JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tuesday marks one year since RISE Doro, a brand-new apartment complex in downtown Jacksonville, went up in flames.
People were even supposed to move in later that week.
Now, it’s essentially rising from the ashes, and getting rebuilt.
VIEW: Photos: Jacksonville firefighters battle massive fire at Downtown apartments under construction
Construction on the complex began in January, and RISE real estate president Greg Blais said things are finally looking up.
“It’s been a long year,” Blais said. “But I’m also thrilled that the year has ended with us being able to start construction anew.”
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This apartment complex was set to be a catalyst to revitalize the city, but instead, it became a major setback.
The nearly $60 million dollar complex went up in flames on Jan. 28, 2024.
In a briefing the day after, Mayor Donna Deegan said, “it’s extraordinarily disappointing.”
The state fire marshal’s report cited witnesses who said the cause was likely electrical. But investigators said the cause of the fire was inconclusive.
Blais said he would like to know what caused it too.
“The idea of electrical issues or faulty construction, I’ll just say this, we’re a professional construction company, we hire professional subcontractors who did their job, and they did it well,” Blais said. “I will not believe to this day that there was any real issue created because of faulty construction.”
Blaise said RISE took a financial hit.
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“It was a shame to see what all brand new being pulled out of the building during the demolition process,” Blais said. “I will just say this, we are not whole. We are not whole from insurance and what it ended up costing to build the original Doro.”
One man who wanted to remain anonymous said he toured the complex in Nov. 2023. At that time, he said he had reservations.
“They didn’t have any electricity when I was in it doing my walkthrough, and they were supposed to be weeks out from moving in,” the man said.
He was supposed to move in Dec. 15, but his date kept getting pushed back. So, because of this, along with the wariness he felt during the hard-hat tour, he backed out and was glad that he did.
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“It was like an omen,” the man said. “And I was like ‘Okay, I dodged a great bullet.’”
Some people were set to move in about a week after the fire, but luckily, no one had yet, and no one got hurt.
“That was by far the biggest blessing associated with this tragedy,” Blais said.
The city is on board to help with the rebuild. They’ve given RISE a $15 million incentive to finish it.
“With all that is going on in the entertainment industry and sports district here in downtown Jacksonville, I think people are going to very quickly forget about the idea that this was a site of a tragic fire and instead look at the excitement of what’s going on in this part of downtown,” Blais said.
Blais his team is in the process of hiring subcontractors, but it’s unclear at this time whether they will be the same or not.
But as for the materials, equipment, and the process and procedures – that will all remain the same – just with a tad more scrutiny.
But Blais said it’s going to be another 18 months before the complex has anyone moving in.
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