JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The future of a major building project in downtown Jacksonville is now uncertain after the Downtown Investment Authority voted to end negotiations with the group hoping to restore the Laura Street Trio.
The historic buildings have been a fixture in downtown since after the Great Fire more than a century ago.
A report from the Downtown Investment Authority said the Laura Street Trio project called for $89 million of taxpayer money to be given mostly upfront in the form of grants. Ultimately, that was too high of a price to pay for members of the DIA.
Amidst the skyline of downtown Jacksonville sit three distinct and vacant buildings. The Laura Street Trio have stood the test of time since construction after the Great Fire of 1901. But for the last two decades they've been shells of their former selves; empty with graffiti and weeds growing out of the walls.
"Unfortunately our downtown has taken a great decline, it is concerning," said SouthEast Development Group Managing Director Steve Atkins. "It is something that should reinforce the needs of this project."
Atkins and SouthEast own the buildings and hope to revitalize the Laura Street Trio into a mixed use commercial residential development. Signs on the fence around the property indicate the project is coming soon; they've been there long enough to be defaced with spray paint.
"A large part of the cost of this project, probably about 40% of the cost gives no return whatsoever, it's not revenue generating," said Atkins, "it's simply putting these buildings back in a structural state that they're suitable for new construction, that's the challenge."
A challenge and a price tag that was too expensive for DIA to agree with. Board member Scott Wohlers was part of a unanimous vote to end negotiations between the authority and SouthEast on the Laura Street Trio project.
"It all had to do with the money coming upfront and put in an escrow account," said Wohlers, "from a fiduciary responsibility for the taxpayers and the city I didn't feel that was the right use of city funds to put all of that capital upfront."
"While they're incredibly important to downtown and they're historic and revitalization is incredibly important to downtown, doing what's right by the city and the taxpayers is what's most important at the end of the day in my opinion," said Wohlers.
"These are very difficult projects and not for the faint of heart, we will continue to move forward," said Atkins.
While the Laura Street Trio project will not continue with the Downtown Investment Authority, it's not dead. Atkins said a special city council committee was formed to look into the future and funding of the project.