Please see the Springfield News topic!

[Springfieldian]

Email from SPAR:

We need all Historic Springfield residents to attend a meeting on Wednesday, June 8th, 7:30pm at Henriettas (9th & Main Streets).  The Federal Government has given the old Job Corp Building (formerly the Jewish Center) on West 3rd Street between Silver and Blvd. to River Regions Human Resources for a HOMELESS SHELTER!!!!  Needless to say, we have to fight this with everything we have.  A representative from the GSA (Government Service Association) will attend, along with a River Regions representative.  Please tell all of your neighbors and come out to support Springfield's position that this is not an acceptable location for a homeless shelter, which would be a real detriment to Springfield's continued development.

We need your support, so please attend.

The building River Regions wants to turn into a homeless shelter is on the park where I fly kites, practice soccer, practice baseball, run the dogs, etc.. with my kids. Springfield could really use the help of anyone in Jacksonville (or the surrounding area) who cares about this old, beaten-down neighborhood that is trying to make its comeback. Call your friends, family, co-workers and let's show up as one united force in some of the greatest numbers Jacksonville has seen in recent years.

[bobliocatt]

Just reading the FTU forum, shows how suburban oriented this city is and the hard road that lies ahead to defeat this thing.

Several over there, actually support it being in Springfield, because they don't want it in their neighborhoods. I also find it discouraging that NO city council member has raised a concern "publically" about this issue. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Springfield is finally coming back alive and that something like this is nothing more than a smack in the face to everyone who has invested money in that area in recent years.

[Springfieldian]

Just reading the FTU forum, shows how suburban oriented this city is and the hard road that lies ahead to defeat this thing.

Several over there, actually support it being in Springfield, because they don't want it in their neighborhoods.  I also find it discouraging that NO city council member has raised a concern "publically" about this issue.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Springfield is finally coming back alive and that something like this is nothing more than a smack in the face to everyone who has invested money in that area in recent years.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have responded to the inflamatory post at jacksonville.com:

maikal, I couldn't disagree with you more. The neighborhood's strength and future lay in its diversity, not in any gentrification effort you may have perceived. The high housing prices are not, as you stated, "attempting to gentrify and kick out people to other neighborhood to attrack more white higher income professional they need", they are the result of one of humanity's oldest motivators -- GREED. People who bought these properties yars ago at pennies on the dollar are now turning the same property over at a handsome profit.

Every incentive program the neighborhood supports is aimed at lower-to-middle income people and familes. The SHARP program, the Facade Grant, etc.. are not available to anyone ABOVE a certain income level. SPAR and the rest of my neighbors support the continuation of these programs because the neighborhood's continued ethnic and economic diversity is seen as key to its current identity and its future.

The issue at stake isn't a NIMBY issue, it is a NAOIMBY (Not Another One In My Back Yard) issue. Jacksonville's urban core, which includes Springfield, currently shoulders a disproportionate amount of the supportive burden when compared to other parts of the region. I have seen the homeless living in the woods off of San Jose Blvd. and off of St. Augustine Rd. in Mandarin; the beaches have long-running homeless populations. How about Arlington's homeless population, where is their support infrastructure? Perhaps we should round them all up, put them on a bus and send them downtown where they belong .

We are living in an era when suburban sprawl has been identified as one of the leading environmental threats and high gas prices are increasing the cost of most people's daily commutes. All the while, tax incentives are still being doled out hand-over-fist East and South of the St. John's River (if you want to see areas of gentrification, look to land that is owned by a name like Davis, Skinner, or Peyton). Demonizing people who have chosen to live in and restore a historically depressed area and become outraged when yet another homeless shelter is proposed for our neighborhood because the rest of the city wants to continue shuffling their problems into our homes is, in itself, fairly demonic.

[RiversideGator]

How do you get into the FTU forum? I want a piece of this.

[bobliocatt]

Here's a link to that thread, on the FTU forum.

http://cgi.jacksonville.com/cgi-bin/msgboa...i?section=14427

[RiversideGator]

How did the Springfield/homeless shelter meeting go??

I couldnt make it - I wasnt able to leave the office till about 8:15 pm.

[bobliocatt]

I attended the meeting for about an hour. Other than a representative from the GSA, all other agencies, including River Region (the homeless shelter) declined to attend the meeting.

River Region plans to convert the building into their main office, a 60-80 bed shelter and a treatment facility serving the mentally-ill, criminals, drug addicts and those with AIDS/HIV.

The main thing to remember is, the people of Springfield aren't against these social services, they're just against a homeless shelter being placed in the middle of a neighborhood that had historically been the dumping ground for all of Duval County's social problems for over 40 years, especially after all of the blood, sweat and heavy financial investments recently that are finally turning this neighborhood around.

As of right now, it looks like we will be able to defeat this proposal, because current city zoning designations and the Springfield zoning overlay, strictly prohibit this type of use. There's also a law on the books that states historic buildings, vacant for more than a year, must revert back to their original use. The Jacksonville Jewish Center (or Job Corps Building) has been vacant for 18 months, meaning in the end, River Region will face an uphill battle, as well as have to find a way to come up with at least $8 million to bring the building up to code.

Unfortunately, to this point, the information gathered by HUD, which led to River Region's approval, was based on faulty info (ex. they never looked into local zoning codes).

So in the end, the question is, is there a loop hole for these Federal government agencies to override local zoning designations? If not, then the Job Corps building appears to be safe.

[RiversideGator]

This is good news. Thanks for the update Lake. I think the feds should reevaluate this and sell the building at auction or give it a museum. I think this would be a great place for a Museum of the City of Jacksonville, for example. It could even include a display on Jewish contributions to Jacksonville. I think it would be a far better fit.

P.S. CBS news is having a story on the meeting at 11 pm tonight.

[Urban_Legend]

I have responded to the inflamatory post at jacksonville.com:

maikal, I couldn't disagree with you more. The neighborhood's strength and future lay in its diversity, not in any gentrification effort you may have perceived. The high housing prices are not, as you stated, "attempting to gentrify and kick out people to other neighborhood to attrack more white higher income professional they need", they are the result of one of humanity's oldest motivators -- GREED. People who bought these properties yars ago at pennies on the dollar are now turning the same property over at a handsome profit.

Every incentive program the neighborhood supports is aimed at lower-to-middle income people and familes. The SHARP program, the Facade Grant, etc.. are not available to anyone ABOVE a certain income level. SPAR and the rest of my neighbors support the continuation of these programs because the neighborhood's continued ethnic and economic diversity is seen as key to its current identity and its future.

The issue at stake isn't a NIMBY issue, it is a NAOIMBY (Not Another One In My Back Yard) issue. Jacksonville's urban core, which includes Springfield, currently shoulders a disproportionate amount of the supportive burden when compared to other parts of the region. I have seen the homeless living in the woods off of San Jose Blvd. and off of St. Augustine Rd. in Mandarin; the beaches have long-running homeless populations. How about Arlington's homeless population, where is their support infrastructure? Perhaps we should round them all up, put them on a bus and send them downtown where they belong .

We are living in an era when suburban sprawl has been identified as one of the leading environmental threats and high gas prices are increasing the cost of most people's daily commutes. All the while, tax incentives are still being doled out hand-over-fist East and South of the St. John's River (if you want to see areas of gentrification, look to land that is owned by a name like Davis, Skinner, or Peyton). Demonizing people who have chosen to live in and restore a historically depressed area and become outraged when yet another homeless shelter is proposed for our neighborhood because the rest of the city wants to continue shuffling their problems into our homes is, in itself, fairly demonic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Preach on, Springfieldian! Very well stated. It pains me to think of the ignorant, suburban responses on the jax.com forums....