JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville City Council will hold a special meeting Thursday morning to discuss funding a plan to re-develop the Laura Street Trio.
The buildings located on Laura and Forsyth Streets in downtown Jacksonville were built just after the Great Fire in 1901. They’ve sat vacant for decades.
Many people, like 50-year Jacksonville resident Billie Bradford, still see the buildings as a work of art — and an opportunity.
“They just look iconic, and they look nice,” Bradford said. “I love that architecture.”
Bradford said she’d love to see them restored and revitalized.
The city council will talk Thursday at City Hall about the funding for the incentives and the trio’s full restoration project.
That includes $22 million to secure a construction loan for the developer. The council is expected to hear from several people during the meeting, including the property owner, his representatives, and the Downtown Investment Authority.
In the past, the owner has gotten approval from the DIA, but construction costs and other issues have led him to restructure the funding for the project.
Jennifer Morrissey has stationed her hot dog and sausage stand business at the Laura/ Forsyth Streets intersection for years and says the city’s plans to redevelop the trio would mean good things for Jacksonville.
”I’m from Chicago and the downtown of Chicago is full of life, and down here, that will help it,” Morrissey said. “It will be the same. I think people will come for more events.”
Councilman Matt Carlucci told News4JAX that if the project is completed, it’ll become downtown’s signature development.
In a statement, he said:
”Restoring the Laura Street Trio will serve as a continual economic catalyst, offering affordable housing, a four-star hotel, and an upscale restaurant. Furthermore, the cost of inaction is too high, as leaving these central, historic properties in a state of disrepair and vacancy undermines the vitality of our historic urban core. We must take decisive action to prevent this.”
Morrissey says given the back-and-forth Jacksonville residents have seen over the years with other projects not panning out, she’s staying cautiously optimistic about this one.
“They say it’s going to happen, and then it doesn’t,” Morrissey said. “And then I hear from the construction workers that I feed. They’re like, ‘No, no, no, it’s happening’. And then it doesn’t.”
Carlucci said if the project passes through the council and is signed into law by the mayor, construction has to begin within 90 days, with just over two years to finish.
The special council meeting starts at 9 a.m. Thursday, and News4AX will be there to provide coverage updates.
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