by Mary-Kate Roan
Staff Writer
The land bordered by West Ashley, Broad, West Beaver and North Jefferson streets – known as the “Clara White block” – is at the center of discussion surrounding its possible development.
Council members Kevin Hyde and Michael Corrigan met Oct. 2 to discuss the Clara White Mission’s plans to develop the block.
“We want to make it permanent housing,” said Chair of the Clara White Mission’s Real Estate/Operations Committee Joseph O’Stein. “It would be for the graduates of the program or for others that need housing.”
However, the current contract between Clara White and the City includes the sale of City-owned surplus property to Clara White. Also, state mandates require that municipalities consider affordable housing – like what Clara White is trying to develop – as the first use of surplus property such as the land in question.
“What we have in front of us is an old proposal,” said Karen Nasrallah, manager at the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission (JEDC). “It would need to be vetted (and then changed).”
The previous agreement between Clara White and the City was for the mission to purchase the land. However, if the City were to donate the parcel, Clara White could apply for a $2.5 million state grant along with another $1 million in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
In order for that to happen, the proposal would have to be approved through the JEDC and the City Council.
“There are six blocks we want to develop,” said O’Stein. “But we don’t own the southwestern block’s corner (at Jefferson and Ashley streets).”
According to O’Stein, the agreement that Clara White and the City hope to reach would be for an exchange of the property in question.
“We’re trying to agree,” said O’Stein. “The housing would be operated through a separate entity but still be owned by Clara White.”
If the agreement is reached and affordable housing is built, it would not be the first time the organization would offer housing to program graduates and others in need of a more permanent living situation. Eartha White, the founder of Clara White Mission, at one point rented out the second floor of the organization’s headquarters and eventually used rooms on the second floor as her own apartment and guest bedroom. Today, the second floor is occupied by administrative offices.
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