Jump to content

Ford plant may be renovated for Super Bowl


bobliocatt

Recommended Posts

Old Ford plant may figure into Jacksonville's Super Bowl

Jacksonville Landing owner Toney Sleiman has his sights set on a second riverfront project: The 80-year-old Ford Motor Co. plant in Talleyrand under the Mathews Bridge.

Sleiman, whose Landing is key Super Bowl party site, seeks a zoning exception to sell and serve alcohol at the Ford Plant industrial site at 1901 Hill St., where Ford produced Model T and Model A cars and trucks from 1924 to 1932.

Sleiman representative Mike Tolbert said Sleiman is considering the almost 24-acre site for Super Bowl functions and "has entered into a temporary partnership" with property owners.

Hill Street LLC owns the property, next to Wood-Hopkins Contracting Co. In recent years, developers had considered converting the building into lofts, but that deal did not materialize. Hill Street LLC and Wood-Hopkins Contracting Co. LLC share some ownership partners.

The site is about a half-mile from Alltel Stadium, where Super Bowl XXXIX is scheduled Feb. 6.

"It's a work in progress," Tolbert said. "We are doing due diligence."

Tolbert said that Sleiman expects to know within a month, by July 4, whether the deal will work. If it does, Tolbert said the property could be shaped up for concerts by late summer or early fall.

"It's going to take some clean up and fix up," Tolbert said. "It needs a lot of work."

He estimates the building at 165,000 square feet. Wood-Hopkins has been using the site for storage.

The building has been listed as a possible site for a cruise-ship terminal and is near the Talleyrand docks where cruise ships are expected to tie up to house Super Bowl visitors.

The airy building, made more so by the many broken window panes, was designed to make the most of natural light. A tour several years ago revealed the large main production space, a showroom area and an office rumored to be used by a visiting Henry Ford.

"It's a funky building at best," Tolbert said.

Tolbert said the building would be cleaned and the inside would be painted.

He said that Sleiman was talking with some companies who are considering using the site for Super Bowl parties. "The companies we're talking to have major ... budgets," he said, which would pay for some of the needs like portable restrooms.

Riverfront Entertainment LLC requested the zoning exception. Its members include Sleiman and Tolbert.

Meanwhile, Sleiman is preparing the Landing for Super Bowl events and continues to work toward city assistance for a major redeveloping of the downtown riverfront marketplace.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 5
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.