The deteriorating facade of the Historic Jackson House in Tampa
A small upper room of the Historic Jackson House in Tampa collapsed last Monday, Sept. 7 on the heels of heated discussions about how to preserve the structure.
The landmark at 851 E Zack St. in downtown was once a boarding house for Black travelers during segregation. James Brown, Ray Charles and Ella Fitzgerald are among the prominent former guests of the Jackson House.
It’s been in disrepair since at least the 1970s, and was once slated for demolition under former mayor and current mayoral candidate Bob Buckhorn Jr.
The continued deterioration of the building is causing some friction between the foundation tasked with preserving the house and the city. The Jackson House Foundation has said that permitting, zoning and historic preservation requirements all add barriers to the work.
Last year, after years of negotiations, the Accardi brothers who own the neighboring parking lots agreed to a deal with the city for a 10-foot easement in the land surrounding the house.
Tampa City Council member Bill Carlson told WMNF that the public would like to see more progress. After over a decade, Carlson said, the house should have more preservation work done.
“I wish they would reach out for help from the city or some other organization that has the capacity to step in and fix it quickly,” Carlson told WMNF. “There are individuals on the board that have experience, but the organization itself doesn’t have experience. They’ve had 12 or more years to preserve, protect and renovate the building and they haven’t done it.”
Carlson said that if the permitting issue is holding up progress, he’d like to see Mayor Jane Castor’s administration step in to expedite those permits.
The segment of the building that collapsed—an upstairs room in the southeast segment of the building—appears to be part of a later addition to the house. That segment doesn’t appear in the renderings on the foundation’s website, so it may be torn down anyway.
The Jackson House Foundation declined to comment, saying the board needed to meet before any media availability. They plan to meet tonight. A WMNF reporter spotted a crew working on the collapsed section this afternoon.
On Tuesday, the city said its chief building official had cleared the way for emergency repair work. Permits are still required for work to begin.