Fifteen years after voters approved construction of a new county courthouse as part of the Better Jacksonville Plan, the final phase is $2.4 million from completion.
That budget will fund restoration of the historic postal corridor and its fixtures on the ground floor in the former U.S. Post Office and federal courthouse at 311 W. Monroe St., now designated the Ed Austin Building.
The six-story structure is occupied by the State Attorney’s Office and is connected to the Duval County Courthouse by an enclosed elevated walkway above Pearl Street.
The legislation to appropriate funds for the completion of the project, 2015-146, is being reviewed by the City Council Finance and the Transportation, Energy and Utilities committees.
Assistant State Attorney and Managing Director Patricia Dodson presented the project Thursday to council members Reggie Brown and Kimberly Daniels.
Brown is chair of the TEU committee. He and Daniels serve on the Finance Committee.
Dodson said the city is legally bound to perform the historic restoration under the terms of the 2003 transfer of the building from the federal government to the city.
In 2004, a Memorandum of Agreement between the city and the state historic preservation office was signed, detailing the work required.
Dodson said the final phase of the project also includes creation of a public space that could be rented for meetings and other functions, creating a revenue source.
The legislation proposes taking the $2.4 million for the final work from the general projects account.
Assistant Council Auditor Kyle Billy said that account, comprising interest income, was selected for the project instead of the general fund or the city banking fund, which is borrowed money.
“Nobody wants to borrow any more from the banking fund,” he said.
Funding the last element of the project has been an issue since the beginning.
Before the building’s renovation was put out for bid, $27 million was set aside for the work. The lowest bid submitted was nearly $31 million, so the decision was made to postpone build-out of the first floor.
Eventually, deposition rooms and space for diversion programs including drug court were constructed on the ground floor, funded with $1.2 million left in the project budget when the city settled the $179 million contractor’s bill for the county courthouse building.
Completing historic restoration and the meeting space on the ground floor will allow the city to finally close the file on the 15-year-old, $350 million Duval County Unified Courthouse Facility project.
“When this is done, it’s done,” said Tom Goldsbury, city project manager.
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