by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
Three buildings are for sale in an area downtown dreamers hope will some day become a bustling entertainment nook of central Jacksonville.
Situated on the corner of Forsyth and Ocean streets, the buildings are a stone’s throw from the Florida Theatre and the Florida Ballet on Forsyth Street and an envisioned entertainment strip along Bay Street to the south.
“On this particular property, there could be a vision for doing something different than what is there,” said Henry Rogers of Nicholson-Williams Realty, a franchise of Coldwell Banker Commercial. “It could be part of an entertainment center.”
Seven of the nine units are currently filled by a mixed bag of tenants, including restaurants, a bonding agency, a copy service center, a collectible shop and a tobacco shop. The possible sale of the buildings concerns some tenants while others take it in stride.
“I don’t feel secure,” said Ann Teague, who owns a bonding agency in one of the buildings.
Although Teague sees no specific threat to her 19-year-old business on East Forsyth Street, the thought of new ownership and the general sentiment of transitioning the area to an entertainment mecca unsettles her, especially because her occupancy is on a month-to-month basis.
Around the corner on Ocean Street, Thomas Spencer, owner of The Tobacco Shop is taking a wait-and-see attitude. Spencer, also on a month-to-month rental basis, recently took ownership of the store when long-time owner and aunt Gwen Martino passed away in January. While he would like to update and expand the shop’s inventory to include fine wines, he has decided to wait.
“I don’t want to put all this money in the building and then they say I’ve got to go,” said Spencer. “They could come in and kick everybody out. But I’m not going to worry. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
So far, none of the owners are in any danger of eviction. If the buildings sell, the new ownership could exercise certain housecleaning options, but it’s unlikely. Plus, Rogers said interest in the property has been scant.
“We did have one offer,” he said. “It was an offer that had a counteroffer to it but it didn’t fly.”
Other interested parties have promised to make offers “next week.” Days would pass until it was evident “next week” would never come.
The buyer — or buyers — could be right under Rogers’ nose.
Spencer suggested a collective tenant effort to purchase the building to preserve their livelihood.
“I would love to let the tenants buy it,” he said. “I think it would be worth it.”
Spencer said he has floated the idea to some of his neighbors and said the initial response has been favorable. The asking price of $600,000 has neighbor Ken Watson intrigued. Watson, displaced by the proposed Duval County Courthouse in western downtown, opened his copy service center on Ocean Street Friday.
“I could possibly go in with other tenants,” he said.
Before Watson moved in, he offered to purchase the two story building he now rents at 11 N. Ocean St. The building’s owners declined his offer. He has since expressed interest in purchasing the group of buildings, either with the other tenants or through another group of investors.
Although the buildings’ ownership could not be reached for comment, Rogers said there is no particular hurry to sell. The buildings are in fair condition and would require varying degrees of work. Built in the early 1900s, they are not historically designated but the new ownership could pursue it.
Rogers provided an income and expense breakdown of the three buildings, which indicates a positive net operating income of over $27,000 in 2001.