DCPS to relocate from Southbank

[Zac T]

DCPS intends to relocate and sell its Southbank property

Duval County Public Schools plans to sell its administrative headquarters on the Southbank, tapping real estate firm CBRE to market its property at 1701 Prudential Drive as well as to help it find a new property to relocate to.

"The District recognizes its current waterfront location is a valuable asset and has made the decision to relocate off the river, which will position the property for new use and promote economic development," said Lee Ann Korst, Southeast Regional Manager of CBRE's Public Institutions and Education Solutions, who is representing the District. "The disposition of this asset supports the commitment made by the City of Jacksonville to revitalize downtown by providing prime real estate located directly on the St. Johns River."

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2021/12/01/duval-county-public-schools-to-sell-southbank.html

[thelakelander]

Hopefully they'll stay in downtown.

[Captain Zissou]

Does the riverfront portion that DCPS took from the District development less than a year ago revert back to the developer?  I'm so glad they are getting off the waterfront, but it's ridiculous that they added 2 acres of surface parking just to sell it in 10 months.

[landfall]

I think they had around 50 employees based there. Surely there is space in the existing city buildings on the northbank that could accommodate them.

[acme54321]

I think they had around 50 employees based there. Surely there is space in the existing city buildings on the northbank that could accommodate them.

There has to be more than 50 employees there.  That lot is pretty full during the day and it's got over 300 spaces.

It would be cool if they restored old Stanton and moved the offices there.

[Charles Hunter]

DCPS doesn't own Old Stanton any more, but could buy it back, I guess.

Historic Stanton - http://www.historicstanton.org/

[acme54321]

DCPS doesn't own Old Stanton any more, but could buy it back, I guess.

Historic Stanton - http://www.historicstanton.org/

I know.  Total pipe dream there.

[MusicMan]

Following the link, there's nothing new in the last 2 years.  And an old Youtube video from 2011....  SAD

Was this gifted to that LLC? There's no transaction history on COJ.net

[Charles Hunter]

From a January 2021 Times-Union article.

The three-story brick building was condemned as unsafe to enter in May [2020] after the roof fell in and water poured down to the ground level and into the electrical system, starting a fire.
...
Without repairs, the building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has decayed more as water flows through its interior after each rainfall.
...
On property records, the listed owner is the Florida Institute,  an organization that bought the land and asked the federal government's Freedmen's Bureau to build a schoolhouse for Blacks soon after the Civil War. The Stanton Normal School, the first of four schools on the 1.5-acre parcel, opened in 1869, named for Edwin Stanton, President Abraham Lincoln's secretary of war.

Duval County's school system signed a long-term lease with the Florida Institute's trustees in 1882 to operate a school for Blacks at the site. Old Stanton, the fourth school built there, was a high school from 1917 to 1953 when a new Stanton school opened on West 13th Street. The building downtown then became a middle school and vocational school until 1971.

When the school board finished with the site, it needed a judge's order naming new trustees for the 19th-century institute to take back ownership of the property. Those trustees incorporated a nonprofit, Old Stanton Inc., which was renamed Historic Stanton in 2013. 

Historic Stanton's leaders ordered a title search after the roof collapse, but the search moved slowly with the Duval County Courthouse closed for several months by the coronavirus pandemic. The group's board finally received confirmation of the title in November and consulted a title attorney on the best way to clarify its ownership, said Mamie Davis, an attorney and accountant who is the board treasurer.

The group filed a new deed in December. City officials said in October [2020] that ownership also needed to be cleared up to permit any repairs at the school, although in 2014 the city issued a permit for structural repairs to "Stanton Historical Inc."

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/history/2021/01/22/old-stanton-high-decays-backers-try-save-jacksonville-school/6258367002/

[MusicMan]

Fascinating.... TY

[thelakelander]

I'd rather see the current plan for Historic Stanton come to life. It's more of a mixed use project with a museum and restaurant component. Just got to get a roof on it!

[acme54321]

I'd rather see the current plan for Historic Stanton come to life. It's more of a mixed use project with a museum and restaurant component. Just got to get a roof on it!

Something needs to be done with it before it's too late.  I have a hard time believing that the non profit that has been struggling for decades is going to be able to make that happen.

[sandyshoes]

Is Annie Lytle not in the running?

[thelakelander]

I agree that something needs to be done quick and that the nonprofit won't be able pull things off alone. However, I don't see them selling it to DCPS or DCPS wanting to spend millions to retrofit it as a space for 50 employees. They likely could build or less space cheaper right now considering our vacancy rates.

[Captain Zissou]

It's interesting that the Daily Record has not put out anything about this.  This seems like huge news to me.