The Florida Casket Co. building closed in on a new life March 12 when the Jacksonville City Council approved $2.02 million to resurrect it as the Jacksonville History Center.
The money will be used to renovate the 104-year-old, three-story brick casket factory building at 318 Palmetto St.
Plans for the center call for a music and general history museum on the first floor, performance and event space on the second floor and archive storage and a research center on the top floor.
The project has been years in the making, with the Council approving $50,000 in upfront funding in 2020. In November 2021, Preston Haskell, founder of the Jacksonville-based global architecture, engineering and construction firm, pledged $400,000 to establish the Haskell Archive in the building. The funding also was provided toward the renovation.
In 2022, the city signed a grant agreement providing another $500,000.
Also in 2022, the Downtown Development Review Board gave final design approval for renovations and the addition of three-story stucco structures to the factory’s east and west sides.
The expansion enlarges the building from 13,500 square feet to 15,200 square feet. It will provide room for restrooms, a catering kitchen and stairwells that will bring the building up to modern building codes and public safety regulations.
The funding legislation, Ordinance 2024-0118, states that the museum’s areas of focus will include the city’s civil rights history, its resurrection after the Great Fire of 1901, its military heritage, and its music and culture.
The new city funding, which comes from a general fund appropriation, will be used for the first two phases of the three-phase museum project. The third phase, which the historical society plans to fund through private donations, will provide furnishings, exhibit technology, equipment and more.
The ordinance gained final passage on a 14-2 vote, with Council members Rory Diamond and Mike Gay opposed and three Council members not present for the vote. Council members Ken Amaro and Terrance Freeman were excused from the meeting and Kevin Carrico had arranged to leave early.
Council approved the legislation without comment.
According to the ordinance, the historical society encountered problems beyond its control in obtaining permits for the project after the initial rounds of funding. Construction costs of the renovation also increased substantially during that time, the ordinance states.
The new legislation extends the 2022 grant agreement while also providing new funding.
Alan Bliss, CEO of the Jacksonville Historical Society, which has its offices next door, said the organization had hired Crabtree Construction Co. of Jacksonville as the lead contractor for the project. The first phase will involve installing a new electrical supply and building the additions.