Historic Bostwick Building Demolition Meeting Tonight

[Metro Jacksonville]

Historic Bostwick Building Demolition Meeting Tonight



After letting their property fall apart for decades, the owners of the historic Bostwick Building are urging the City Council to allow them to demolish the structure. For those interested in not seeing another vacant weed downtown lot, the City Council's Land Use and Zoning Committee will be having a public hearing on this topic tonight.


Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2013-jan-historic-bostwick-building-demolition-meeting-tonight

[sheclown]

Good article.  The bottom line is, do we protect our historic structures or do we not?  The experts in the city have determined this is a building worth saving.  It is up to the city council to agree.

[avonjax]

If this building is allowed to come down......I have no words.
Maybe we should just raze every building pre 1970 and just cross our fingers and hope someday someone will build something on the weed infested, littered empty lot.
The City Council can show their true colors with this decision.

[mbwright]

It should have been placed under historic protection long ago.  I thought that is why we had a historic department within the city.  I'm not sure what is it called.  All of the historic buildings in Duval county should be protected, not just downtown, or just Springfield.  Much of the blight is caused by allowing these great buildings to be demolished, or demolished by neglect. 
If the property is only worth 76K, 150K is more than fair.  The owners are being unreasonable, and should have sold 10 years ago when the market was high, and the building in much better shape.
Waiting until the very last minute to try to save a building takes a great deal of effort.  Maybe this is one that could be mothballed.

[sheclown]

It should have been placed under historic protection long ago.  I thought that is why we had a historic department within the city.  I'm not sure what is it called.  All of the historic buildings in Duval county should be protected, not just downtown, or just Springfield.  Much of the blight is caused by allowing these great buildings to be demolished, or demolished by neglect. 
If the property is only worth 76K, 150K is more than fair.  The owners are being unreasonable, and should have sold 10 years ago when the market was high, and the building in much better shape.
Waiting until the very last minute to try to save a building takes a great deal of effort.  Maybe this is one that could be mothballed.

It is very frustrating, indeed!

FWIW, the historic planning department lead by Joel McEachin, is working very hard to save the Bostwick building.  They are the ones, on behalf of the Historic Planning Commission, who are pushing for landmark status.

[urbanlibertarian]

IMO the bottom line is...the bottom line.  Money.  I realize this building has great historical value but equating that value to how much should be spent to preserve it is very difficult.  I try to put myself in the shoes of the owners and think about it as if the restoration money was coming out of my pocket.  I know they have turned down offers from potential buyers but again it's hard for me to know what I would do in their place.

[thelakelander]

mbrwright, you have an interesting point.  Perhaps, there should be additional measures placed to preserve the urban core's remaining building fabric.  For example, should the rest of what's left of historic LaVilla, the historic heart of the Northbank and some neighborhoods like Brentwood and Durkeeville be designated as official historic districts?  I guess those are questions we can work on resolving after making sure the Bostwick isn't mowed down.

[thelakelander]

IMO the bottom line is...the bottom line.  Money.  I realize this building has great historical value but equating that value to how much should be spent to preserve it is very difficult.  I try to put myself in the shoes of the owners and think about it as if the restoration money was coming out of my pocket.  I know they have turned down offers from potential buyers but again it's hard for me to know what I would do in their place.

I'd say money is an important part of it but the core issue seems to be greed mixed with stubbornness, resulting from a maintenance/code enforcement situation that should have been addressed, one way or the other, decades ago.  I've also tried to put myself in the owner's shoes and at the end of the day, I'd take a $150,000 bail out as opposed to paying $40k to demolish and be left with a small plot of land worth half that.  If they can't afford to refurbish it, they sure can't afford or will look to build something up from the ground.  The historical elements of that building are the most valuable thing on that  site and that's what they value less.

[Captain Zissou]

I think we should have a demolition fee in the core.  I would love for it to be $50,000, but anything that would make somebody think twice before knocking something down would be great. Why hasn't code enforcement been fining them out the wazoo for letting this property fall into such disrepair?

[Coolyfett]

mbrwright, you have an interesting point.  Perhaps, there should be additional measures placed to preserve the urban core's remaining building fabric.  For example, should the rest of what's left of historic LaVilla, the historic heart of the Northbank and some neighborhoods like Brentwood and Durkeeville be designated as official historic districts?  I guess those are questions we can work on resolving after making sure the Bostwick isn't mowed down.

Durkeeville YES...Brentwood No.

[iloveionia]

Excellent article Ennis.
The building needs to be preserved, period.
As mbwright said, the city should be mothballing. 
They should be stepping in an being proactive when dealing with derelict owners. 
Code has the funds to do so.
Unfortunate that there is a buyer who is denied the sale.
Ignorance and greed seem to be blinding the owners.
Preservation SOS sent an email to LUZ (addresses of council folks above) yesterday in support of landmark status and preserving the structure. 

[duvaldude08]

I think we should have a demolition fee in the core.  I would love for it to be $50,000, but anything that would make somebody think twice before knocking something down would be great. Why hasn't code enforcement been fining them out the wazoo for letting this property fall into such disrepair?

This is the part I keep thinking about. Why do property owners sit and let the buildings fall into despair instead fixing them as needed? Im sure they wont let their home fall into despair. Why own a building and you can afford the up keep?

[thelakelander]

mbrwright, you have an interesting point.  Perhaps, there should be additional measures placed to preserve the urban core's remaining building fabric.  For example, should the rest of what's left of historic LaVilla, the historic heart of the Northbank and some neighborhoods like Brentwood and Durkeeville be designated as official historic districts?  I guess those are questions we can work on resolving after making sure the Bostwick isn't mowed down.

Durkeeville YES...Brentwood No.

Why?  Brentwood has a great collection of historic architecture and is just as significant to the city's history as the more popular neighborhoods.

[sheclown]

Brentwood is awesome.  Great structures tucked in and around the area. 

[stephendare]

We will be liveblogging the meeting tonight, and the effort could definitely use as many people from the public showing up in support of preservation as possible.