Jacksonville turns over deed to old firehouse to company [The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville]

Apr. 19--If the old Fire Station No. 5 is going to avoid demolition, a developer will have to work a deal with Fidelity National Financial -- not Jacksonville City Hall.

The city turned over building's deed to the Fortune 500 company last week, the final piece of a 2005 land swap that likely inches the three-story yellow brick structure on Riverside Avenue closer to demolition.

Fidelity notified the city in December that it planned to demolish the 105-year-old building, but the city had three months to come up with a plan to relocate it.

That time came and went. Even a slight reprieve to try to work a deal with a Fernandina Beach developer didn't work out and the city turned the deed over Friday.

Fidelity spokesman Dan Murphy did not return phone and e-mail messages left Monday seeking comment.

As part of the swap, Fidelity built a riverfront park and gave the city more land for the Northbank Riverwalk. In return, Fidelity got more land to potentially expand its Riverside Avenue headquarters.

To avoid demolition, the building would need to be moved somewhere in the nearby Brooklyn neighborhood because it's too big to fit under overpasses and bridges in the area.

The city pegged the cost of moving the building at $600,000 -- though one developer said it would cost half that estimate.

All proposals brought to the city to move the building carried a significant city investment with them, spokeswoman Misty Skipper said.

Jerry Spinks, president of the Jacksonville Historical Society, said the only hope for the building is someone who sees it as the perfect place for their office.

"It's preservation lies directly in finding a use," Spinks said.

City Councilman Warren Jones has been trying to find a developer and says he'll continue talks now with Fidelity now that the company owns the building.

The Fire Department left the station in May 2008, moving about a mile away to a $2 million facility on Forest Street.

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