During a recent conversation about our work and personal investment in several historic properties in downtown Jacksonville, I was asked where my passion for historic renovation comes from. Until then, I hadn’t really stopped to think about it. Looking back, I realize it’s something that has been part of me my entire life—a value that now drives the mission of our company, Avant Construction Group.
In the early 1960s, a few years before I was born, my grandfather poured everything he had into a dream—purchasing and restoring a block of crumbling row houses in Center City, Philadelphia. With the help of my uncle, a colorful cast of local characters (including a toothless man named Rosco), and even the occasional appearance of my then-toddler brother, the block was brought back to life. This project was the beginning of what would become Society Hill in Philadelphia. By the time I was born, it was nearly complete. My childhood was sprinkled with stories and memories of that time and how that work not only transformed a forgotten part of the city, but also the trajectory of our family’s future.
More information about the revitalization of the Society Hill neighborhood. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_Hill
After the property was sold, my grandparents were able to move to the suburbs and purchase a 150-year old carriage house. I was old enough by then to remember the renovation and my grandfather turning what was once an old barn into a beautiful home for him and my grandmother.
When I was in nursery school, my parents moved from a small row house in Philly to 200-year-old farmhouse. Although we didn’t renovate that home, I have fond childhood memories of being in a big stone house from the 1700s and discovering hidden passageways and hearing stories about the kind Quaker lady who was said to have died there and whose spirit still lived among us.
Fast forward to 1997 when I helped start a coffee house in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. Lansdowne is a town outside of Philly with tree-lined streets and 100-year old Victorian homes. The location of the coffee house was in one of the old storefronts along the main commercial district and, like so many others from that time, had the secret of its original beauty covered up with linoleum flooring and ugly dropped ceilings. As we worked to rehab the interior, chipping away at the floor and pulling down the ceiling panels, we discovered the signature black and white mosaic hexagon tiles and the most amazing patinaed copper ceiling tiles with the intricate relief design that was common in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
After painstaking removing decades of unsightly layers, we carefully restored the original features, resulting in a space that was warm and inviting, bringing with it the charm and character of age and history that you simply can’t replicate in new builds.
The next encounter with a historic renovation was years later, in 2014, when our company was hired to renovate the old Seminole Building, which is now home to Sweet Pete’s Candy. I loved going into that building and seeing all the incredible woodwork. Bringing this grand old beauty back to life was not easy, especially in the ridiculously short time span that the owner, Marcus Lemonis, needed it to be done (another story for another day), but it was well worth it. Walking into the space, beyond the colorful candy displays and fun décor, the building itself transports you through time. And though you may not consciously notice, the ornate wood work on the walls and gorgeous wood floors at the entrance, the large fireplace in the central hall on the way to the second floor, the stained glass window seat at the landing on the stairs, and so many other little details, all contribute to the building’s unique, special feeling that you just don’t find in newer construction.
Since that time, I’ve had the opportunity to walk though several of the abandoned buildings in downtown Jacksonville. Some are smaller, like the building at 225 North Laura Street that my husband and I invested in. Some are large and grand and literally take my breath away. All of them fill me with emotion when I think of the level of neglect and abandonment they’ve endured and the potential of what they can become.
The level of deterioration in most of them is overwhelming as they’ve been sitting empty for decades. Many of them have the coveted “historic designation” that can be both a blessing and curse. On one hand, it allows developers with a grand vision and a healthy appetite for the risk involved in such projects to receive potential state and local funding. On the other hand, the designation forbids the building from being demolished, leaving it to sit in limbo and continue to deteriorate for years, until someone comes along with the vision, expertise and means to give it a new life.
At our company, Avant Construction Group, we specialize in historic renovations and are currently involved in several of the projects that are part of the downtown renaissance happening in Jacksonville, Florida. As co-owner, along with my husband and CEO, Alan Cottrill, we bring our passion for revitalizing these forgotten buildings to each project, collaborating with other public and private partnerships to make Jacksonville a world-class city.