JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A reality TV star with sights on a historic building in the Lavilla neighborhood says she may have to demolish it to make her restaurant concept work.
Captain Sandy Yawn from the Bravo TV show "Below Deck Mediterranean" bought 618 W. Adams Street in the Lavilla neighborhood two years ago, but has suggested that she plans to demolish the building in order to build a restaurant in the location.
Local historians would like Yawn to wait for a report on the historical significance of the building before demolishing it.
From the outside, 618 W. Adams Street is boarded up, locked and dirty. Through a crack in the front door, you can see daylight pouring into the building through a collapsed portion of the roof.
Yawn bought the building for $185,000, but renovation estimates totaling nearly $7,000,000 led her to want to knock it down and build fresh.
The Historic Preservation Commission wants her to wait while they determine if the building is a landmark.
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Ennis Davis studies Jacksonville's urban core and says that 618 W. Adams St, which was built in a historically Black neighborhood, could and should be preserved.
"We only have so many buildings left of what was a really significant community that we intentionally destroyed," says Davis. "So before we go around haphazardly destroying things because we have a product that doesn't work here, we should vet these things out better."
The building is within walking distance from the Duval County Courthouse and is also across the street from a food truck. On The Fly Sandwiches' owner Andrew Ferenc says that he welcomes a restaurant like the one Yawn proposed.
"I think it's great, I think it's going to add to downtown," says Ferenc. "I think it's a really cool concept, so I think anything that's going to come down here and spice up the area is good."
Davis says that knocking down 618 W. Adams St would be the latest step in erasing the history of what was once a vibrant and predominantly Black community.
"Our history has shown us that given the number of vacant lots and overgrown lots, that is truly blight," says Davis. "It's more likely to sit as another surface parking lot or overgrown lot for the next 50 years than become a restaurant."
Davis says there are more options than demolition to allow this building to become a restaurant, while still preserving its historical structure.
"We have a downtown preservation trust fund, we have various incentive programs to help restore buildings like this," says Davis.
A report on the historical significance of 618 W. Adams Street could come as early as the end of July.
If it's granted landmark status, the building will be preserved.