The Jacksonville City Council cleared the way for First Baptist Church to demolish its Downtown building at 125 W. Church St.
The Council voted 15-4 on June 23 to approve the church’s appeal of the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission’s Feb. 26 decision to delay demolition.
The church wants to redevelop the property and build a welcome center as part of a more than $30 million project to renovate and redevelop 1.53 acres of church property into “The Hobson Block.” The church plans to consolidate and sell 11.29 acres of its 13.7-acre Downtown campus.
The commission ruled that the structure could satisfy four of the seven criteria for landmark designation set by the city.
Had Council denied the church’s appeal, the commission was scheduled to consider landmark designation for the 1927-era structure.
The church’s appeal was deferred for more than two months due to COVID-19.
First Baptist leaders want to demolish the building to make way for a welcome center and primary entrance for the historic 182,000-square-foot Hobson Auditorium, the church administration building and the Ruth Lindsay Auditorium.
First Baptist Senior Pastor Heath Lambert did not immediately respond to request for comment after the vote June 23.
The pastor told the Council Land Use and Zoning Committee on June 16 there is no other option if the church is to remain Downtown. It faces an 11-year decline in membership and an annual $5 million maintenance bill.
“We’ve engaged in an effort to reevaluate all of our options to produce alternative plans to move forward with our ministry. And the fact of the matter is there is no plan that we can imagine that will allow us to move forward on this block without permission to demolish (the building),” Lambert said.
“I’m asking you to trust a church that has invested in the city for nearly two centuries,” he said.
The pastor told the Jacksonville Daily Record on Feb. 19 the church secured a $15 million loan for the project and will hold a fundraising campaign for the remaining capital.
The church announced in December it hired real estate firm CBRE Jacksonville to market its property for sale.
Lambert said June 16 that the church has an agreement with its bank and the project financing is contingent on receiving the demolition permit and plan to proceed with construction on the Hobson block.
Lambert said financing has been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Historic Preservation Commission voted 5-2 in February to halt the demolition, with a majority of the panel in agreement that the 1927-era structure could satisfy four of the seven criteria for landmark designation set by the city.
Pausing the demolition allowed the city Planning and Development Department staff to conduct a full evaluation of the site.
Christian Popoli, city planner supervisor for the Community Planning Division, Historic Preservation Section, told the Council committee June 16 that his staff intended to recommend the property receive the historic status.
With the Council’s vote June 23, Popoli’s full and final report will not be presented to the commission June 24.
The building is a contributing structure to the National Register of Historic Places Downtown Historic District.
More than 100 people attended the public hearing in February to show support both for and against the demolition.
Council members Danny Becton and Micheal Boylan, who voted against the appeal during the LUZ committee hearing, were joined by Randy DeFoor and Matt Carlucci in opposing the appeal June 23.
The four council members thought the building to be fully vetted by city historic preservation officials before voting on the demolition.
“Frankly, I’m tired of buildings getting torn down in Jacksonville,” Carlucci said. “We keep losing piece by piece parts of our fabric that make Jacksonville what it is and our charm.”
