RAP has always supported smart growth. Some might think that’s a crazy position for an organization dedicated to historic preservation. But there clearly are instances where the judicious removal of vacant, derelict structures can bring new development and vitality to areas that face an uncertain future. Such was the case with the Riverside Market Square, built on the site of the demolished Riverside Hospital in 2002; working with the Sembler Group and the city’s Historic Preservation department, RAP was able to influence the project’s design and placement, ensuring that the new building would respect the area’s human scale and historic character, and also comply with District Regulations and the zoning code. The resulting shopping center, anchored by the Riverside Publix, has become an undisputed asset to the community.
However, our position remains that demolition should be done only as a last resort, and so RAP is decidedly NOT in favor of The Renaissance Group’s reported proposal to tear down the historic buildings at 2008 Riverside Ave and 1732 Margaret St. Each of these buildings is a recognized contributing structure in our national historic district, and the younger of the two has been part of Riverside’s streetscape for eighty years. Unlike the old Riverside Hospital, whose facade had been repeatedly altered and which had become a local eyesore following the facility's closure by St. Vincent's, the architectural integrity of the Renaissance (formerly Jelks) Building and the Prairie School-style home on Margaret is intact.
We’ve always disputed the notion that building a new building is somehow inherently better than rehabilitating an older one for new uses. Setting aside whether a drive-thru is appropriate in a historic district where we’re trying to encourage pedestrian rather than vehicular traffic, we remain hopeful that the project’s developers will come to see the value in modifying their business plan to retain the existing structures. Countless other cities have managed to successfully work retail options into historic building stock; surely Jacksonville can do the same.
That RAP would oppose any development that required the demolition of these architecturally significant structures is a position we made clear to the developer’s representatives some time ago. Thus we are disappointed to learn that a project proposing demolition has now gone through concurrency. To be clear, while we support the creative reuse of the Renaissance Building and the adjacent house, RAP will never support the bulldozing of these two historic structures.
photo credit: Coulter Kirkpatrick/Times-Union -- 4/22/09
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