Nearly a hundred years ago (1923) Ford Motor Company purchased the former Bentley Shipyards property from the city of Jacksonville for $50,000. They commissioned architect Albert Kahn to design a smaller version of the company’s River Rouge facility. The 115,200-square-foot, $2 million complex was completed on August 29, 1924. The plant immediately became one of Ford’s leading facilities for the production of the Model T, which it began building on November 26, 1924.
The Jacksonville Ford Motor Company assembly plant was one of the largest automobile assembly plants in the Southeast, producing 200 plus cars during an 8 hour shift.
Ford acquired 10 adjoining acres in 1925, expanding the factory to 165,200 square feet. Ford ceased all operations at the facility in 1968, relocating its Jacksonville operations to the Westside. Various owners after Ford were; World Cars (Toyota), a European car-import firm, a van conversion business, and a storage facility.
Nearly twenty years ago (2003) the city designated it as a local landmark deserving preservation.
And that was pretty much it. They ”could’ve should’ve would’ve” done many things to insure this historic building continued to stand and serve our city. Instead they did next to nothing, worse they failed to insure the owners did their due diligence toward upkeep and maintenance of the historic property. The city did nothing and they allowed the owners to do nothing while the building decayed to the point where the politicians and the developers who donated to those politicians could say, “well we can’t save her now, guess we’ll just have to tear her down.”
Amkin Hill Street LLC. is the owner. Amber Hill is part of the real estate holdings of Ramon Llorens, who is based in Miami and also owns the 30-story TIAA Bank Center tower in downtown. Back in 2019 they purchased the old Greyhound Bus Station building on Pearl Street. That building was demolished as well. In its place they built a parking lot.
The Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission previously denied Amkin Hill Street LLC’s application to tear down the building.
A week ago Amkin Hill appealed that decision to the council’s Land Use and Zoning Committee that voted last week in favor of reversing the preservation commission’s decision.
The Jacksonville Historical Society, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving historic buildings, had urged denial of the demolition permit. “Not every old building can be saved and not all of them should be,” Alan Bliss, CEO of the historical society, told the Land Use and Zoning Committee last week. “The Jacksonville Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant should be.”
Roughly 5 hours ago the full Jacksonville City Council unanimously voted for the Land Use and Zoning Committee’s recommendation allowing the owner to demolish the historic building.
City Council member Danny Becton fostered an agreement between the Jacksonville Historical Society and Amkin for a photographer to take detailed photos of the building before it is demolished.The photos will form a narrative history of the building that will be archived as a “lasting record of this building which is a venue for a lot of significant Jacksonville stories,” Bliss told City Council on Tuesday.