by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
City Council may soon implement another tool to convince businesses and developers to reuse and refurbish historically significant buildings instead of constructing new ones.
Council president Matt Carlucci wants to establish a trust fund which would subsidize restoration efforts of historic buildings within the downtown area.
“This is going to play a major role in downtown redevelopment,” said Carlucci.
The idea grew from one of several committees of the Task Force on Historic Downtown Preservation and Revitalization, which Carlucci implemented last summer as part of his Council presidency. He plans to introduce a bill April 9 that would create the new account. While there is no money lined up for the account, Carlucci says he will introduce a concurrent bill that would appropriate $5,000 from a special Council reserve account to start the fund.
“I am hoping that perhaps in the near future, the City may be able to appropriate a significant amount of dollars for it,” added Carlucci, though he declined to elaborate on a dollar figure he considers “significant.”
The trust fund would be one more enticement for developers and building owners to favor renovation over demolition. Currently, property owners can receive a 20 percent tax credit for renovations to buildings designated on the National Historic Register. There are efforts within City Hall to create a National Historic Register District downtown to alleviate paperwork for individual building owners seeking designation. City Council is also rewriting the fire safety code specifically for older buildings that would allow historically accurate renovations without compromising safety but would keep projects reasonably affordable.
“These older buildings typically cost a lot more to renovate than new construction in the suburbs,” said JEDC project manager Jason Thiel. “A lot of times developers need access to capital.”
The trust fund would provide at least some of that upfront capital through grants and loans.
The bill will likely see some fine tuning by the time the Council votes on it, but the basics elements are in place.
The final draft will likely include only locally designated historic buildings or buildings that are contributing structures of a local historic district. Buildings with only a national designation will likely not qualify for trust fund money. The idea is to give local money to locally designated structures.
“If it is only a national landmark, there aren’t as many safeguards in place as locally designated buildings,” said City attorney Shannon Scheffer.
The buildings must fall within an outlined geographic area roughly south of Union Street between I-95 and the Mathews Bridge and north of I-95 on the Southbank.
Trust fund money would be awarded to building owners who want to make facade improvements, bring an older building into compliance with the modern building code requirements or refurbish key architectural features.
The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission will approve all grants and loans paid from the fund except those in excess of $50,000, which would require Council approval.
Income for the fund would be generated by Council appropriations, grants, gifts and council designated fees, fines and civil penalties.
Scheffer says a clawback clause will likely be included to give the City legal muscle to recover money in case a property owner fails to meet expectations on a renovation project.