WEDNESDAY August 21, 2019
Public legal notices begin on page 3
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
REDEVELOPMENT
Farmers market, architecture school proposed for old Armory
DIA will seek proposals to relocate fire station
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
The 109-year-old building stands in the way of city plans to realign Forest St. for development.
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
ARMORY BUILDING
Three companies bid on the city-owned former Florida National Guard armory Downtown at 851 N. Market St. and a neighboring parcel with three warehouses at 928 N. Liberty St.
JACKSONVILLE
City received three bids for the historic vacant Downtown property. BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
The former Florida National Guard armory Downtown could become a mixed-use farmers market, greenhouse and event space or an architecture school. Property bidder B&H Fine Foods coowner Barry Adkin said he proposes to turn the property into a farmers market, greenhouse/urban farm, incubator kitchens for local companies and space for performances or events. B&H Fine Foods is based in Boca Raton, where it operates a grocery store. Bidder Rafael Caldera of Jacksonvillebased Arkest LLC proposes to open an architecture school on the property. The school would occupy the Armory Building with the neighboring structures demolished and new ones built for the school.
Caldera, a contractor, said two colleges in South Florida are interested in bringing an architecture school to the armory, but he declined to name them. Caldera estimates 1,000 students would attend the school. On-campus housing isn’t part of the plan, but he said the school would help bring more residents Downtown. Those were two of three groups that submitted bids to purCaldera chase the vacant cityowned historic Gothic Revival-style Armory Building at 851 N. Market St. The more than 100-year-old building, along with an optional adjacent property with three warehouses at 928 N. Liberty St., was offered for sale by the city. Bid amounts, opened Thursday, were not read and can remain undisclosed for up to 30 days, or when a bid is selected. The third company to bid on the property, REVA Development Corp., could
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not be reached for comment. Fort Lauderdale-based REVA Development works with housing, commercial and retail properties. On its website, REVA said it and MFK Development LLC have developed 1,440 housing units, to include new construction, substantial rehabilitation, and historic re-use. REVA says that in support of artists, families and small business, it “incorporates a comprehensive approach to housing and economic development within neighborhood revitalization programs.” The three-story, 80,826-square-foot SEE ARMORY, PAGE 2
The Downtown Investment Authority intends to ask the public for proposals to relocate former Fire Station No. 5 at 347 Riverside Ave. At the City Council Finance Committee meeting Tuesday, Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes told council member Tommy Hazouri that the DIA will issue a request for proposals to move the 109-year-old station. The conversation preceded a 6-0 vote by the committee approving a bill that clears the city to purchase 1.21 acres at 347 Riverside Ave. and along Alfred Dupont Place for $2.6 million from Fidelity National Financial Inc. The city wants to use the fire station site, built in 1910, to realign Forest Street across Riverside Avenue with the two parcels. City officials say it will provide better access to Sidney J. Gefen Riverwalk Park, as well as to riverfront property shown in DIA documents as the future development site for the $145 million headquarters for an international financial technology services company code-named Project Sharp. Hughes said the purchase will start a six- to 12-month process in which the fire station will be moved or demolished. The full City Council likely will take a final vote Aug. 27 whether to approve the purchase. The council meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 117 W. Duval St.
MMENDENHALL@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM @MIMENDENHALL (904) 356-2466
Sleiman paid $3.2 million for San Marco property Sleiman Enterprises paid $3.2 million for the 94-year-old building in San Marco Square it acquired Thursday. The property is the twostory, 8,200-square-foot building at 1974 San Marco Blvd. It is on the south side of the street in front of Balis Park and the San Marco Lions sculpture. According to property records, the buyer was Marco Square Land LLC, a company affiliated with Sleiman. The seller was San Marco Limited Partnership, led by investor T. Wayne Davis. Davis bought the property in 1990 for $900,000.
VOLUME 106, NO. 195 • ONE SECTION