by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
It might be called a Catch-22. It might be called a classic example of, “damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”
Whatever you call it, the Annie Lytle School in Brooklyn has been a development project waiting to happen since 1980.
The Ida M. Stevens Foundation purchased the property 26 years ago with hopes to convert it into housing for seniors. That was the first of a series of good ideas that never came to fruition for a variety of reasons, mostly economic conditions that made proposed projects not profitable enough to pursue and the planned development of the new I-10 interchange.
The school was designed by architect Rutledge Holmes and completed in 1918. It was designated a historic landmark by the City in 2000 in an effort to ensure the structure’s preservation and help a developer obtain funds to convert the school into luxury condominiums.
Last month, attorney Doug Milne, trustee for Foundation Holding IV, received a notice of condemnation from the Property Safety Division of the Neighborhoods Department based on an inspection conducted by the division in June of 2001.
“We get those notices about every six months and respond accordingly,” said Milne.
Here’s the snag: the foundation is prohibited from demolishing the building due to its historic landmark status.
In November of last year, Milne petitioned the Historic Preservation Commission for permission to demolish the school and was denied. The matter was then sent to the City Council. After considering the options, the Council’s Land Use and Zoning Committee granted the property owner’s appeal and overturned the Historic Preservation Commission’s final order denying demolition of the building Feb. 14 with two conditions: if economically feasible, the front architectural feature of the building shall be preserved subject to the review and approval of the Design Review Committee of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and any new construction shall use architecture similar to the existing external and internal features, also subject to approval by the DRC.
The matter is now sitting stagnant in LUZ.
“Take frustrating and multiply it times 20,” said Milne. “No one wants to use the building more than its owner. For 20 years, we could have dismantled it without permission and we didn’t do it. Our intent has always been to preserve it.”
Milne said he has spent a fortune maintaining the building over the years, including more than $4,000 a month for grounds maintenance, $15,000 over the past two years for security lighting and fencing and as much as $40,000 a year to repair vandalism and paint over graffiti.
“I’ve lost count of how many sheets of plywood and gallons of paint have been purchased and that doesn’t include taxes and insurance. It’s an appreciable expense,” said Milne.
While construction of the new overpass for the interchange probably won’t do anything to enhance the value of the property, Milne sees the activity as an advantage. The foundation has granted the Florida Department of Transportation permission to use the yard in front of the building to place cranes for the construction of the expressway that should begin in January and continue through 2007.
“They’ll do the construction at night. Hopefully the activity will provide us with some much-needed security,” said Milne.
He added that he remains optimistic that there is a future for the Annie Lytle School, despite that, “After 25 years, a lot of smart people have tried, but no useful or practical purpose has been found.”
City Development Co. in St. Augustine has had an option on the property since 2003 and several possible solutions have been considered, but so far there has been no progress.
Spokesperson Lynn Fournier said the current adjustment in the real estate environment might work to their advantage.
“The housing market is cooling off, so contractors are looking for work and we might find one that would consider a partnership. There are fewer opportunities for real estate investors right now and the amount of return they’re looking for is lower,” she said.
Fournier also said that she, like Milne, remains optimistic, but then added she knows what they are up against.
“LUZ has kept deferring it. They said they can do that forever.”