JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Laura Street Trio is again top mind in Downtown Jacksonville as city council is now directly negotiating with the developer of the historic cluster.
A meeting is set for Monday to review the deals on the table. It comes after Action News Jax reported the mayor’s office is halted negotiations.
Action News Jax Shanila Kabir spoke to several people who said it is time to make a decision and if the trio cannot be restored, they would rather see it torn down. After being notified about Monday’s meeting, they said they hope the City of Jacksonville will choose a fresh start for the corner.
Longtime Downtown Jax resident Laura House said she has lived right across from the Laura Street Trio for more than a decade.
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“It’s done. I don’t even think there’s anything pretty about it. It’s just junk,” said Houser.
She said it is time for the eyesore to be taken down.
“Even if you made an apartment complex out of it, it would’ve been something, but they’ve done absolutely nothing. There could have been doctor’s offices or lawyer’s offices, just something,” said Houser.
Another Jax resident Joe Town agrees the buildings should be demolished altogether and built from scratch.
“We have to be flexible with old buildings, especially in a town that we’re trying to recruit some folks down to live in and try to bring some capital improvements into downtown,” said Town.
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Downtown Vision’s 2024 State of Downtown Report said tourism has increased since the height of the pandemic well below pre-pandemic levels. It translates to a difference of almost 5,000,000 visitors in 2019 compared to last year.
Jake Gordon from Downtown Vision said more residential buildings could change that.
“I think downtown needs to be a neighborhood. We have a bunch of amazing neighborhoods in Jacksonville, but we really want to have more of those amenities,” said Gordon.
Monday’s meeting is to discuss the future of the Laura Street Trio and to review deals and seek the resolution residents and activists have waited so long for.
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