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LISC Investment Leads to Grocery Store for Northwest Jacksonville Food Desert

A Northwest Jacksonville neighborhood in need of new healthy food options is potentially getting a new grocery store thanks to financial assistance from LISC Jacksonville.

“LISC’s staff worked with owners of The Shoppes of Norfolk shopping center at the corner of Soutel Drive and Norfolk Boulevard to refinance existing debt and provide funds to help attract new tenants,” said Chuck Shealy, real estate and lending program officer for LISC Jacksonville. “The financial assistance was crucial for the center that had suffered from significant vacancy and disrepair.”

With the new financing, a new long-term lease from an anchor tenant and capital improvements made to enhance the curb appeal, the Shoppes are now negotiating a lease with a national grocery chain. The new grocery store is expected to open there within the year, Shealy said.

“LISC Jacksonville knows that revitalizing urban neighborhoods is more than just business development,” Shealy said. “For neighborhoods revitalization to be sustained, people have to have places to play and places to buy healthy food. This project, along with nearby park restorations at Yancey and CBC Park, represent important investments by LISC Jacksonville in the Forestview community.”