9/19/12

We are pleased to announce that Springfield Preservation and Revitalization (SPAR) has been awarded a Green Grant by the City of Jacksonville to improve the energy efficiency of our office building located at 1321 N. Main Street.

The Green Grant has a value of $6975, originating from the Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant funded by the US Department of Energy. These funds have been made available to assist non-profits in significantly reducing the energy consumption of their office buildings.

Since 1974, we have facilitated positive change in the Springfield historic district. By investing in our brick and mortar presence on Main Street, we hope to create a better space for small business and non-profits, and continue to do our part in bringing more daily activity to our most important commercial corridor. The SPAR building houses the operations of SPAR, the office and archives of the Springfield Heritage and Education Center (SHEC), and several small businesses.

With these funds, 34 outdated fluorescent ceiling lights will be upgraded and reflective window film will be applied on the east, south and west facades of the building. These improvements will create substantial energy savings, improve the aesthetic appearance of the building, and significantly improve the comfort of building occupants. Additionally, the grant allows SPAR to use this project to demonstrate the true savings of green building efforts within the Springfield Historic District.

In addition, we are taking advantage of  JEA’s InvestSmart for Small Business program to leverage the grant dollars, making additional energy saving improvements to the building, such as thermostat controls and other upgrades.

Special thanks and recognition goes to Aaron Glick (Transform Jax), Jeremy Hubsch (Transform Jax/SPAR) and JoAnn Tredennick (SPAR), for their hard work in the application and administering process. Transform Jax is an advocacy organization which educates and advises on issues affecting Downtown Jacksonville and its surrounding intown neighborhoods

Work on these upgrades is scheduled to begin in the month of September 2012.

The SPAR Board of Directors