Alan and Ellen Cottrill, co-founders of Avant Construction Group, a Jacksonville-based company with years of experience in historic renovation and adaptive reuse projects, now have an ownership stake in the redevelopment of the Juliette Balcony building.
The Cottrills are managing partners in the redevelopment of the building at 225 N. Laura St. Downtown, they said in a Dec. 12 interview.
They said they were inspired by the energy of revitalization efforts in the area and the timing was ideal.
Avant will be the general contractor for the project.
A $2.56 million incentive package for the project, originally scheduled to go before the Downtown Investment Authority Strategic Implementation Committee on Nov. 15, was deferred and will be considered by the committee Dec. 13.
Steve Kelley, the DIA’s director of Downtown real estate and development, told the committee Nov. 15 that a related entity planned to take an ownership interest in Juliette Balcony LLC and was working through issues involved in that effort.
Duval County records list the property owner as Juliette Balcony LLC, which according to state records is managed by Rafael and Carmen Godwin of Jacksonville.
The Godwins bought the building in 2022 from Chamblin’s Uptown owner Ron Chamblin for $890,000.
The three-story building was constructed three years after the Great Fire of 1901. It is between Chamblin’s Uptown and the closed Mag’s Cafe.
Avant’s renovation and adaptive reuse projects Downtown started in 2014 with the historic Seminole Club for Sweet Pete’s and have included the Federal Reserve Building and the Porter House Mansion, Alan Cottrill said. The company is now working on the renovation of the historic Greenleaf & Crosby Building and will soon be starting on the Jones Bros. Furniture Co. building and the NoCo Center.
The Cottrills co-founded Avant Construction Group, then known as River City Contractors, in 1997. He is CEO and she is human resources and marketing manager.
Ellen Cottrill said they have a “synergy” with the Godwins, and share an interest in “the same kind of historical work.”
She said the Godwins are planning to buy and renovate Mag’s Cafe and the adjacent building on West Monroe Street, and the Cottrills’ involvement with the Juliette Balcony building will help the Godwins move forward with those efforts.
She praised Chamblin for his initial effort to start work on the resurrection of Juliette Balcony, which is also called Juliette’s Balcony in DIA documents.
The redevelopment calls for a restaurant on the building’s ground and eight rental units on the two upper levels.
Alan Cottrill said he expects city review to take about four months, and work would begin soon after. The project could take about 12 months, which would allow for completion as early as the first quarter of 2026, he said.
The building’s exterior features include balcony railings on the two second-story windows facing Laura Street.
The proposed incentive package comprises a Historic Preservation Restoration and Rehabilitation Forgivable Loan of $1.283 million, a Code Compliance Renovations Forgivable Loan of $765,000 and a Downtown Preservation and Revitalization Program Deferred Principal Loan of $512,000.
The property received local landmark status through a City Council vote in 2023. According to a DIA staff report, the building has been vacant for several years “and has experienced several redevelopment plans and partial interior demolition to prepare for those redevelopment ideas.”
The DIA’s Strategic Implementation Committee meets at 2 p.m. at the Main Library, 303 N. Laura St.