DELAND, Fla. – The debate over what to do with the old Volusia County jail is back on the table with DeLand city commissioners deciding its future.
The city took possession of the building from the county back in 2018. Commissioners recently picked up the conversation again.
The empty building is on West New York Avenue in the heart of downtown DeLand. The jail was closed back in 1987.
Last month, city staff went to city commissioners at their meeting and showed them pictures from inside the building where there is asbestos and decay. The staff asked commissioners for a direction on what they’d like to do with the property.
Commissioners couldn’t reach an agreement, with some wanting it torn down and others wanting it rehabilitated.
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“It definitely has a negative aspect having a dark spot right next to you,” Jeff Shepherd said.
News 6 spoke with Shepherd this week. He owns several buildings surrounding the old jail.
“To make a good decision sometimes it’s better to take a while to do it. Now, in this case, there is a little bit of frustration i would say in the fact that they made a bad decision,” Shepherd said.
The city is currently in litigation over the property. A developer that the city chose to redo it back in 2018 filed an appeal last year after the city rejected their application to rezone the property, essentially killing their project.
That developer wanted to tear the building down and replace it with an office building.
Shepherd said he’d prefer the building be renovated.
“I wouldn’t say I’m hung up on that. If they demo the building and do something nice with some green space and some parking, which I don’t know that that’s what they’ll do,” he said.
Ultimately any decision on how to proceed with this property is going to be based on what happens in court and News 6 is told that litigation with the developer should be resolved within a year.
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