Ten Reasons to Save Fire Station Five

[Metro Jacksonville]

Ten Reasons to Save Fire Station Five



History is the conscience of our society. Those who fail to understand the past are condemned to repeat its errors.  Fire Station No. 5 has been an intergal part of our community since 1910, but now it is on the chopping block for another parking lot.  Here are 10 reasons why it should remain right where it is!

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/632

[Skot David Wilson]

Beautiful work! Thanks for the effort!
LUZ is on the 6th. at City Council, AS IS them trying to waive the historic protection of Annie Lytle, which I love the transit station idea for.
I'll keep saying it, when we form as one coalition, supporting each other's individual concerns, and keep them there until 2 or 3 am every meeting, maybe then they will start to listen if for no other reason than to get home to sleep.....
We can order pizza and have meetings and discussions and all find creative ways to support and help each other.
Let's see...
3 minutes time twenty people is over an hour.... five issues comes out to like six hours....
Talk about forcing capitulation!
And with general comments?
Yeah, about 3 am meeting ends seems about right.

[jeh1980]

Man! Its amazing how we are limiting ourselves by being jealous over other vibrant cities like Toronto because we thought that they kept their history alive while making room for fresh new stuff while we murmur and complain about the so-called "ever disappearing architectural history" and fearing about another pocket park (not that I'm a supporter of pocket parks). We all due respect, but its just not cool how we look at things. We do need to save our history but I would like to see more new high rises. How is the office market in downtown? In my opinion, it would be better for us to build a fresh new 40 story office tower only to be filled half empty rather than having another pocket park. I say we should keep fire station five where it is!

[Skot David Wilson]

I think I can answer for the writer as well when I say Jax is an example of how to screw up. Many other cities do better, and a few do worse. The problem here is that money and developers do whatever they want to a great degree, our mass transit sucks ass, our education system is a failure (just think of every 19 and 20 year old in town, now picture 4 out of 10 without a high school education), crime is everywhere, and the town has no real sense of community except for a small minority.
Some of us think we can do better.
And there are examples out there of how it can be done, and work well.
I say we at least try...

[thelakelander]

By the way, if the station comes down, it won't be for a new building.  From what I've been told, it would come down so Fidelity can create a new driveway into their complex that lines up with the Forest Street/Riverside Avenue intersection.

[raheem942]

well i support saveing it what if theres a really big fire or terist attack whos gonna save us

[MWisdom]

I work in the area of the firestation and see no real reason why it should be destroyed to make room for a pocket park or driveway.  To date I have never had aproblem with the existing traffic configuration and kind of like the firehouse as it is, where it is.

As a piece of history the firehouse should be retained.  It is the single building with character among monolithic corporate structures.  If the city wishes to close the house, perhaps it could be converted to a restaurant space with outdoor lawn seating behind it.  That would provide a much needed new place for corporate employees to dine, an evening destination dining spot in an area that will soon pull in more evening traffic, and a unique conversation point for the entire city to be proud of.

The building itself may not an architectural marvel, but it is noteworthy and deserves to be saved.  With the proper planning and some entreprenaurial spirit, it could be repurposed into an exciting destination with visually pleasing greenspace.

[Skot David Wilson]

At LUZ last night 988 was withfrawn so Glorious can redefine the historic boundary as the building itself plus a 12 foot buffer to the North and East of the building itself.
The South and West are to be to the existing curbline.
This means Fidelity can do with the rest of the property what they wish.
I see mixed use, museum and safety teaching center where the office and upstarirs are, and maybe a cold-cut sandwich shop and interior seating inside.
Fidelity knew it was historic when they got the building, so they can't complain if it gets a historic designation
YOU NEED TO GET OUT AND SUPPORT THIS. IF YOU AGREE THAT IT NEEDS TO BE SAVED, THEN EMAIL COUNCIL AND FIDELITY AND PEYTON AND SHOW UP AT COUNCIL MEETINGS TO SPEAK.
Anyone can speak, but who will act!
988 will be reintroduced with the new boundaries shortly, maybe next week!
Call Glorious and I to find out
skot
781-9473

[thelakelander]

Keep up the good work.

[fsu813]

Jacksonville must move Fire Station 5 or demolish it

If Jacksonville leaders don’t come up with a plan to move old Fire Station No. 5 in the next three months, the nearly century-old building will succumb to the wrecking ball.

This deadline was inevitable, city and preservation leaders said Friday — part of a 2005 land swap between the city and Fidelity National Financial.

Fidelity notified the city last week  of its plans to demolish the building on Riverside Avenue and, according to the 2005 agreement, the city has three months to put a plan together to relocate it.

At least one advocate of saving the three-story brick structure says the looming deadline may jump-start efforts to get a deal done.

But the city doesn’t have a location for the building, or any money earmarked to pay for the move, said Misty Skipper, spokeswoman for Mayor John Peyton.

Moving the building would cost about $600,000, according to city estimates done last year, and renovations could bring the tab to $2 million.

As part of the swap, Fidelity built a riverfront park and gave the city more land for the Northbank Riverwalk. In return, Fidelity obtained more land to expand its Riverside Avenue headquarters.

Fidelity doesn’t have any immediate plans for the fire station property, the company’s attorney, Paul Harden, said.

The Fire Department left the station in May 2008, moving about a mile away to a $2 million facility on Forest Street.

Today, more windows in the old firehouse are filled with plywood than glass.

The building is too big to fit under a slew of overpasses and bridges, so, unless the building is split in half, it would be restricted to the Brooklyn neighborhood where it now sits vacant.

Jerry Spinks, president of the Jacksonville Historical Society, said the old firehouse is key to the historical identity of the neighborhood.

Built in 1910, it is on a list of Jacksonville’s 12 most endangered historic buildings. It qualifies for local and national historic registries, but Peyton was against seeking the designation in 2007 for fear of breaking the agreement with Fidelity.

If a future owner was granted the designation, tax credits are available to supplement renovation costs, Spinks said.

The city has been in several discussions about the building over the years, but has never been able to reach a deal, Skipper said.

Spinks contends the building, once moved, could be a good fit for a business looking for a signature building that would be easily recognized by the public.

“If you and I were there, we wouldn’t have to tell many people how to find our building,” he said.




http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-12-06/story/jacksonville_must_move_fire_station_5_or_demolish_it

[thelakelander]

Move it across the street to the proposed Brooklyn Central Park.

[Charles Hunter]

Is there enough publicly owned land for that move?  My impression is that there isn't much more than the retention pond publicly owned.  Is the fenced off site next to the sandwich shop big enough?  Doesn't look like it to me, but I'm terrible at judging size.

[thelakelander]

I'd have to take a look at the property appraiser's maps.  If there isn't, there should be a ton of other COJ owned sites downtown.  Not that it really matters though.  We may be living in the last days of the seeing the historic fire station in one piece.

[sandyshoes]

It would be neat if our Fairgrounds had an Historic Jacksonville area, like the Clay County fairgrounds with their "Old Florida" village.  It's comprised of several century-old buildings that have been moved there.  Might there be room on A. Philip Randolph, near Merrill House / Old St. Andrews?  Metro Park?  Convention Center?  Brooklyn's good, too. 

[stjr]

As mentioned before, it should be moved across the street to a Brooklyn property and become the flagship store and corporate HQ's (with perhaps the addition of a complimentary structure) of Firehouse Subs.  I believe Brooklyn may also fall within the Enterprise and/or Empowerment zones qualifying for added incentives.

Steve Joost on the the City Council is an executive with them.  Maybe he could put 2 + 2 together and make this happen.  It would be a grand slam for them and Jax.  A corporate icon and Jax tourist attraction.  MJ should interview him for a comment.

If Fidelity has no immediate plans, they may be just trying to get the City to move and would grant added time if a real plan and schedule was developed.

Once again, a lack of vision and leadership in this City!