First Baptist Church of Jacksonville is appealing the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission’s decision to deny a demolition permit for the church's building at 125 W. Church St.
City Council Resolution 2020-0188 challenges the commission’s 5-2 vote Feb. 26 that halted the proposed demolition.
An entry on the city’s legislative bill search web portal offers a description of the resolution and bill number, but the bill documents were not uploaded as of 9:45 a.m. March 6.
First Baptist Church Senior Pastor Heath Lambert did not immediately return a call for comment March 5.
The commission decided the 1927 building could meet criteria to be designated a local landmark.
The bill entry states the appeal is requested as a one-cycle emergency. If the emergency is approved by the full Council at its March 10 meeting, the church’s appeal will have to pass the Council Land Use and Zoning Committee before final Council consideration.
If it moves through committee, the full Council could vote on the appeal on March 24.
First Baptist wants 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 proposes a more than $30 million project to renovate and redevelop 1.53 acres of church property into “The Hobson Block” as it consolidates its Downtown campus.
The building is a contributing structure to the National Register of Historic Places Downtown Historic District.
Lambert told the Daily Record on Feb. 19 the building’s interior is in disrepair and he expects it would need to be gutted.
Project architects told the commission that the structure cannot be retrofitted for the church’s intended use. First Baptist says denying the demolition could derail its efforts to consolidate into one city block Downtown.
A city report released Feb. 21 said the building could meet six of the seven criteria used to proceed with designation as a local landmark.
A majority of the commission said the building could satisfy at least four of the seven local landmark criteria and is structurally sound for preservation and renovation for church use.
Four is the minimum number needed for designation.
If the Council denies the appeal, the building’s fate returns to the Historic Preservation Commission.
The Planning and Development Department is working on an in-depth study of the building’s historic value. The commission will evaluate that report.
The commission, scheduled to meet March 25, will then decide whether to recommend
a local landmark designation.
If the commission does not recommend the local landmark designation, the church will automatically be granted a demolition permit.
Likewise, if Council rejects the local landmark designation, the building can be demolished. If Council grants landmark status, the building will be preserved.
Only Council can designate a structure a local landmark.
Lambert told the Daily Record the church does not have an alternate option for the Hobson Block and would take legal action to challenge local landmark status if it is approved by Council.