The Museum of Science & History building on the Downtown Southbank is on track to be flattened after action Jan. 21 by the Downtown Investment Authority board.
The board voted 9-0 to approve a $875,000 budget transfer to demolish the 58-year-old museum at 1025 Museum Circle. The funding also would provide for asbestos abatement related to the demolition.
On Jan. 13, the Daily Record reported that the city was reviewing a permit application for ELEV8 Demolition of Jacksonville to demolish the four-story, 83,299-square-foot building at a project cost of $835,000.
ELEV8 intends to demolish the structure and foundation and remove the debris.
MOSH was founded in 1941 and moved to the Southbank building in 1969.
MOSH closed Sept. 1, 2025, as it raises funds to move to a proposed Northbank facility in the Shipyards area.
DIA resolution 2026-01-04, which contains the budget transfer, states that “demolition of the building is in the public interest as well as in the interest of the DIA” due to the costs of maintaining the vacant structure and the potential to redevelop the site.
The city owns the 7.8 acres where the museum building was developed in 1968. MOSH was founded in 1941 and moved to the Southbank building in 1969.
With the museum vacating the building, the property is being conveyed back to the city.
On Jan. 12, Downtown Investment Authority CEO Colin Tarbert told the Jacksonville City Council Special Committee on the Future of Downtown that DIA staff toured the building and determined it was not salvageable for redevelopment.
Tarbert said DIA was prepared to use its funds for the $835,000 contract to raze the site.
“We think the best thing to do is take down the site and get it ready for redevelopment,” he said.
Tarbert told the committee the DIA would use its own funding for the demolition, as opposed to seeking money from the city’s operating funds.
The DIA resolution transfers $400,000 in unallocated funds, $300,000 from the DIA’s Commercial Revitalization Program for Downtown incentives, and $175,000 for park acquisition and capital improvements.
The site is next to The Related Group’s land where it intends to build the South Bank Residences 25-story tower and adjacent eight-story residential building and garage.
The new MOSH site on the Downtown Northbank is part of 8.68 acres on the west bank of Hogans Creek where it meets the St. Johns River, south of VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and VyStar Ballpark.
In March 2025, Council approved an amended agreement with MOSH, the city and DIA to allow for the new facility’s construction.
Under the agreement, MOSH will construct the building and design a surrounding park, with the city providing $880,000 toward the park’s design.
On Jan. 8, MOSH announced that CEO Alistair Dove had resigned and that Chief Development Officer Maureen Mercho would serve as interim executive director and remain chief development officer.