Peyton flip-flops courthouse support

[Lunican]

The Florida Times-Union

November 16, 2007

Peyton flip-flops courthouse support

By Mary Kelli Palka,
The Times-Union

Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton wants to spend up to $331 million more to build one large Duval County courthouse on a site in LaVilla.

A plethora of courthouse options

Peyton's staff will discuss his recommendation at a Courthouse Architectural Review Committee meeting scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today at City Hall. The committee will hear Peyton's proposal, plus the city's other options:

-Spend between $358 million and $395 million for a complex in one phase in LaVilla, to house both criminal and civil functions. Completion date would be 2011. (Peyton's proposal)

-Spend between $304 million and $360 million for a complex in one phase on Bay Street, including the renovation of the existing courthouse and City Hall Annex. Completion date would be 2015.

-Spend between $424 million and $469 million for phased construction of a criminal courthouse on the LaVilla site now and later adding a civil courthouse. Completion date would be 2020.

-Spend between $378 million and $418 million for phased construction of a smaller unified criminal and civil courthouse in LaVilla and add a family court building later. Completion date would be 2020.

"We're going to bite the bullet and do what's right," Peyton said.

By his new estimate, taxpayers will have shelled out $395 million for a courthouse complex, including the $64.3 million spent to date.

That's more than double the original $190 million price tag.

The new proposal is the diametrical opposite of a plan Peyton pushed through the City Council last year, when he said the city couldn't afford to build one large building immediately.

Full Article:
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/111607/met_218129260.shtml

[thelakelander]

Everyone said this thing was going to balloon to $400 million.  How about $500 million when its all said and done?

[midnightblackrx]

wow. Peyton's really missed the mark on this one. I wonder how the costs could have ballooned to the $400mill range??? Is it construction costs? indecision? what?

[02roadking]

I see lips moving again. 

How about some action....

[thelakelander]

wow. Peyton's really missed the mark on this one. I wonder how the costs could have ballooned to the $400mill range??? Is it construction costs? indecision? what?

Probably a mixture of both.  The design may have something to do with it as well.  Sounds like someone needs to go in with a red pen and start slashing.

[Joe]

Barring a re-re-re-design, Peyton's plan is clearly the best option right now.

Of course, the best plan would have been to build the damn thing 4 years ago. The extra cost was similar back then.

So why did we wait 4 years just to do basically the same thing??

[hanjin1]

As someone on tv would say (and I know you've seen it)   SLASH IT!!!!

wow. Peyton's really missed the mark on this one. I wonder how the costs could have ballooned to the $400mill range??? Is it construction costs? indecision? what?

Probably a mixture of both.  The design may have something to do with it as well.  Sounds like someone needs to go in with a red pen and start slashing.

[Ocklawaha]

I suspect Buddha somehow knew about Mayor Peyton and the Courthouse fiasco in Jacksonville; otherwise why ask, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

I think we all know.

Ocklawaha

[fsujax]

Don't forget these figures also include the $64.3 million already spent to date.

[thelakelander]

That's good.  For a second, I thought they didn't.  In any event, KBJ's spread out design appears to cost more than Rink's midrise version that was eliminated when Auchter went belly up.  Seriously, there has to be away to slash the costs while still developing a decent product.  It would be interesting to see whats making our courthouse cost twice as much as some others that have been developed around the country recently.

[Ocklawaha]

Orlando went hi-rise, similar to Dade County back in the day... Has that EVER been on the table here? Would a simple mid or high rise cut the costs?

Ocklawaha

[thelakelander]

Yes, the previous plan was for a 15 story building.  However, it died when Auchter went belly up and KBJ became the lead architect.  A major problem is that the city never really had strict design parameters.  There was an article in the paper, a few months ago, that mentioned many things that should have been specified by the city have been left up to each design/build party to resolve on their own.  So this maybe a negative factor as well.

[Lunican]

Here is an image of the current design on the table:



Seems like a pretty fancy facility to hold trials for the crack dealers of Duval County.

[vicupstate]

Does anyone know how many blocks this will take up?  Is it still all 7?  Will Monroe still be blocked?

[spidey]

I thought I read somewhere that it would not take up the entire 7 blocks, thought it was 2-3 blocks...but maybe not.  I can't find it right offhand.

Leave it to KBJ to come up with an ugly design, though.