Ground Won't be Broken Early in Duval Courthouse Project

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The site of the future Duval County Courthouse still sits empty. There was supposed to be some work going on at the site by now. That's what Mayor John Peyton said a couple of months ago.

Instead, the property looks the same. There's no construction equipment, no construction crews. The reason: because the City has decided to wait on breaking ground until the Spring.

Brian Baldwin has been waiting years to see the new courthouse. "Some day it will happen. When, it's a crapshoot, but I hope I can hang on until it does."

Baldwin set up his hot dog sidewalk business yards from the site, because he thought there would be a courthouse by now. "The key to my business is walk-by traffic," which he says is slim these days.

Baldwin's hopes were that ground would be broken out here in December, like Peyton said. That plan hit a snag. The contractor's exact price tag won't be in until March or April, when it is due.

"We were hopeful that we could go ahead and start the foundation work prior to receiving that price because our feeling was it wasn't really going to change anything later in the process," says Misty Skipper, the Mayor's spokesperson.

The hope was that laying the foundation now would move the project along faster once the contractor's price tag arrived. But the City's Council President told Peyton, "Don't move too fast."

"He had concerns about us starting before we had that total number from the contractor. After working with the council president, we agreed jointly to go ahead and wait until we had that full number," says Skipper.

The news is not what Brian Baldwin wants to hear, but he says it does make sense and he will just try to survive a little longer. "It's been a battle. A few times, I didn't know if I could keep going, but somehow came together and able to keep going."

The City says even though ground has not been broken, it doesn't delay the project any. The site is still on target for a completion date in 2011 or early 2012.

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