In recent years, we’ve seen a number of Ford buildings get repurposed for other things, including the Twin Cities Assembly plant, the automaker’s former Atlanta-based Southeastern headquarters, and the Wixom Assembly plant. However, the rather historical Commodore Point plant in Jacksonville, Florida – which produced the Ford Model T and was in operation from 1924-1932 – seemingly won’t enjoy that same sort of preservation, as it’s set to be torn down, as Ford Authority reported last October. Despite some efforts to stop that from happening, the old Ford Model T plant remains on track for demolition, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Amkin Hill Street LLC currently owns the site of the old Commodore Point plant, and has asked the city for a permit required to tear it down, with a company called ELEV8 Demolition already lined up to complete that task. For now, however, the Building Inspection Division filing is only temporary, serving as nothing more than a placeholder until a permit application is officially filled out and filed.
Last June, Amkin Hill Street LLC’s efforts to tear down the old plant were temporarily delayed by the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission, which filed a certificate of appropriateness over the proposed project. However, in October, the Jacksonville City Council voted unanimously to allow the demolition to proceed, agreeing with the company’s assessment that the nearly century-old plant was beyond repair – to the point where it’s reportedly also at risk of collapsing entirely.
Once this process is complete, Amkin Hill Street LLC intends to repurpose the site. “We’re in confidential negotiations with a large shipyard owner that has three existing military shipyards in the United States to come into the facility,” said Sonny Redmond, a consultant for Amkin. “We’re making improvements to get ready for his activities if we can finalize a lease. They’re going to bring 300 new, high-paying jobs to the community that we’re in.”
We’ll have more on Ford’s past and present assembly plants soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
Comments
Losing history, sad day.
Yes, I agree but, if it can’t be repaired I guess the best thing to do is tear it down. At least the old plant in Highland Park, Michigan has survived.
It’s time to let this one go as it is long past being useful.
Sad that it was approved for Demolition… That building is HISTORY!!
SOMEONE NEEDS TO STOP THIS.
Sure, it’s not useful for assembly of anything•••• BUT IT IS USEFUL AS A MUSEUM!!!! We can’t keep removing our history•••••