TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Developers are providing updates to a project involving three buildings by Cascades Park: the Firestone and Bloxham Annex buildings on East Gaines Street.
The Firestone used to be the county jail and one of the Bloxham Annex buildings served as the county health unit.
Tuesday, North American Properties announced the Firestone and one of the Bloxham Annex buildings would be cleared, since their location had a major impact on whether or not they could be used.
The building that served as the county health unit will be preserved in its entirety. Developers said they wanted to maintain the "art moderne" architecture of that building.
Meanwhile, developers are working on preserving the area's history, unveiling renderings of what the site could look like.
The buildings set for demolition will be replaced by a historical public plaza. There are also plans for apartment housing, parking garages and a wellness center, among other features.
Developers have been working with a local historical user group to come up with the project's vision.
"We're taking the memories that occurred in that jail -- not only in that jail but also in that whole area, lots of history has occurred there -- and bringing that into a historical plaza," said Shawn McIntyre, Florida partner with North American Properties. "I thinking bringing an activated 18-hour community to downtown Tallahassee is very important to the economic vitality of the city."
A community meeting is set for June 15th at 6 p.m. at the Meridian Point building by Cascades Park to get feedback about the project.
