The owner of the Bostwick Building issued some harsh words last week over the JEA’s repair of an underground electrical vault, claiming in an email to Mayor Lenny Curry the foundation was compromised.
A week later, it seems to be clearing up.
JEA spokeswoman Gerri Boyce said Tuesday that the utility and building owner Jacques Klempf met this week in person to address the problem.
“We do have a third-party engineer going out there to inspect it,” she said.
Klempf could not be reached for comment, but through a spokeswoman acknowledged that his Forking Amazing Restaurants LLC group, JEA and the city had a “good” meeting Monday morning.
“All parties involved are working toward a resolution that ideally won’t impact the construction or opening timeline,” said spokeswoman Natalie DeYoung.
No opening date has been set.
Klempf is transforming the historic building at 101 E. Bay St. into a high-end restaurant called The Cowford Chophouse.
Klempf sent an email to Curry on Aug. 9 claiming the utility wasn’t cooperating with the repair of an underground JEA electrical vault he claimed was causing a drainage issue.
“The vault that JEA owns on Ocean Street is in need of a repair and has needed this repair for at least 10 years,” Klempf wrote.
“It caused the Bostwick Building’s foundation to be compromised due to a pump in the vault pumping the silt from underneath the building into the storm drain.”
Vaults are underground rooms, typically surrounded by concrete and found in urban neighborhoods that house electrical equipment, water lines, gas pipes and other utility gear.
Klempf said JEA along with the Florida Department of Transportation have been “awful to work with at every level” and that it was “very demoralizing as an investor in the Downtown area and all of the time and money I have personally put into this building.”
As of Aug. 9, he claimed JEA has not been returning calls or emails.
Boyce said Tuesday that Klempf is trying to waterproof the vault, and that a problem with drainage isn’t JEA’s to fix.
However, the engineer will inspect it.
Erected in 1902, the Bostwick building was designated a historic landmark in 2012.
Klempf purchased the building, which had been vacant for decades, in a foreclosure auction in July 2014 for $165,000.
He received $750,000 from the Downtown Investment Authority to convert the structure into a restaurant.
@DavidCawton