Long-simmering plans to resurrect the vacant Jones Bros. Furniture Co. building in Downtown Jacksonville can move forward after the city issued a building permit for the adaptive reuse project Dec. 19.
The permit for the seven-story building at 520 N. Hogan St. was to Avant Construction Group Inc. for a $9 million, 38,836-square-foot tenant build-out.
According to Daily Record archives, Corner Lot Development Group has been working to revive the building since 2018.
In 2022, the Downtown Investment Authority approved resolutions approving a parking agreement for a 0.17-acre parcel on the site and providing surplus water quality compensation credits to the developer, CLL Jones Bros LLC. That LLC is a subsidiary of Corner Lot Development Group.
In February 2024, Jacksonville City Council approved $6.031 million in incentives for the project. The package comprised a $2.089 million Historic Preservation, Restoration and Rehabilitation Loan; a $2.736 million Code Compliance Forgivable Loan; and a $1.206 million deferred principal loan.
According to city documents, plans for the building call for 28 apartment units and at least 1,700 square feet of co-work office space.
Also in February 2024, the DIA board voted to recommend approval of an $8.07 million incentive package for a companion plan to raze a neighboring building at 502 N. Hogan St. and replace it with a six-floor mixed-use development.
According to a DIA staff report, plans for that portion of the project, identified as Jones on Hogan in DIA documents, call for the 136,000-square-foot building to include 145 residential units, 8,500 square feet of retail space and a 3,500-square-foot rooftop amenity.
Among the terms of the redevelopment agreement, the residential units would comprise a minimum of 75 studios, 37 one-bedroom and five two-bedroom apartments.
The minimum total development cost is $40.86 million.
The incentives package comprises a $3.1 million completion grant and a $4.97 million Recapture Enhanced Value Grant based on 65% over 20 years. A REV grant provides a rebate on tax revenue generated by property improvements.
The incentives for new construction have yet to be submitted to Council.
Total investment in the remade Jones Bros. building and the new construction would be $98.5 million, according to DIA legislation for the new construction incentives, 2024-02-03.
In December 2022, the Downtown Development Review Board gave final approval to Corner Lot for the full Jones Bros. project.
The Jones Bros. building was constructed in 1926 and operated as a retail furniture store until the late 1980s. It is featured in a Corner Lot-sponsored video series, “Building a City,” which is posted here.
The structure at 502 N. Hogan St. is known as the Western Union Building or Farah’s Building, according to a DIA staff report, and was built in 1915. It is the former site of Farah’s Uptown Deli.
The staff report says the city Historic Preservation Commission ruled that the building was not eligible for a landmark designation, and the preservation protections that come with it, as it met only two of seven requirements to achieve that status.
Requirements the building failed included its architectural significance and being the site of an important local, state or national historical event.
The Historic Preservation Commission approved a request for a demolition permit for the building in June 2022.