Jacksonville, Fla. — A new bill that aims to expedite the restoration of deteriorating historic homes is gaining attention among members of Jacksonville’s City Council.
Many historic homes in historic neighborhoods are falling apart and racking up millions of dollars’ worth of fines and liens, with no hope of being restored.
One list compiled by Council member Jimmy Peluso’s (D-District 7) office found 20 properties in Springfield alone that account for nearly $20 million worth of outstanding fines and liens.
“It’s why we’re doing this,” said Peluso.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
The city could foreclose on those properties, but without any prospect of finding a new buyer willing to put in the work, it often doesn’t make sense to go through with the process.
But Peluso said he hopes he can change the calculation.
His new bill would create an option in which the city could offload historic homes at steep discounts by putting them out to bid to nonprofits, developers or other interested parties.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
Buyers would have to prove they have the means to restore the homes and have two to three years to follow through, or the property would revert back to the city.
“So, now you’re fixing a historic property. There is potential that somebody on the for-profit side can make a few bucks. There’s nothing wrong with that, and now we’ve made sure that a blighted property is no longer blighted,” said Peluso.
The idea is gaining steam.
Three council members joined Peluso for an initial meeting on the bill Thursday.
But there were some concerns raised.
“It’s going to take too much money to fix a house that’s close to falling down,” said David Shacter, President of TerraWise Homes.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Shacter argued that without financial incentives or assistance it may be impossible to restore some of these homes, even if they’re given away for free.
“It needs to be a public, private partnership where the city does the structure of the deal, but the private sector, I’m talking about the big corporations come in and support this because that’s what it’s going to take,” said Shacter.
Some council members expressed interest in adding some sort of financial component to the plan.
It’s still to be seen whether that becomes part of this bill or is introduced as a standalone bill further down the line.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
