LISC Jacksonville has unveiled an expansive plan to help create hundreds of new affordable homes, commercial and educational space, jobs and businesses in the city’s Eastside neighborhood. The Eastside has struggled with high rates of unemployment and poverty-born disease but has a rich history and cultural heritage, which the project will incorporate and honor, says Janet Owens, LISC Jacksonville’s director.
The excerpt below is from:
LISC unveils ambitious redevelopment plan for Jacksonville’s Eastside
By A.G. Gancarski, Florida Politics
Jacksonville’s Eastside faces challenges on par with any area in Jacksonville.
One census tract has 51.2 percent of its residents below the poverty line, an 18 percent unemployment rate, and a $23,158 median household income.
Another nearby tract is even worse.
65.3 percent of residents fall below the poverty line, and 60.3 percent are unemployed. Median household income is below $11,000. Housing prices in these tracts are around $65K on average.
Health outcomes in the Eastside are just as bad.
The Eastside is part of Health Zone 1, the worst in the city, where half of all children live in poverty. Two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese. Less than a sixth of the population has post-secondary education.
And as one would expect, violent crime is also an issue. From the police shooting of Vernell Bing, Jr. to the drive by shooting of toddler Aiden McClendon, the Eastside is wracked with outcomes closer to the Third World than the First World.
This, despite city money going into EverBank Field, the Jacksonville Veterans’ Memorial Arena, and the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
These projects, expected to bring economic benefit to the neighborhoods that house them, have yet to.
Despite the Eastside’s seemingly perennial struggles, there may be hope for a turnaround in the next few years, if an ambitious redevelopment plan gets traction and buy-in from civic leaders.
LISC Jacksonville – the Local Initiatives Support Corporation – presented the mayor’s office with as “Eastside Initiative” plan on Thursday.
Billed by Executive Director Janet Owens as a “redevelopment strategy that incorporates the rich heritage and culture of this neighborhood,” Owens expects detailed discussions with senior staff for Mayor Lenny Curry in the coming weeks. Continue Reading[+]...