The property owner of the historic, two-story vacant brick building at the corner of Margaret and Herschel streets is preparing it for new tenants.
The Prairie School Style building at 1604 Margaret Street was originally constructed in c. 1916 as a single-family home. Over the last century, it has been converted to several uses, including a music school, a hotel, a group home, and, most recently, a Regions Bank branch in the early 2000s.
Now, the property is preparing for its next chapter following the approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness at the April 22 Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission Meeting for alterations and new construction at the site for a possible restaurant tenant on the first floor. Currently, no tenants or uses have been identified for the second-floor space.
The scope of work through this COA includes, among other items, the enclosure of one of the drive-thru lanes that were added to the building through a previous COA in 2004, installing an ADA lift elevator to the exterior of the building along the east side elevation, converting the non-historic first-floor roof into a deck and installing an outdoor patio along the side and rear elevations.
Representing the applicant, Driver McAfee, Hawthorne, and Diebenow, attorney Richard Mullaney said the COA fell into two “buckets”: the first, improvements for accessibility and safety; and the second, alterations to the 2004 add-on for the bank’s use.
“For much of its history, this building has been of commercial use, but it’s right on the edge of that residential character area,” Mullaney said to commissioners. “…We wanted to make sure that those distinguishing qualities – the architectural significance, all of this – were maintained, while also making sure to meet how the market and uses in the neighborhood have changed and prepare it for its next use.”
Commissioners ultimately approved the COA with conditions in a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Becky Morgan opposing, but not without extensive discussion with the applicant and multiple community members speaking in opposition to the proposed use of the building. Riverside Avondale Preservation Executive Director Shannon Blankinship spoke to the proposed use of this building.
“Our primary issue with the project as proposed is that they’re trying to really intensify the use of this space from what was previously an office, a bank building, into a fast food restaurant, and so the accommodations they’re making in order to allow for this intensity are really incompatible, specifically on the front-facing side of Margaret Street overall, for the neighborhood,” Blankinship said.
Countering some of the comments about the proposed use of the building, Mullaney argued that these updates are necessary to attract new tenants and that potential uses of the building shouldn’t be the focus of the commission meeting.
“Any use would be appropriate for this CCG-1 site based on that criteria; really, what we’re here today for is because this property has been marketed for several years without a tenant, and the owners and the experts who look at this have determined a refresh needs to occur in order to attract some life to the building,” Mullaney said. “It is a prominent feature of Five Points; it’s a beautiful building. What’s necessary to attract a tenant is encapsulated in these plans to promote it for the long-term future. This is the long-term vision for the property.”
According to Arimus Wells, planning services manager, historic planning and preservation in the Jacksonville Planning Department, the Jacksonville Planning Commission previously reviewed and approved a zoning exception for outdoor sales and service in connection with the outdoor patio for the proposed restaurant use. Published reports indicate that the Planning Commission also approved an administrative deviation for landscaping reliefs and a reduction in parking spaces from 13 to five on the property.
Applicant representatives declined to comment further on the project at the meeting’s conclusion.
