JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A major mixed-use development planned for Jacksonville’s Springfield neighborhood aims to bring hundreds of new housing units to the area, including affordable and workforce housing options.
The $500 million Phoenix Arts and Innovation District is being developed by Miami-based Future of Cities in partnership with Jacksonville-based Live Oak Contracting. The nearly 9-acre project sits just north of Downtown Jacksonville.
Developers said the project is designed to address affordability concerns while also preserving the character of the historic neighborhood.
“We saw what would happen with catalytic big projects with rapid price increases and gentrification and dislocation,” said Tony Cho, CEO and founder of Future of Cities. “Future of Cities was born out of a response of what happened in Wynwood and other neighborhoods that we’ve seen time and time again, the Sohos of the world, the Williamsburgs, the South Beaches. Inevitably, commerce overtakes culture.”
Cho is known for his work in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District. He said his goal was to create growth without pushing residents out. The vision for the Springfield development was centered around creating a mix of housing and community space.
“It’s an organic, holistic approach to neighborhood making that’s about keeping the character of the neighborhood and providing options for all,” Cho said. “It’s not just luxury, it’s not just affordable.”
The first phase of the project will focus on affordable housing. Developers planned to build 80 affordable housing units near the district’s mural-covered buildings, alongside market-rate and workforce housing options.
Paul Bertozzi, CEO of Live Oak Contracting, said demand for affordable housing continued to grow across Jacksonville.
“There’s a huge shortage,” Bertozzi said when asked whether people are demanding more affordable housing options. “This doesn’t solve the affordable housing problem, but it continues to put units on the ground and really feed what the demand is.”
Developers secured more than $27 million in tax credits and city funding for the $33 million affordable housing component of the project. The money came through a highly competitive statewide process for a 9-percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
The funding package also included a $610,000 contribution from the city of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority.
Future of Cities is partnering with Blue Sky Communities on the affordable housing portion of the development.
In addition to the affordable units, another roughly 300 units are planned for workforce housing. Altogether, developers said the Phoenix Arts and Innovation District will include 830 multifamily housing units.
Cho said public-private partnerships are key to making large-scale affordability projects possible.
“What we’ve always wanted is how do we balance commerce, culture, nature and community together,” Cho said. “That only happens with incentives. That only happens with public-private partnership. It only happens with nonprofit and for-profit collaboration.”