by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
The Marble Bank, Bisbee and Florida Life buildings will not be renovated, at least not under the terms of a Signet Development proposal that was terminated recently by the Downtown Development Authority. At its meeting Wednesday, the DDA discussed what could and should be done with the unsecured, dilapidated buildings.
DDA managing director Al Battle said the “prudent” course of action would be to determine the condition of the buildings first, discuss the available options and later reveal the “framework” of a new Request for Proposals within 60 days.
“Obviously, the timing is imperative on this,” he said, “But we want to develop a new, specific RFP that is more in line with our strategic goals downtown.”
Battle said more housing and retail were among those goals.
Signet’s proposal would have delivered more of an office development.
“I would suggest we form a subcommittee that could investigate a more suitable future use,” said Battle.
The DDA agreed the buildings should be redeveloped, however some questioned how much longer they could stand.
“Buildings are truly failing,” said DDA member David Auchter. “Whoever develops them will need to work within the historical guidelines, and the cost in the next six to 12 months is going to start increasing exponentially.”
Battle said the City never anticipated having building ownership for more than a short time, making that responsibility somebody else’s.
The City purchased the buildings nearly three years ago when they were appraised at approximately $3 million.
“The condition of the buildings has been a part of our discussions for some time, but we felt the progress on the Signet development was just over the horizon,” he said.
Auchter said the RFP process would steal too much time from the buildings ever-shrinking lifespan.
“It’s going to cost a fortune to develop them,” he said. “The right agency needs to get in there and secure them before even more damage is done.
“Pretty soon there will be nothing left to RFP. They’re in a state of ruin and getting worse.”
Battle said the City’s short term goal would would be to secure the buildings.
“In doing so and making sure they don’t continue to degrade, we’ll be able to buy more time and develop a more focused RFP,” he said. “We’d rather do that than rush to judgment on something else.”
Battle was unsure how long the entire RFP process would take or when another developer would be selected.
In 2002, the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission recommended Signet to develop the buildings. As part of that agreement, they were to be issued a low interest $11 million loan and an additional $3 million grant from the Historic Trust Fund.
Battle said those funds would be re-dispersed and available for new projects in the area.