Sulzbacher moved his target location to Jacksonville for a questionable assignment that would provide housing, physical care and production jobs, among others, to homeless men.
The new site encompasses 16. 8 personal acres on the northwest side of the city on Golfair Boulevard, off Interstate 95 on Walgreen Road. The previous location was a former Superfund site, also in northwest Jacksonville.
Both sites have angered residents, some of whom understand the city’s northwest component as a dumping ground for potentially unpopular projects.
“Remember, taxpayers only in one aspect of the city,” michelle Lomax told city council members.
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Sulzbacher, a nonprofit that provides comprehensive services to the homeless, first needs to build a hundred apartments on the property. The time would be to provide job education for homeless men and a production plant where they and some neighborhood citizens would be hired to make modular affordable housing.
On Feb. 8, the City Council unanimously legalized Sulzbacher and the developers, The Vestcor Companies, to obtain tax credits from the Florida Housing Finance Authority.
But Councilman Ju’Cothrough Pittman, whose district includes the new site, has promised that the upcoming zoning and other city approvals needed for the assignment will get their approval unless the developer provides innovations to the surrounding community.
She said Golfair’s domain and much of northwest Jacksonville have long been overlooked through the city’s corridor and that citizens are not of easy attention, from sidewalks to jobs.
“Everything citizens want
The proposed Sulzbacher Enterprise Village would be the time when the new complex evolved through the nonprofit for other homeless people to build a new life.
The first, the $21 million Sulzbacher Village that opened in 2018 at 44th and Pearl Streets. Women, youth and homeless families were transferred there from the centre’s main homeless centre, which is located on East Adams Street near the prison.
From now on, the goal is to relocate the men from the center of the city, which is located in a flood zone. The center would continue to be used for the homeless food network and to space out the urban rest area that provides showers, laundry, food, fitness care and work assistance, among others.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit has long been thinking about a complex that would provide not only housing, but also jobs. In Enterprise Village, citizens would be informed about the structures industry and get jobs on the production floor with a “living wage. “he would start “a career so we can take care of his circle of long-term relatives,” he said.
The concept was made public last year when the nonprofit revealed that a former city-owned Superfund site was one of the planned sites for the apartments and production plant. Fairfax Street Wood Treaters won the EPA green light in 2020.
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In several meetings of the network on the project, citizens have criticized the idea. They didn’t think that the homeless medium would be more valuable to them than the Superfund site.
Now, citizens have considerations about the new site. They spoke at network meetings with sulzbacher representatives, the Feb. 8 board meeting, and council committee meetings the previous week.
Kim Stevens-Perry said Sulzbacher deserves to inform the network of each of the sites that are considered as Enterprise Village. Give the network a chance to compare each site, rather than “swiping” them across the board, he said. .
Iris Hinton: “We have a lot of disorders to solve. Please, please, let’s resolve the disorders we already have in the community. Our young people deserve better. “
These disorders come with crime, such as drug trafficking and prostitution at a local motel. They said they were looking to reduce the crime rate before a new breakthrough arrived and feared the imaginable ramifications of having a men-only homeless center in the neighborhood.
City leaders are in the city center while citizens on the outskirts are not heard, Lomax said.
“Everyone else is on hold,” he said. We love it. Everyone can look at our neighborhoods and be proud of our neighborhoods. “
Eva Roberson, who also became homeless, said she was not opposed to homeless housing. But the northwest domain of Jacksonville is being treated unfairly, he said.
“What you don’t want in the city, you push to the periphery,” he said. “We want to create jobs. We want educational institutions. We want so much more. “
Attorney Steven Diebenow, representing Sulzbacher and the developers, said either entity perceives residents’ considerations and will take steps to address them.
Apply to the Florida Housing Finance Authority for only the first step; The deadline for submission is February 15. The level of timing will be rezoning and urban progression programs planned for this spring and summer, he said.
These plans will come with elements of the village, such as permanent and short-term housing, a fitness clinic, jobs and vocational training, a production plant, a pharmacy, a place to eat and services, as well as neighborhood improvements.
“All of this will be taken into account,” Diebenow said.
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Pittman gave them a “to-do list” of wishes, such as gardening and sidewalks and jobs, education and fitness services, he said. to-do list. “
Pittman said she was torn when she had to vote on the housing finance application, which she ultimately favored. He supported the wishes of citizens and the concept proposed by Sulzbacher and the developers, he said.
“What you [Sulzbacher] have done is admirable. Bringing other people back to life,” he said. “I have to make sure I keep his promise. This district no longer wants damaged promises. “
Other council members noted that the village of Sulzbacher, home to homeless women, children and families, presented an example of the positive effect such a complex can have. The village’s pediatric gymnasium provides primary, dental, visual, and behavioral care facilities. not only to the young people who live there, but also to the young people of the neighborhood.
Before it opened, many neighbors opposed the project, saying they feared an increase in crime and a reduction in the value of assets. District Council member Reggie Gaffney said he was among them. But they were wrong.
“No one complained because it’s a beacon of life,” he said.
Councilman Rory Diamond said: “What Sulzbacher is doing is transforming
The Golfair Zone Site “makes sense,” he said. “This is a position on I-95 with no houses around it.
bcravey@jacksonville. com, (904) 359-4109
SULZBACHER
To donate, volunteer or learn more, visit sulzbacherjax. org or call (904) 359-0457