Profile Mill gets two-week reprieve from Jacksonville City Council

May 11—The Profile Mill will stand for at least two more weeks, after the Jacksonville City Council on Monday agreed to wait until its next meeting to vote on demolition of the former textile mill.

At its regular meeting, the council punted the demolition vote after historic preservation advocate David Schneider asked members to give him time to show the property to a potential developer.

"This mill is not just any old building," Schneider said. "It's an essential piece of the history of Jacksonville."

Built in the early years of the 20th century, the mill was for decades the core of blue-collar work in Jacksonville and the heart of the neighborhood known as the Mill Village. It closed in 2001 and soon afterward became the property of the city.

Part of the mill has already been demolished, but city leaders over the past two decades have sought alternate uses for the building. Offers from developers to repurpose the site have fallen through. The Gadsden-based company MC Haulers and K & D Adventures in Wellington were prepared to tear down the building and pay the city $60,000 for the materials they could salvage from the mill, according to Mayor Johnny Smith. The last time the council considered tearing down the mill, it was at a proposed cost to the city of $140,000.

Schneider said he has a Georgia-based investor who is interested in turning the building into a senior housing site. He asked the council to postpone the vote and give him access to the mill so he could give the potential investors a tour.

Council members were skeptical, saying they'd heard solid-sounding offers before.

"My concern is, is there something with property that's prohibiting development," said Councilman Andy Green.

Even so, the council voted 5-0 to take the demolition off the Monday meeting agenda, with a plan to consider the matter again at the next meeting.

Council president Tony Taylor thanked Kevin Steward, the owner of the K & D, for being willing to wait until the next meeting.

"I know your patience is just about at its end," Taylor told Steward, who was in the audience.

"Just about," Steward said.

The council also heard from several residents of the southwest neighborhoods near Delwood Estates and Cotton Creek, not far from the high school, who said their neighborhoods had flooding problems during the March 25 storms.

All said they believed the flooding problems were due to drainage issues in the area, and they urged the council to approve a study of drainage in the area.

"We're not mad," said Roger Sawyer, who lives on Jackson's Way. "We're not angry. We just need your help."

Council members said they'd look into the issue.

"It's going to take someone much smarter than myself to get to a solution," Taylor said.

Capitol & statewide reporter Tim Lockette: 256-294-4193. On Twitter @TLockette_Star.