Four ventilation ducts are visible on the roof of the new Medical Examiner's Office. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on July 18, 2025 at 11:27 am
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Q: People in the Metro Gardens Neighborhood Association have been battling the new Duval County Medical Examiner’s Office since construction began over two years ago next to their neighborhood.
The group even sued the city over the facility at 4368 N. Davis St.
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Now Jacksonville Today reader Joyce J. has another question about the office, which is due to open in September next to Interstate 95 and the Metro Gardens neighborhood.
“Why does the new morgue have 4 giant smokestacks that you can see from miles away?”
A: City spokesman Phil Perry said what Joyce sees atop the 51,000-square-foot facility are not smokestacks.
“Those are for room ventilation,” Perry said. “There is no cremation happening. There won’t be any burning of waste either. Any hazardous materials will be disposed of off-site.”
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City officials began construction on the new medical examiner’s office in May 2023, to replace one that began as a one-story facility in 1968 behind what is now UF Health Jacksonville.
City officials said that the 57-year-old facility on North Jefferson Street has to deal with hundreds of bodies a year and needs more space — despite expansion with an addition and a second floor.
The choice of a new site only 32 feet from the KIPP Voice Academy’s elementary and middle school, and adjacent to the Metro Gardens community, has resulted in numerous protests by neighbors.
The group sued a year ago, saying the city did not inform them of its intentions to build the facility there. They also say the area was rezoned from commercial property to public property, after the 2023 groundbreaking.
Along with those issues, the group’s lawsuit claims the city didn’t tell the community about the facility, which residents say violates city ordinances. The lawsuit is set for a nonjury trial July 24, 2026.
The neighborhood group also asked a federal judge June 20 to stop the office from opening, saying it threatens their health, safety and dignity. The city filed a motion to dismiss that complaint on Tuesday, saying it fails to satisfy standards for federal pleadings.
“This Court lacks jurisdiction over the matter because Plaintiffs lack standing,” the city’s motion says. “The Plaintiffs have failed to state claims against the City for which relief can be granted; and Plaintiffs cannot demonstrate they are entitled to preliminary injunctive relief.”
The federal judge has not ruled yet on the city’s motion, and the Metro Gardens plaintiffs had 21 days to respond to it, Perry said.
The city had no further comment about the case now. The new facility is scheduled to be turned over to the Medical Examiner’s Office by November, Perry said.
