by Bradley Parson
Staff Writer
The City expects to hear by the end of August whether an unidentified private party will buy the Snyder Memorial building. The new party would replace the City as buyer, saving about $1 million in historical preservation money.
The Gothic church building at the corner of Laura and Monroe streets is the former home of the St. Johns River City Band. The City has been looking for new owners, because the band has fallen impossibly behind on a $650,000 loan used to buy the building in 2000.
The City worked with Jacksonville Beach’s Oceanside Bank to get the band the loan and has helped extend the letter of credit twice for a grace period of more than two years. But the band has not been able to make a dent in annual payments that would total $133,000. Oceanside has extended the letter of credit until the end of October to provide time for the City to either sell the property or buy it.
A mayor’s office request for $1.05 million in Historical Preservation Trust Fund money to buy Snyder and continue renovations has been deferred from the City Council. The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission wants time to see if it can reach terms with the potential buyer.
The proposal to use the trust fund raised questions on the Council’s Finance Committee anyway. The trust fund is designated to improve infrastructure, appearance and safety in historic buildings targeted for development. The mayor’s office would likely need to waive the fund’s guidelines to use the money to buy Snyder.
Assistant Council Auditor Jim Meyer said members of the Finance Committee had asked him if buying the building made financial sense for the City. The City would spend $650,000 to satisfy the letter of credit and another $400,000 to pay construction liens on the property. Meyer said it would likely cost another half million to open the building. More than half would be expected to come from a State grant.
“If we’re going to buy this building and make the necessary improvements to it, I think it’s worth asking whether we could absorb the cost,” said Meyer. “If we’re doing all this just to sell it, I don’t know if we could get our money back on it.”
The City won’t have to answer that question if it can close with the private party. The JEDC wouldn’t discuss terms, but the band’s realtor, Bobby Knight of Addison Commercial Realty said he’s been shopping the building for around $1.3 million.
Knight said he’s had several interested parties look at the building within the last week, but said he didn’t know who the City is courting.
If no action is taken before Oct. 31, the City would have the option to call in the letter of credit. Oceanside Bank would pay the City $650,000 to satisfy the band’s loan and could foreclose on Snyder. Oceanside CEO Barry Chandler said he hoped the City would find a buyer before he had to make that choice.
“The last thing we would want is to end up with the building,” said Chandler. “We’re in the money business not property management.”