impaired to say the least...and that it's all about a particular few.

[mingustrane]

Don't know if drugs were being consumed at the Pearl or not but I did see coke being snorted in the bathroom of The Art Bar (one of owner's previous business endeavors).  Glad to see her out of our neighborhood!    Love to see her leave Jax and never return!

[32206livedraps]

I agree, that the vision seems to be rather impaired to say the least...and that it's all about a particular few.

oh come on now, if you are a proctologist you too can share their vision.