J Magazine Spring 2018

“
Old buildings are unique. They have a place character,
and Downtown is on the verge of losing its character.”
Sherry Magill, president of the of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund
And there’s another balance to be struck between repairing
something with historic value or replacing it.
“If something like a window is too far gone, there are guidelines
for replacement. That’s a big challenge, finding companies
and craftsmen that can do that type of work,” Suttles said.
The Barnett building, for instance, has bronze work around the
arched windows that needs to be restored. The only company that
does that kind of work is in Maryland.
“If you get into ceilings that need plaster repair,
you don’t have a lot of people who do Portland
cement plaster. That’s not something
young people go into. For the Ribault
Clubhouse, we did the plaster work
ourselves because there were no
subcontractors.
“Our goal, especially in Jacksonville,
is to keep everything as
local as possible. When we did
duPont, one of the tile setters
had been an apprentice on the
original project,” Suttles said.
“There are really good companies
and craftsman that do this
kind of work, but they’re getting
harder to find.”
As the redevelopment of
Downtown takes shape, Suttles
said he thinks Jacksonville is beginning
to realize the value of adapting
and reusing its historic buildings.
“They can be phenomenal places to
conduct business,” Suttles said. “These
buildings can be saved and saved on a
Before renovating historic buildings, Danis Building Construction
budget, but it does take the right kind
Company researches as much original information as possible. In
of owner. Historic restoration adds the case of the Jessie Ball duPont Center project, that research
a level of difficulty for everyone involved.”
included the original plans for the Haydon Burns Library.
Sherry Magill, president of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, said she
wanted to build something from scratch in LaVilla 10 years ago,
but that didn’t pan out. But over that decade she said she watched
as old buildings were renovated, and one day in 2012 she was driving
past the Haydon Burns Library and saw the “for sale” sign.
“Serendipity is underrated,” she said.
Several efforts had been made to do something with the mosaic-clad
building famous for its “fins” and floor-to-ceiling windows,
but they didn’t survive the Great Recession.
Magill arranged a tour with owner Bill Cesery.
“When I walked in the building, I fell in love with the lighting,”
she said. “I was predisposed to stay Downtown. The duPont Fund
78 J MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018
has always been located on the Northbank. It’s our home, our
neighborhood.”
The trustees were open to the idea of using the building as office
space for nonprofits, and Magill began researching what it
would take to make it happen.
She said she was encouraged by other “adaptive reuses” like the
conversion of an old furniture store into the Jake M. Godbold Annex,
a $10 million project by the Police and Fire Pension
Fund, and the makeover of the Kress five & dime
by the Farah & Farah law firm.
Both projects were done by Danis.
In 2013, the trustees decided that
buying and renovating the old library
“was the responsible thing for du-
Pont to do. It aligned with our values.
We decided to put our money
where our mouth is.”
When the duPont Center
opened in June 2015, the fund
had invested $25 million.
The center is often held up
as an example of what can be
done Downtown.
“Old buildings are unique.
They have a place character,
and Downtown is on the verge of
losing its character,” Magill said. “I
don’t think we love what we have.
We’re never developing it for the people
who live here. We’re always looking
for people outside Jacksonville. I
don’t share those assumptions.”
Magill said she thinks there’s a
shared sense that things are starting
to move in Downtown Jacksonville.
“The Chophouse, the Laura Street
Trio, all of that adds up to something,”
she said.
Suttles agrees. He thinks the Barnett and Laura Street Trio
projects — a combined investment of $90 million — is the most
significant project in Downtown history.
“As people see more and more of these projects getting done,
our hope is that it builds momentum,” Suttles said.
Marilyn Young contributed to this report.
Lilla Ross is a freelance writer in Jacksonville. She worked
for The Florida Times-Union for more than 30 years as a
writer and editor. She lives in San Marco.
THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION