The Springfield Preservation and Revitalization Council (“SPAR”) Board of Directors elected its officers for the upcoming year on November 16, 2015. We are proud to announce the officers as Michelle Tappouni, President; Todd Hollinghead , Vice President; Margaret Connor, Treasurer; and Aaron Glick, Secretary.  Click here for a complete list of board members and their contact information. The SPAR board and its officers are elected in accordance with our bylaws, which can be found here. Officers serve an annual term and - along with the Executive Director - make up the Executive Committee, which provides guidance to the organization on how best to fulfill its mission and goals.

At the November 12th, 2015 annual community meeting, Membership will vote on candidates for our Board of Directors.

The current Board of Directors is confident these two candidates would be valuable assets in helping lead the Springfield Historic District forward, are proud to present them to Membership for their approval.

A number of weeks ago, we became aware of JEA's attempts to purchase several privately owned vacant lots within our Springfield Historic District. JEA would install new wells on these lots, to service the large Main Street JEA water facility near at the intersection of 1st & Main. 

After corresponding with JEA, a meeting was arranged between SPAR and JEA representatives to learn the details of their plans. 

Here is a summary of that meeting:

Jacksonville Electrical Authority (JEA) is looking for three sites for new wells to service their Main Street facility, near 1st & Main. Not all sites may be in our neighborhood. The sites would ideally be linear, leading back to the JEA Main Street facility. Each new well has to be at least 1000 ft from the other. JEA needs a 200x200 ft property for each well. The actual fenced off area containing the well equipment would be 50x50 ft near the center of the property. 

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.