JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The frame of a $60 million apartment building will have to be demolished after a fire ripped through the construction site, according to Mayor Donna Deegan. But what’s next for the building and how long the damage shell will sit downtown is still up in the air.
Fire crews were still downtown monitoring the RISE Doro apartment building over 24 hours after a massive fire ripped through the construction site.
While the fire at RISE Doro burned throughout the building, onlookers on the ground were already thinking about what will be next.
“It’s unfortunate to see they’ve been working on it for so long. They were just a month out from finally it out and actually renting out the places," Justin Bartlett, who watched as the fire burned, said Monday.
RISE president Greg Blaise said during a news conference Monday he is committed to rebuilding and that the building was insured. The state fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.
“There will be unfortunately, a lot of finger pointing between who and what caused the fire was in a particular subcontract? Or was it some type of material, who knows?" Chip Bachara, attorney with Bachara Construction Law Group, said. “Everyone is going to be interested in the outcome. And that will set the stage for how things go forward."
Construction attorney Chip Bachara is not involved in the RISE Doro situation but has worked on lawsuits surrounding the Berkman Plaza building, which sat empty in downtown Jacksonville for over a decade.
He says part of the delay with the Berkman was legal battles surrounding the death of a construction worker and the multiple changes of property ownership. He says the investigation and clean-up will have to be completed first before any demolition work is started and the rebuild can begin.
“After its cleaned up site. Again, it'll take another year or two beyond that before it's rebuilt, I think you've got several years before you're going to see a building on that site again, at least five," Bachara said.
JFRD crews are remaining here at the building until they feel the building is completely safe or until the demolition starts.