JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville City Council approved on Tuesday an ordinance to award property tax breaks to the owner of the former Pratt Funeral Home in downtown, according to News4JAX partners at the Jacksonville Daily Record.
The city council approved Ordinance 2025-0836 by an 18-0 vote to eliminate any tax increases from property improvements to The Raven, a downtown “aparthotel,” for the next 10 years.
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The tax breaks are meant to help the property’s owner with the renovation of the property into a mixed-use development.
In 2023, the city council approved a $1.25 million forgivable loan package for owner Eric Adler’s restoration and adaptive reuse of the 9,482-square-foot building on Beaver Street.
The grant was directed for development of 13 multifamily rental units and approximately 1,500 square feet of commercial space, envisioned as a coffee shop or wine bar. Development was expected to cost $5 million.
City officials could not provide an estimate for the value of the newly approved tax break.
“We do not know what the improvements are going to be and the value added, what the future use of the property will be and what the real estate market will look like over the next 10 years,” Chief Appraiser Keith Hicks said in a statement. “Too many unknowns to provide an accurate response.”
The building previously served as the Pratt Funeral Home. Originally owned and managed by Lawton Pratt, it became the Pratt Funeral Home in 1915. City records show the building was built in 1916, but records from that time may not be precise.