Meeks calls $1M Elena Flats restoration project ‘civic philanthropy”By Max Marbut, Staff WriterIn about 14 months, there will be four more market-rate units available in the Downtown apartment market.But it will be much longer — likely years — before the project shows a profit for the developers.Jack Meeks and his wife, JoAnn Tredennick, purchased the Elena Flats building at 122 E. Duval St. and have begun the historic restoration of the site.While the couple paid just the lot value to secure the property — $45,000 — they plan to invest more than $1 million to restore the interior and exterior and install new plumbing, electrical service and HVAC.Meeks, a member of the Downtown Investment Authority board of directors, said other than a federal historic preservation grant, they will not seek any financial or tax incentives for the project.“This is going to cost us more than it’s worth, but there’s not enough city money to do all the Downtown projects that need to be done,” Meeks said. “It will take some civic philanthropy.”
I wish them the best of luck. Perhaps this is how the city will start to get the ball rolling . . . . have members of its staff detach from the city and actually take things into their own hands. Bravo!
Quote from: CCMjax on October 27, 2015, 08:25:03 AMI wish them the best of luck. Perhaps this is how the city will start to get the ball rolling . . . . have members of its staff detach from the city and actually take things into their own hands. Bravo![sarcasm] Maybe some of the fat cats at JEA and the Pension Funds can pitch in and help. [/sarcasm]If not city officials, I hope some affluent members of Jax can step in and take on some projects that might take a few more years to make their money back. John Gorrie was a huge example of this, and Elena Flats is still pretty significant. I think Cowford Chophouse is a great project even if the restaurant gets shuttered in a few years. The bostwick building is beautiful and worth saving. We can save the city one building at a time.
