Editorial: Another one bites the dust

[thelakelander]

Another LaVilla building is razed, becoming another vacant lot and urban eyesore that downtown revitalization must overcome.

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/another-one-bites-the-dust/

[Josh]

Gonna be a lovely empty lot for the next 10+ years

[Captain Zissou]

I can't wait for this to become nothing for 5 years.

[marcuscnelson]

Ironic, I turn from here to the Daily Record and it continues.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2023/mar/29/historic-ford-motor-co-plant-on-the-road-to-demolition/

[thelakelander]

I'm surprised the Ford demo has taken so long. I expected them to rip that thing down as soon as they got the green light last fall. The preservation challenge with buildings like 618 West Adams is these buildings stand no chance if we have a council that easily overturns JHPC on a large, locally landmarked site like the Ford plant.

[heights unknown]

QUEEN - Another one bites the dust.......1980.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE

[simms3]

I sent all the city council members a letter on the Ford Plant.  Three times I've written each of them on this one issue.

With so many council members transplants to the area, and other "local" council members concerned more with their re-election and with their "charities", it's no wonder the lot of them don't seem to give two craps about keeping our city's identity and assets intact.

I highly doubt the Ford Motor Plant replacement happens anytime soon, either.  The rumor/literature indicates it's a Fincantieri expansion.  Their dry dock isn't even built yet on the original site and our do-nothing Congressman Rutherford hasn't even secured the future of the Littoral Combat Ships they are saying they are intending to repair in the first place.

The promise of high-skilled ship repair jobs to unskilled eastside residents is such a farce unless the company plans on paying for everyone's training and then illegally making a determination they will intentionally hire local eastside residents even if they get better applications from non local residents.  Like, how does that even work?

Finally, as with everything in this city, people pretend like there is no other site or option other than on sites/options occupied by the last remaining brick buildings in the city.  BRICK is what sets our city apart from the other FL cities, and yet we have demolished all of it.  Fincantieri supposedly just could not make any other site work anywhere else on the river.  Ramon Llorens is an "outside investor", so he gets his wishes granted well before actual residents of this city.  I can't change my roof or windows on my 1952 cinder block house in Avondale, but he can come in and just wreck a rare and historic (and significant) Albert Khan designed Ford Motor Assembly plant.

Daily's couldn't make any of the grass lots along Bay work, just had to be one of the last buildings standing from historic LaVilla.  I guess the city is partially to blame there since they just own the rest of the grass lots in the area.  So stupid...

Don't get me started on Sandy Yawn's INSANE business plan to open a "curated" yacht themed high-end restaurant right there.  My God, it's just insane that people buy into such ridiculous business plans while selling out the city's soul.  She should have been LAUGHED out of the room, in my opinion.  Plus she clearly bought this building sight unseen.  Why do we reward such reckless investment behavior at the expense of our city's soul and identity.