JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Friday marked one week since crews began demolishing the RISE Doro apartment building after a devastating fire nearly two weeks ago.
Demolition crews were already at working around 5 a.m. on Friday, taking the fire-ravaged building down piece by piece. Crews are expected to work 10-hour days for weeks until the job is complete.
“At this time, we are still very much going through the process and don’t have any real answers to share at this time. [The mayor] is correct in that we do hope to rebuild when able,” said Doro owner Greg Blais.
With tenants scheduled to start moving in just days before the fire happened, RISE Doro was set to be the first major development to open in the downtown sports complex, which will eventually include a Four Seasons Hotel and an office complex.
As progress on the demolition moves forward, some are raising questions about where things stand with Doro’s downtown neighbor, the proposed “Stadium of the Future.” As of now, it’s anyone’s guess, but there could be answers soon.
“All of this is still up for discussion,” Deegan said Thursday. “It’s all going to come down to the dollars and cents and how we separate those things out. We are in those discussions right now. I have made it very clear that for me, obviously, I want to do whatever is the best deal for the taxpayers and that may be doing something larger, but I don’t know yet. We’re in the process of those talks. And from what I am told by [city negoitator] Mike Weinstein, those talks are going a pace as they should and we’re hopeful to have some sort of a framework for an agreement by April.”
New4JAX also asked Mayor Deegan if investigators were closer to finding out exactly what started the fire. She said for now, we have to wait for the state to finish up its investigation.