A brand new restaurant and Airbnb called LaVilla Place is getting closer to opening after a recent approval to renovate the Pratt Funeral Home at 525 W Beaver St., on the edge of LaVilla.
The city recently issued a permit for Avant Construction Group to convert the 9,482-square-foot space at a cost of almost $2.1 million, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. The historic Hillman-Pratt and Walton Funeral Home was one of the most successful Black-owned and operated businesses in the 1920s and was in continuous use until it closed in 2019. Owner and developer Eric Adler plans to renovate the space into 13 apartments, a small-plate restaurant, and a wine bar.
The 108-year-old former funeral home is also in the process of being added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission voted on Oct. 25 to recommend the action to the National Park Service. If approved, the project is eligible to apply for federal funding. The building met three criteria for the historic register recommendation. In addition to being the oldest funeral home in the state of Florida, there are deeper connections that will be honored in the upcoming development.
The Hillman-Pratt and Walton Funeral Home is potentially where Bessie Coleman, the first Black Native American woman to earn a pilot’s license, remains after she died in 1926, according to Adler via JDR. Earlier this year, Adler and his development team reviewed over a dozen funeral home ledgers to find documented proof of the connection. Records show Coleman was transported to Hillman-Pratt after she was thrown from an airplane cockpit during a test flight. LaVilla Place plans to feature one of the areas of the development or one apartment paying tribute to Coleman.
Alder plans to spend $3 million to $4 million renovating the building’s interior with the help of architect Jason Canning. The group will not make any significant changes to the exterior. Adler expects to complete the development sometime next year with short-term and long-term rentals available.
