City funds sought for Ambassador renovations

[bobliocatt]

by Bradley Parsons

Staff Writer

The Ambassador Hotel

[Urban_Legend]

I really hope he gets some funding and doesn't tear it down. One of downtown Jacksonville's strong-points is its beautiful historic architecture, and I'd hate to lose more of it. I can't wait to see this entire block revamped, along with the courthouse and its neighboring developments.

Also, this building will house "market-rate" apartments, which is music to my urban ears. So far, downtown has gotten mostly luxury developments, which left an unbalanced level of housing. This will help even it up a bit.

[Captain Obvious]

The Ambassador would be a central feature of a block-long project that would deposit a pair of office towers and a 456-car garage one block west of City Hall. If he can

[TheUrbanCore]

You are right. It cannot be torn down. It is in better shape (and more viable without heavy subsidy) than most of our ignored historic structures. All concrete and brick.

[Urban_Legend]

^Yeah, besides the ground floor, the building looks ok. The interior might be a "whole nuther" story. But I would love to see what it was like in the 20's.