Apartments at 3rd and Main

Straight from the minutes of the Springfield Small Business Owners meeting:

Development Report

  • Bill Cesery is expected to break ground this quarter on his project at Main Street
    and 3rd Street.
  • The Jewish Center is under contract for renovations for condo/loft space.
  • Mack Bisette (SRG) is working on a study for multifamily units.
  • The Shands/UF community is very interested in Springfield development,
    especially restaurant and retail establishments.
  • Jay Silliman continues work on his commercial condo development.

Cesery Co. is looking to break ground in early April on a building on Main Street that features 7,500 sq. ft. of commercial space and 36 apartments. Symbiosis has a building permit to develop the corners at 8th Street and Pearl Street. The challenge now lies in securing commercial leases.

Main Street and East 8th Street development update
Gene Hagan from the City of Jacksonville’s public works department and Ron Hooglan with GAI Consulting discussed the 8th Street and Main Street projects.

The city has enough funding for completing Main Street from 4th Street to 12th Street. The project is expected to go up for bid this month, with construction to begin late spring/early summer.

Construction on 8th Street is expected to be completed in July. Ron Hooglan went through a brief history of the 8th Street and Main Street projects and listed the many partners involved—People’s Gas, Comcast, BellSouth, JTA, JEA and CSX. Ron gave much of the credit for improvements to the Springfield community.

Other development news

Mars and Venus Streets – Interest was expressed in transforming this area. Shands is interested in working with Springfield organizations to change the environment for the betterment of the community.

Affordable Housing – The need for affordable housing for employees was discussed. A small number of Shands/UF/UFPTI staff live in the Springfield area but employees are also scattered throughout Duval County, as well as surrounding counties. Shands Jacksonville does offer eligible employees financial assistance to purchase and revitalize a home in historic Springfield. There may be potential for lenders and other organizations to work with the hospital to help employees learn about the various grants, loans and programs available to those wanting to purchase a home in this community.

Commercial Space Needs – The need for more commercial space for revenue generating patient care services was discussed. Additionally, IBA (affiliated with UFPTI) will be opening its North America office in Jacksonville with approximately 20 employees to begin with. Space is needed for research and development, procurement, service and training.

Government Relations – Members of the group agreed that with City Council elections approaching it’s important to know the candidates and their plans to represent Springfield.

Note: Next week, starting on Monday: Better Know your District 7 Candidates. Check that out to learn more about your Springfield city council candidates.

Image – Group members agreed to work together on developing a strategy to improve perceptions of both Shands Jacksonville and the Springfield community.

Communicating with Shands/UF Employees – The group discussed ways to communicate with employees with news about events, housing, commercial and retail developments, changes in Springfield, etc.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 23rd, 2007 at 9:41 am and is filed under Springfield. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.