JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A major renovation project is happening at two troubled Eastside complexes and it could help about 100 families living in affordable housing in Jacksonville.
The News4JAX I-TEAM has been investigating conditions at the sister complexes for years.
In September, a developer and nonprofit bought the buildings and promised to renovate the buildings that are roughly a mile from the Jaguars stadium. They’ve also changed the name from Eastside Terrace and Gardens to Townsend and Boylan Flats.
A couple of years ago people in the complexes were living in terrible conditions. But on Monday, the grass was mowed, there was no trash and new trees were in the ground.
The renovations don’t look like much now but they’re working on painting the outside and other projects. And that’s a promising sight not just for people that live there, but also for the community as a whole.
For Derrick Connor, who is helping renovate the complex, it’s personal.
“This is what you’re going to see when you ride by and see the community. So when you see something that’s looking good, that’s been needed to be done for over 50 years,” Connor said.
Connor said he and other contractors are from the community. He grew up in the complex.
Taurus Gordon, who is also working on the complex, also grew up in the area and lives there now.
“It’s really honor,” said Gordon. “It made me feel even better that, you know, I have a job at home. That I can just walk out my door and go to work. It’s pretty convenient.”
Connor and Gordon are among the many local contractors hired to bring life back to the pair of troubled complexes that had been long neglected with rats, roaches, mold and structural issues.
MORE: Mice, roaches, weeds: I-TEAM tackles complaints at Eastside complex
After numerous I-TEAM reports starting in 2021, government agencies stepped in and fined the former owner $600,000 which led to the $6 million sale to local nonprofit LIFT JAX and Joined Development which promised much-needed improvements.
Crews are now working room-by-room to fix up the units and outside they are pressure washing and working on stairwells.
However, not everyone is sold.
Some long-time residents are in their 70s and 80s and they’ve heard a lot of promise and seen little change.
There’s a long way to go but the recent change brings hope to some of a brighter future.
“It means a lot. When they see a change when they see, you know, new paint being put on the walls, you know, new flooring and new appliances and stuff. It makes a difference,” Gordon said.
Avery McKnight, owner of Concrete Renovations and president of the Eastside Legacy Business Council, said the work is helping the community.
“I’m doing work right here in my community using the “withintrification” model, Developing a workforce within the community being developed,” he said. “My major workforce development piece is ‘On the Clock, Off the Block.’ I used that strategy to get guys that didn’t believe in traditional working systems, due to all the trauma that guys in marginalized communities endure, to have faith in the workforce by being the proof-positive that hard work really pays off.”
Around the corner on 5th Street, work on the Debs Grocery Store continues.
It’s a public-private partnership to bring healthy fresh food options and jobs to an area that could use more opportunities.
It’s scheduled to open this spring.