Jackson House crumbles as Tampa leaders demand answers
Jackson House restoration update expected
Tampa city leaders are demanding answers on the plan to save the historic Jackson House as it continues to crumble. FOX 13’s Matthew McClellan reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa city leaders are set to get answers Thursday about the long-delayed restoration of the historic Jackson House, just days after another portion of the deteriorating building collapsed.
Jackson House collapse update
What we know:
The Tampa City Council, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, ordered the Sept. 10 progress report three weeks ago amid concerns about the project's financing, timeline and the condition of the building.
Then, over the Labor Day weekend, another portion of the Jackson House gave way, roughly a year after an earlier partial collapse.
The latest damage now hangs over a meeting that was already intended to answer a pressing question: When can restoration actually begin?
Tampa council demands answers
Timeline:
CRA staff, the Jackson House Foundation and CRA Chair Naya Young's office are scheduled to update the board at its 9 a.m. meeting.
On Aug. 20, the CRA voted 4-2 to approve a grant agreement providing up to $1 million toward the restoration, with a progress report required. In a separate vote, members unanimously requested today's update.
The discussion exposed frustration over years of delays.
"If you cannot accomplish this, give it to the City of Tampa so that we can get it done," CRA member Alan Clendenin said.
Bill Carlson warned at the same meeting that the Jackson House was "about to fall down" and said those involved needed to move quickly.
Days before today's scheduled update, part of it did.
By the numbers:
The city's $1 million commitment is not simply a check to the foundation.
The agreement caps the CRA contribution at the lesser of $1 million or 50% of eligible construction hard costs.
Before construction can begin under the agreement, the foundation must meet several conditions, including final plans and a final budget.
It must also demonstrate at least $5 million in cash or qualifying, legally enforceable charitable commitments, excluding the CRA contribution, and secure financing for remaining project costs.
Foundation Chair Dr. Carolyn Collins told the CRA last month the foundation had been working with its architect and construction team on plans for the restoration, while acknowledging that promised funding was not necessarily money the foundation already had in hand.
Segregation historic landmark status
The backstory:
The Jackson House provided lodging for Black travelers during segregation and hosted figures including Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
It is also one of the few physical remnants of Tampa's once-thriving Black Central Avenue community.
Future Jackson House plans
What's next:
Thursday's meeting begins at 9 a.m.
City leaders are expected to seek answers about the foundation's financing, when construction can begin and whether the weekend collapse changes the project's cost or timeline.
After years spent working toward a restoration, the latest collapse adds a new question: Can the project move quickly enough to save what's left?
The Source: The information included in this story comes from City of Tampa CRA records, the Jackson House grant funding agreement, Aug. 20 meeting records and previous FOX 13 News reporting.