J.A. Jennings Building to Become a Destination for the City

J.A. Jennings Building Buyer Shares Vision

While the City of Brooksville develops a new building code that reflects the history and a unified look for the City, the new owner of the landmark J.A. Jennings Building has his own plans to make the historic structure a destination for visitors to the Downtown district.

“I’ve wanted to buy this building since I was 15 years old and I’m 37 years old,” said Brooksville native Brent Lowman, who purchased the building from Wayne Johnson in September 2023. “I want the Jennings Building to be a destination to help bring people to downtown Brooksville.”

Also in September, members of the Brooksville City Council unanimously approved a new set of building codes that will, among other things, make the best use of streets, open spaces, utilities and promote the redevelopment of the city’s commercial and office spaces in a way that is compatible with the historic design elements of structures within the city’s commercial core.

Built sometime between 1910 and 1915, the total 12,000 sq. ft. Jennings Building at 12 N. Broad Street in Downtown Brooksville housed the Innovation Collective business incubator beginning in June 2021.

Since he acquired it, Lowman set his sights on renovating the building’s entire exterior, rehabbing ground-floor commercial spaces, including a turnkey restaurant space on the 6,200 sq. ft. ground floor, then tackling the remaining 6,200 sq. ft. completely vacant space upstairs.

“The restaurant is ready to go, and now we are actively looking for someone to move in, but the upstairs is a blank slate, said Lowman, an attorney with Lowman Law Firm located just steps away from the Jennings Building. “Upstairs, we have a lot of work to do before occupancy (and I would like) to see a distillery as well as small ‘gallery’ spaces.” He envisions the building as a place for people to come after work. A place to have a nice dinner and enjoy the art and culture of the city.

All the renovation work on the Jennings Building will take place in phases according to the plans of project architect Nick Holmes, beginning with the downstairs spaces first.

“Upstairs, the building was separated sometime in the 1930s or 1940s,” Lowman said. “The back half will be the second phase and the front half will be the third phase.”

The work will be accomplished as permits and other construction-related approvals are awarded by the City of Brooksville. So far, the City has been completely supportive of the Jennings Building renovation effort. “The city has been on board from the beginning,” Lowman said. “It’s a team effort.”

Brooksville Mayor Blake Bell agrees. “Brent has big plans for the Jennings Building,” Bell said. “I’m thrilled at the work that the City Council and others have done to protect the Brooksville and the Old Florida that we love.”

So far, Lowman has enjoyed discovering pieces of history as restoration work progresses, such as scrawlings discovered on a once-exterior wall, a door that had been hidden behind plaster and the historic electrical wiring where bare wires were run through holes in the rafters. A ceramic piece inside the hole in the rafter served to insulate the wire and prevent the rafter from catching fire.

The original building, owned by businessman James A. Jennings, was constructed in 1905. It burned down in 1914 and was rebuilt in 1915. According to the City of Brooksville’s Historic Walking Tour, the new Jennings Building constructed after the fire featured a drug store, dentist, general store, barber shop, restaurant and pool hall.

J.A. Jennings served as sheriff from 1885 to 1888 and a county commissioner from 1903 to 1915. Jennings was also involved in founding Brooksville State Bank, the county’s first bank in 1890. This bank became a victim of freezes from 1890 to 1895 that decimated the orange industry and closed its doors. Jennings and some of the other founders attempted to start a new bank in 1897. Starting the bank took several years, and Hernando State Bank was founded in 1905, with Jennings serving as its first president.

Although the restoration of the Jennings building is a big project, Lowman is confident the project will succeed with support from the community. He is also appreciative of all of the ideas and the excitement people have for the project in general.

Photos of the Jennings Building

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