The Jacksonville City Council is expected to be asked soon to approve a plan by the Downtown Investment Authority that’s meant to save historic buildings from the wrecking ball.
As The Jaxson’s Ennis Davis explains in this remote edition of The Jaxson on WJCT, the proposed changes to Jacksonville’s Historic Preservation Trust Fund could get rid of three main barriers that currently keep developers from seeing historic preservation as a viable option:
- Funding: More incentives for developers who reuse existing buildings and more funding help to bring older buildings up to code
- Historic designation: An easier time getting buildings designated as local landmarks, giving them protected status
- Cutting red tape: A simplified process to apply for preservation trust fund money. The trust fund itself is a deterrent to reuse projects currently, Davis said.
Davis said he’s optimistic the changes will be “transformational” for Downtown and that downtown areas across the country that have seen major revitalization over the past 20 years have benefitted from similar public investments and deregulation.
Read more about the DIA's proposal as originally covered on The Jaxson.
