Jacksonville Today reader Dave E. had a question after reading our recent story about the recent opening of Marine Fire Station 68 on the St. Johns River in Mandarin.

The new station was opened in a renovated home in the shadow of the Buckman Bridge on Scott Mill Road.

“We purchased it for $2.2 million,” Dave E. said. “Who did we purchase it from? What does it cost to build the other fire stations that are in construction now?”

A. Marine Fire Station 68 operates out of a home with a dock that can handle one of the department’s 30-foot-long fireboats. The City Council was asked for $2.2 million to buy the property from a private owner, and the final price came to $2.3 million.

The area next to the Buckman Bridge and across from Naval Air Station Jacksonville has needed marine and shoreline fire protection for years, in a city where the Fire Department handles a river that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the St. Johns County line, fire officials said.

Article continues below

More from Jax Today

Jacksonville pushes for zero traffic deaths by 2035

Recount confirms winner in Fernandina commission race

Tropical Storm Sara unlikely to threaten Florida

Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Until now, the nearest marine fire station was at Metropolitan Park in Downtown Jacksonville (though it temporarily operates out of NAS Jacksonville while a new facility is built closer to the Hart Bridge). Before the home-to-firehouse conversion, it could take 25 minutes for a fireboat to get from Downtown to the Buckman Bridge. 

Building a brand new marine fire station would have cost about $10 million for the building alone, Fire Chief Keith Powers says. Depending on the depth of the water and the size of the marine fire unit assigned, dock pricing is about $2.5 million, plus $2 million more for land, he says.

The Mandarin site includes a dock and a covered 20,000-pound boat lift, and the initial property price was negotiated down from $2.5 million to $2.3 million, Powers says. A pool and jacuzzi at the homesite were demolished and filled. The fire department did additional modifications and repairs to the home and dock, adding about $700,000 to the price.

Marine Fire Station 68 was originally budgeted for $9.5 million for the building’s construction alone, so buying and renovating the Mandarin home left $6.5 million in the city budget. The fire department will be able to use the leftover money to pair with a federal match to build Marine Fire Station 48 at the Blount Island Marine Terminal, to replace another existing facility.

Powers said to pursue the more cost effective option, the city took steps to ensure the Mandarin station did not disrupt the neighborhood.

“The private owner of the property we purchased was aware of JFRD’s intent to use this as a marine facility,” Powers says. “When we first looked at this property, myself and council member Michael Boylan met with the neighbors on the northern property boundary. We explained to them what our intentions were and addressed concerns they had.”

The chief says multiple meetings were held with neighbors, and their concerns, such as trees, fencing, windows overlooking their pool and signs all were addressed and locked in a rezoning application for the site.

“There were multiple public hearings conducted during the rezoning that included (Land Use & Zoning) Committee and multiple City Council meetings,” Powers says. “No one from the community spoke for or against the rezoning during any of the public hearings. There are no neighbors directly adjacent to southern property line. This southern property has a dilapidated structure on it that no one lives in.”

Have a question you’d like the Jacksonville Today team to look into? Email news@jaxtoday.org with #AskJAXTDY in the subject line, and you might see your answer soon.