JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (ActionNewsJax) A major construction project is bringing a beautiful new building to downtown.
But not everyone is excited about the changes. Loud construction is becoming a nightmare for residents.
A building on East Forsyth Street has been vacant for eight years, but soon it will be the new Jesse Ball DuPont Center. In order to get the building where it needs to be, it requires lots and lots of construction.
Noise starting at the crack of dawn is reality for Jason Kellum, who lives next door to the DuPont center construction at "11 east." When he heard crews working last weekend it was the last straw.
"On the weekend, people are trying to catch up on their sleep. Seven in the morning. Sunday rolls around. Seven in the morning -- and they were out there all day long," Kellum said.
Home video captures the cannon-like sounds heard Sunday around 7:30 a.m. According to a city ordinance, construction activities are allowed between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. There's also no limitation relating to days of the week.
Still, workers have been clocked as early as 6:45 a.m. and making noise reaching 95 decibels, well over the 65 decibels allowed.
"It's just a constant cycle. One after another after another after another," Kellum said.
Action News went straight to Danis Construction and the Jesse Ball DuPont Fund to get answers. We got the following statement:
"Danis has a standing practice not to begin work at the job site before 7 a.m. This past weekend, however, crews worked both Saturday and Sunday because of a time-sensitive issue with concrete demolition.
"We will discuss the possibility of moving our weekend start time to 8 a.m. to minimize the disruption to downtown residents."
Kellum hopes so.
"Whatever they're doing to get all that stone out, it has to be another way to get the noise level down," Kellum said.
Despite everything, there is an end in sight. Tenants are expected to be in the new building by mid-2015.
WJAX
