by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The term “economic stimulus plan” wasn’t even in the common vernacular in 2000 when voters approved a new County Courthouse as part of the Better Jacksonville Plan (BJP). That is, however, an aspect of the project that was given final architectural design approval at Thursday’s meeting of the Downtown Development Review Board (DDRB) of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.
“On projects like this, the rule of thumb is about half goes to what you’d call ‘parts’ and the other half to what you’d call ‘labor’,” said Dave Schneider, the City’s BJP project engineer.
Schneider added that the magnitude and type of construction that will be involved to build the new Courthouse will require workers from every trade — from excavation services to roofing contractors and everything in between.
Schneider also said as many as 50 subcontractors will be needed to complete the project and when the City issues the Requests for Proposals, the specifications will be written to favor local contractors.
Over the three-year construction window, that means about $175 million of the current approved budget for the project will go to construction companies and the paychecks of their workers. The $350 million total includes funds already spent on the project, plus costs to renovate the former Federal Courthouse into facilities for the State Attorney’s Office.
Schneider also said even if a bid is won by an out-of-town subcontractor, those workers will still spend their paychecks locally on lodging, food, fuel and entertainment, “but we’re going to be hiring a lot of local labor.”
Thursday’s meeting won’t be the last time the Courthouse project will be before the DDRB, however. Final approval was granted along with deviations from design standards on three issues. The design will not be required to include pedestrian entrances on Broad, Duval or Pearl streets in order to limit general access to the Courthouse as a way to improve building security. An addition, deviation was granted to allow the Courthouse to reach 195 feet in height, consistent with other nearby buildings including the Federal Courthouse.
The third deviation request was to modify the design on the Monroe Street side of the Courthouse in order to allow for a public plaza and landscaping to complement the development.
Landscape architect and DDRB chair Chris Flagg, who had recused himself from voting on the Courthouse review due to being a subcontractor on the project, left his chair at the head of the table to take up the laser pointer and explain the concepts behind the plaza design.
Flagg said the entrance to the Courthouse will be a “mini park” where people might have lunch under a canopy of shade trees. He also said the design includes half the minimum space between trees required by law (30 feet apart rather than 60 feet) since the Duval Street parking lot included in the design will not include shade trees.
“That’s the parking lot that will be used to transfer defendants into the Courthouse,” said Flagg. “There is a concern that as the trees matured, limbs would grow over the fence,” which would allow the security of the area to be breached.
The portion of Monroe Street adjacent to the Courthouse site will be closed during construction and the roadway’s final design and alignment has not yet been determined. Consequently, the DDRB voted to withhold the Certificate of Occupancy for the new Courthouse until after the board approves the Monroe Street design.
The next meeting of the DDRB will be held Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. in the board room on the 2nd floor of the Police & Fire Pension Fund Building at 1 W. Adams St.
356-2466