SPAR Board and Staff were excited to welcome a packed house of neighbors and community members for our Quarterly Meeting at Historically Hoppy Brewing Company. Our agenda was as follows:

• Welcome and Announcements by Mike Haskins, SPAR Executive Director
• Springfield Housing Market Update by Crissie Cudd
• 904 Happy Hour by Brooke Edmondson
• JEA Tree Trimming by Joe Anderson
• Phoenix Arts and Innovation District Updates by Future of Cities Team (Tony Cho, Michael Weil, Emily Moody, Tanya Watts, and Hayden Phillips)

If you missed the meeting, please view the Powerpoint presentation with all the discussed information or watch the livestreamed video.

SPAR Board and Staff were excited to welcome a packed house of neighbors and community members for our Annual Meeting at Wells Fargo Learning Center. Our agenda was as follows:

• Welcome and Announcements by Mike Haskins, SPAR Executive Director
• Springfield Housing Market Update by Crissie Cudd
• Board Candidate Presentations by AJ Rodriguez, SPAR Board of Directors Vice President
• 2023 Annual Report by Mike Haskins
• Election Announcement by AJ Rodriguez

If you missed the meeting, please view the Powerpoint presentation with all the discussed information or watch the livestreamed video.

SPAR Board and Staff were excited to welcome a packed house of neighbors and community members for our Fall 2023 Community Meeting at Hyperion Brewing Company. We hosted a variety speakers whom provided great updates for upcoming projects in and updates for Historic Springfield including:

• Mike Haskins, SPAR Executive Director, introduced himself to the community and provided updates from SPAR
• AJ Rodriguez, SPAR Board of Directors - Vice President, announced the 2023 Board of Directors Election Season
• Crissie Cudd who presented an update on the Springfield Housing Market
• Daniel Ashworth, Charles Garrison, Ashantae Green, and Bill Hoff presented on the Mayoral Transition Committees
• Jimmy Peluso, City Councilman for District 7, held a community conversation

If you missed the meeting, please view the Powerpoint presentation with all the discussed information.

SPAR Board and Staff were excited to welcome a packed house of neighbors and community members for our Spring 2023 Community Meeting. We hosted a variety speakers whom provided great updates for upcoming projects in Historic Springfield including:

• Mike Haskins, SPAR Executive Director, introduced himself to the community and provided updates from SPAR
• Vicki Helow of Encore Research Group, who presented on the importance of engaging in clinical research
• Crissie Cudd who presented an update on the Springfield Housing Market
• Daryl Joseph and Jeffery Foster of JaxParks, who presented on Springfield Park brownfields work that will take place this Fall
• Michael Ryan of Corner Lot Development, who presented updates of Corner Lot's project at 1st and Main
• Emily Moody and Tanya Watts of Future of Cities, who presented updates on the Phoenix Arts + Innovation District
• Kay Ehas of Groundwork Jacksonville, who presented updates of the Emerald Trail
  
  

If you missed the meeting, please watch the recorded video located on our Facebook page with all the discussed information.

Date: 2/7/2023

Location: Historically Hoppy Brewing Company

Time: 6 pm

Watch the Whole Community Meeting Here

Date: 12/7/2022

Location: Wells Fargo Community Learning Center

Time: 6 pm

Watch the Whole Community Meeting Here

Date: 9/6/2022

Location: Historically Hoppy Brewing Company 

Time: 6 pm

Watch the Whole Community Meeting Here

Date: 5/3/2022

Location: Hyperion Brewing Company (1740 N Main Street)

Time: 6 pm

Kelly Rich, SPAR Executive Director, welcomed the approximate 50 guests to the meeting. 

Kelly introduced Ralph Davies, Real Estate Chief Investment Officer for Future of Cities. Ralph presented on the development and regenerative placemaking strategies taking place in the Phoenix Arts District. The vision of Future of Cities is that with patience and careful, thoughtful planning that you can create outside social and economic deterrents. Ralph discussed how Historic Springfield and Phoenix Arts District can support each other, as well as how excited they are to jointly work with Groundwork Jacksonville on bringing the Emerald Trail to fruition given that it will run right through the property. He also introduced Jacksonville local Emily Moody, as Future of Cities’ new Director of Community Engagement. 

Kelly Rich introduced Billy  from Corner Lot Development Group who is developing the project at 1st and Main Streets. This will be a mixed use project and they will be repurposing the current structure (closer to JEA) and then expanding further north up to 2nd and Main. Corner Lot has been working diligently with SPAR and the local community to pay homage to local architecture. They expect to have 201 residential units with an interior courtyard, pool, and fitness facility. In addition, they are working with COJ to have about 8 units that are on the ground floor for residential on Main Street. Corner Lot has been working to beautify the adjacent alley in its traditional historic state and to keep it open for residential units along it. There will be a parking garage inside their property with an entrance on 2nd Street. This bodes well with the planned construction on Main Street with FDOT and looks to not cause any additional congestion. Permits and paperwork are currently with the City of Jacksonville, so there’s no official groundbreaking date yet. Corner Lot is optimistic for a late Fall/early Winter start date. 

Date: 2/10/2022

Location: Boys & Girls Club - Citi Teen Center (313 East 10th Street)

Time: 6 pm

Kelly Rich, SPAR Executive Director, welcomed the approximate 25 guests to the meeting. 

Kelly introduced Gloria McNair, Community Engagement and Equity Manager for Groundwork Jacksonville, presented on Activating Jacksonville’s Riverfront.. This project has the goals of bringing people and energy to Jacksonville’s Riverfront, connecting to new and diverse audiences, developing community trust and engagement, creating a robust program calendar for an active riverfront year-round, enhancing the riverfront experience through activities and public space interventions, and providing recommendations for sustainable governance and funding models. She went over the progress so far, including sharing information and feedback that Groundwork Jacksonville has received from stakeholders via community meetings, surveys, and public programs and tours. 

Kelly and Gloria discussed Hogans Creek Fest, which was held the very next day in Klutho Park, as a chance for stakeholders and residents to get a chance to talk to the engineers and designers of the creek’s restoration 1-on-1. The designers take the feedback from the community and immediately find ways to implement it into the overall design. 

Kelly reminded attendees of the  2021 launch of the Joyce Holbrook Springfield Advocacy Award. Living in Historic Springfield for just over 50 years, Joyce Holbrook was a central influence in the revitalization of the neighborhood in the 1970's as a charter member of both SPAR and Springfield Neighborhood Housing Services. Joyce was central in the work to designate Springfield as a Historic District, and was fondly referred to by many as the “Mayor of Springfield.” Over her many years of community involvement, Joyce worked tirelessly to make the one-square mile of Historic Springfield what it is today. The Joyce Holbrook Springfield Advocacy Award will be presented to members of the Historic Springfield community who have proven their leadership, volunteerism, and a love for the neighborhood. SPAR worked with local artist, Ed Malesky, to create a beautifully carved wooden sculpture in the shape of the Prairie Cross, which is a well known symbol used in architecture designed by Henry Klutho. The Prairie Cross design is also incorporated into SPAR’s logo.

In 2021, the inaugural Joyce Holbrook Springfield Advocacy Award was presented to immediate Past President of the SPAR Board, Todd Hollinghead. In 2022, the SPAR Board awarded Christine Farley with this recognition. Christine has a wealth of knowledge about Historic Springfield and has dedicated much of her time to preserving the history of the neighborhood, volunteering her time with both SPAR and SIAA.

Date: 12/7/2021

Location: Hyperion Brewing Company (1740 North Main Street)

Time: 6 pm

Kelly Rich, SPAR Executive Director, welcomed the approximate 45 guests to the meeting. 

Kelly introduced Reggie Gaffney, Jr, who was representing Councilman Reggie Gaffney. Councilman Gaffney had a prior engagement with a City of Jacksonville LUZ meeting and could not attend.

Kelly introduced Greg McGarity, President of Gator Bowl Sports. Greg shared that the 77th Annual Gator Bowl is taking place on Saturday, December 31st, at 11 am and Jacksonville is hosting Wake Forest vs Texas A&M. Each team will arrive between December 26th and 27th, so there should be a noticeable uptick of fans in Historic Springfield and Jacksonville as a whole. The Gator Bowl Committee works to generate a lot of excitement for the game within the community, including encouraging companies and corporations to buy and donate tickets so local kids can attend the game.     

Kelly introduced Jeremy Smith of Patriot Services, a Jacksonville-based nonprofit that provides affordable housing and support services to low-income individuals and families, but also Veterans. Specifically, those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. As of 10:30 am on the day of the Community Meeting, Patriot Services closed on what is being referred to as The Springfield Initiative, five properties that contain a total of 68-units of which 20% will be designated for homeless Veterans and families. These affordable housing units will be renovated and rehabilitated over the next year. Patriot Services will be developing relationships with the local VA Clinic on Jefferson Street to assist in placing any homeless Veterans in need of housing. Included in the development is a Veterans Resource Center nearby to the VA Clinic, where VA caseworkers and others can work and meet one-on-one with Veteran residents. Additionally, two of the five properties will prioritize women Veterans and their children as they are an underserved population.