Call Box: Medical office building rising from the ashes – Florida Times-Union

Dear Call Box: I drive down Atlantic Boulevard every day and noticed that there has been some construction activity at the site of the two office buildings that burned. They were adjacent to Fire Station 12.

L.E., Southside

Dear L.E.: The first of the two one-story office buildings at 3434 Atlantic Blvd. burned in February 2013 and was ruled accidental. The second fire in January 2015 destroyed the building in back of it. Cause of the second fire was believed to be arson, according to Kayla Anderson, spokeswoman for the state Fire Marshals Office.

Physician Rene Pulido bought the property and will use it for medical office buildings, said Tom Shrout, president of The Shrout Companies, which is doing the work. Pulido revised the permit which had been issued to rebuild the 5,200-square-foot building that burned in 2013.

Construction had started on the building, which faces Atlantic, but was halted until truss drawings from the engineer can be completed, Shrout said. Then they will be submitted to the city for approval, and construction will resume, he said. He expects that to happen in mid-July with a target completion date of the end of the year. Then work can start on the second building, Shout said.

There was a lot of engineering work that had to be done to see of some of the original framework and foundation could be used. Some could and some not, Shrout said.

Pulido owns other clinics and doctors offices in the 2000 block of Atlantic.

Dear Call Box: I have discovered some water spots on the ceiling of the living room and garage in my two-story home. I am 70 years old and physically not able to get up the attic and crawling inside the rafters to look for the source of the water damage. I hope you can advise me as to whom to call to make this inspection, be it a plumber, painter or contractor to determine where the leak is located.

T.T., Jacksonville

Dear T.T.: We called Rolland Reash Plumbing Co. to find the answer to your question. Kyle Conway, office supervisor, said plumbers investigate leaks all the time and will be able to tell you the origin of the leak. You can find a long list by googling plumbers.

Dear Call Box: Can you tell me who or what Belfort Road was named after?

J.M., Riverside-Avondale

Dear J.M.: We thought this would be an easy question, but thats where we were mistaken. We searched our archives, contacted a historical society and called a prominent developer, but none knew the origin. So were throwing it out to the readers, who recently came through on a similar question.

Update: A month after we wrote about Bernard Berney, whose famed Man in Green restaurant was featured in Ripleys Believe It or Not column, readers continue their fascination with the downtown icon. Carolyn Adams said that her mother-in-law, Kathleen McClure, was a marathon dancer during the depression who often talked about coming to Jacksonville and dancing in the all-green restaurant with an owner who dressed in green. Her father-in-law, Ralph Waldo Wally Adams, was the emcee, and the couple got married on one of their dancing trips around the country.

Her mother-in-law won $100 for every 24 hours on her feet with only a 10-minute break every hour. The most she ever won was $400 or $500.

Submit questions by calling (904) 359-4622 or mailing to Call Box, P.O. Box 1949, Jacksonville, FL 32231. Please include contact information. If you have a picture to offer with your question, feel free to send it.

Sandy Strickland: (904) 359-4128

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Call Box: Medical office building rising from the ashes - Florida Times-Union