by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The City will likely ask developers for a second time to check out the Haydon Burns Library.
The future of the 1960s-era building has been a topic of speculation since the City announced plans to build a new $90 million Main Library as part of the Better Jacksonville Plan. The new building’s opening early next year will allow the City to turn the page on the Burns library. The 122,475 square-foot Ocean Street building should be empty and ready to develop by April. Between now and then the City will likely issue a Request for Proposals to developers, seeking new ideas for one of downtown’s most distinctive buildings.
JEDC executive director Kirk Wendland said the decision to issue an RFP wasn’t made yet. But he said he “strongly suspected we’re going to go that way.”
City planners in the past have said the building could serve various uses. But the City lately has focused its attention on residential development. It’s not known at this point if the RFP will specify plans for the building or if the JEDC will leave the use open-ended, said Wendland. “We haven’t ruled anything out,” he said.
Whatever its function, the building is an important component of the City’s plans to encourage development downtown. If the City decides to go ahead with the RFP, Wendland said he wants to make sure it leads to the property’s best use.
“When you look at its location, right near the direct core of downtown and close to Hemming Plaza, the Landing and surrounding development, you realize it’s a pretty key development site,” he said. “We want to take a hard look at it and think about the approach we want to take.”
The City typically looks to unload its property into private hands where it will generate tax revenue. But the RFP won’t stipulate that developers buy the property. Instead each proposal will be weighed separately. The City will likely have the option of keeping ownership, but it would be an unusual arrangement. JEDC spokesperson Jean Moyer said she wasn’t aware of another RFP that kept the City as property owner.
A recent appraisal commissioned by the JEDC lists the building and property as worth $4.5 million. The one-plus acre of land is valued at $2.2 million while the building is estimated at $2.3 million. The appraiser based the estimate on recent real estate sales in the area.
Haydon Burns’ location is viewed as its most marketable asset, according to the appraiser’s market analysis. An increasingly viable market in the Central Business District has been bolstered by successful development like the nearby 11 E. apartments, and the old library building is along for the ride, according to the analysis.
The appraisal did list some of the property’s shortfalls. Any future owner will face a challenge from a lack of parking and will likely have to “substantially renovate” the property to address it.