Year over year, the Jacksonville's Sheriff's Office reports crime is down 10% in our area, a BIG drop. Any neighborhood in Jax would be thrilled to see that kind of marked improvement!

But as we all know, the Summer months are often the most active for law enforcement. So to give our local JSO patrol a boost, over the next 7 weeks of Summer, we're putting an additional 42 officers on our streets in 21 separate shifts.

A Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) proposing demolition of a property at 36 East 3rd Street has been submitted to the City of Jacksonville's Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) by the property owner for review. Each COA is examined on a case by case basis by both HPC and SPAR Council's Design Review Committee.

We're thrilled to officially announce Christina Parrish as the new Executive Director of SPAR Council.

Christina has served on the SPAR Council Board of Directors for two years, working on a number of community improvements and co-founding the Jacksonville PorchFest. She has a wealth of experience in historic preservation, community advocacy and business development, and is already intimately familiar with our unique & diverse neighborhood.

On behalf of the Springfield Preservation and Revitalization (SPAR) Board of Directors, residents and stakeholders we wish to express our appreciation for the City of Jacksonville's recent Written Interpretation of the Springfield Zoning Overlay regarding the proposed homeless housing facility at 139 Cottage Avenue. 

From City of Jacksonville Press Release:

Parks, Waterways Improvements Move Forward 
Groundwork USA, National Parks Service Advance Initiative for Springfield, East Jacksonville

Jacksonville, Fla., Oct. 29th, 2013 - Jacksonville's community-based initiative to improve parks and waterways in Springfield and East Jacksonville will move forward after being named one of three cities to be supported by Groundwork USA and the National Park Service.

The city’s initiative will receive pilot funding and technical assistance to launch Groundwork Jacksonville to protect and improve the quality of life near Hogans Creek and other areas in the urban core.

In the Fall of 2012, LISC and Operation New Hope began the EPIC initiative by engaging our community over several months to form a Quality-of-Life Plan for the Historic Springfield and Eastside neighborhoods. Challenges were discussed, opportunities were identified, and pledges were made to pursue quality-of-life improvements.

It is our pleasure to announce that the Wells Fargo First Coast Community Investment Committee has selected Springfield Preservation and Revitalization (SPAR) as a 2013 grant recipient. The support is in the amount of $10,000.00 and will help continue the community development work that SPAR has facilitated for over three decades.

1/21/13

Greenscape of Jacksonville, Inc and Springfield Preservation and Revitalization (SPAR) have partnered to make the Springfield historic district just a little bit greener. SPAR is the inaugural participant in Greenscape's new neighborhood program designed to provide trees to communities who value the character, shade, and protection that only full and healthy trees can give. By participating, $2000 worth of Live Oak, Crape Myrtle, and East Palatka Holly trees will be planted in Springfield as part of a volunteer community enhancement project.

10/3/12

Esteemed City Council Representatives,

After two years of deliberative study, Jacksonville replaced the city’s flawed “Fair Share Assessment” process with a well-crafted “Mobility Fee”, part of the award-winning 2030 Mobility Plan. The Plan incorporates the various visioning plans of Jacksonville’s communities, and is designed to incentivize in-town development projects, capitalizing on the city’s existing infrastructure and lessening the burden on taxpayers to subsidize development in far-flung corners of the county.

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.