Demolition work could start July 27 on the closed Kartouche Night Club building at 618 W. Forsyth St. Downtown.
Ben Pfotenhauer, owner of contractor Elev8 Land Clearing & Demolition, said July 24 the project could take a week.
The city issued a permit July 23 for Elev8 to take down the 106-year-old structure at a cost of $49,500.
“A majority of that building is getting recycled,” Pfotenhauer said.
“There are lot of old wood timbers in that building that are getting recycled,” he said. Elev8 also will work to recycle the bricks.
The project is for high-volume recyclers, not individuals Pfotenhauer said. “We are still figuring out where they are going.”
The immediate plans after demolition are to grade and sod the site, according to a letter included with the permit application.
Previous filings show the site at West Forsyth and Broad streets is targeted for redevelopment for a Daily’s gas station and convenience store.
The closed three-story, 10,000-square-foot structure built in 1914 also been known as the Eagle Laundry Building. In May, the Jacksonville Historical Society listed it as one of the structures on its annual list of the city’s most endangered buildings.
Property records do not designate the building as historic.
Law Building L.L.C., at Jacksonville-based Pine Street/RPS LLC, owns the property.
Mark Wainwright with Pine Street/RPS said July 10 the property is under contract but he is not allowed to disclose information about it.
In March, civil engineer England-Thims & Miller asked JEA to review the availability of utilities for the site. The request identified the site for First Coast Energy to develop a Daily’s gas station and convenience store.
The request identified the 1.4-acre block bounded by Bay, Broad, Forsyth and Jefferson streets.
In addition to the closed nightclub, a former bank drive-thru at 60 N. Broad St. built in 1976 is on the site. It is separately owned.
Lawyer Mark Rosenberg owns the bank property. When asked in March about the service availability request for First Coast Energy, he referred questions to the company. He again referred questions July 6 to First Coast Energy.
First Coast Energy said in March it didn’t have ownership of property in that area. It has not responded to emails seeking comment.
Daily’s also has developed its Dash fast-casual cafe concept that sells breakfast and lunch sandwiches, soups, salads, desserts and specialty coffee drinks.
