St. Johns County on top in close vote for site of new Florida Museum of Black History

A state panel Tuesday voted to recommend St. Johns County as the home for the new Florida Museum of Black History.

But the nine-member committee split 5-4 on what was a procedural vote that resulted in the St. Johns site edging out proposals from Eatonville and Opa Locka for the first ever state-run museum to document the African American experience in Florida and the Caribbean.

St. Johns County and Eatonville had emerged as the two most likely sites after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law creating the task force to oversee the planning, construction and operation of the facility. Supporters envision a facility covering the size of a city block, with 100,000 square feet of exhibition space in 10 halls.

Last month, a 17-acre site in St. Augustine that was once the Florida Normal Industrial and Memorial College (now Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens) topped a 10-acre site in Eatonville by less than two points in a ranking by the committee, although Eatonville was the top pick by five committee members.

Eatonville supporters cried foul when it was revealed that Rep. Kiyan Michael, R-Jacksonville, had given St. Johns a perfect score and ranked Eatonville 32 points lower than any other committee member.

Before Tuesday’s vote, Michael criticized news coverage of her support for a northeast Florida location while Eatonville supporters continued to press their case that their support made historical and financial sense.

The bill that created the museum (HB 1441) calls for it to have a sustainable business plan. Eatonville is home to the oldest incorporated Black community in the U.S. and is next door to Orlando, which attracts 74 million tourists annually.

“We can easily pull off a half-million of those tourists that will come to the museum, and they would pay $10. We have a plan. We have a vision,” said Rep. Bruce Antone, D-Orlando, who sponsored the measure to create the museum.

St. Johns supporters countered that Black American history began in St. Augustine, the city figured prominently in passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and that they had lined up support of nine area nonprofits, including the Jaguars Foundation, the PGA Tour, the YMCA of North Florida, three historic Black colleges and universities, and neighboring Nassau, Duval, Clay and Flagler counties.

“That’s a testament to cooperation and a regional approach. It is not a St. Johns County museum. It is a hub-and-spoke regional asset that will benefit not only northeast Florida but the entire state,” said Sarah Arnold, chair of the St. Johns County Commission.

Previous coverage: Communities big and small vying to be home of Florida Museum of Black History

The decision to select St. Johns came after analysis of the three sites by Andrew Chin, dean of the Florida A&M University School of Architecture & Engineering Technology.

The sites were evaluated on pedestrian access as well as parking, transportation infrastructure, lot size and appropriate land use.

Chin told the committee proposed plans for a Florida museum are consistent with African American museums in Baltimore, Detroit, and Charleston, S.C.

Now, a feasibility study for the St. Johns site will be conducted. The task force is required to submit its site recommendations and plans for museum construction to the governor, Florida House speaker and Florida Senate president by July 1.

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: St. Johns County gets nod for new Florida Museum of Black History