The first of two public hearings required to apply for $7.5 million from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant funding for the “Made at the Armory Project” was March 13.
There was no public comment. However, Don Patterson, president and CEO of Reva Development Corp. of Fort Lauderdale, did speak about the project.
Reva is developing the $30 million redesign and reuse of the 116-year-old city-owned National Guard Armory into a 20- to 25-stall food hall that will have a community kitchen, co-working offices and conference rooms, art studios and galleries and a performance space.
“The goal of the Jacksonville Armory is to make it a facility that not only supports the artists that will become part of it but to draw folks into Jacksonville to be part of that experience,” Patterson said.
To that end, a company will be hired to schedule about 100 events annually at the Armory, he said.
The 80,826-square-foot Armory is at 851 N. Market St. on 2.02 acres.
If the grant is awarded and other financing is procured, Patterson said he expected to have permits by December 2024 or January 2025. When construction begins, Patterson would like to see it completed within 12 months.
The money would be used to remove lead-based paint, mold and replace obsolete mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and meet other regulatory requirements.
The property will need to be rezoned. The applicant is represented by the Rogers Towers law firm.
The block grant is a Section 108 Loan Guarantee that would be part of the 2023-24 Community Development Block Grant County Entitlement Funding. It would be a 20-year loan.
Legislation will be drafted for the Jacksonville City Council to approve an extension of existing contracts and redevelopment agreements.
When the bill passes, Reva will have seven months to arrange the $30 million in funding, according to HUD rules. It is expected the bill will work its way through Council by the end of April.
The Armory has been closed for more than a dozen years. During Hurricane Irma in 2017, the Armory flooded with standing water 12 to 16 inches deep. Besides its own work to prevent future flooding, the construction of the nearby Emerald Trail may drop the water level by as much as three feet, Patterson said.
After describing the project, Patterson spoke about the need for affordable housing in the Eastside neighborhood to make the project viable. Such projects in other cities have gentrified the areas to the point that neighborhood rents are no longer affordable for artists.
Currently in the conceptual stage, he’d like to see a 150-unit apartment community built on the other side of Hogans Creek near the Armory. His idea is that the apartments would have three pricing tiers — affordable housing, workforce housing and market-value housing.
“There are a lot of benefits to having a mix of incomes under a single roof. With a mix, there is a lot less judgment placed on that real estate,” Patterson said.
The second public hearing is 9-10 a.m. March 19 in the Ed Ball Building at 214 N. Hogan St. Downtown.