KIPP Jacksonville negotiating to lease JTA property

The charter school is considering a new campus along Golfair Boulevard.


  • By Max Marbut
  • | 5:10 a.m. August 3, 2020
  • | 5 Free Articles Remaining!
This property along Golfair Boulevard, now a First Coast Flyer transit stop, is being considered as the site for a new KIPP Jacksonville charter school campus.
This property along Golfair Boulevard, now a First Coast Flyer transit stop, is being considered as the site for a new KIPP Jacksonville charter school campus.
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The Jacksonville Transportation Authority and KIPP Jacksonville Inc. are negotiating a ground lease for property along Golfair Boulevard adjacent to a First Coast Flyer.

There’s a First Coast Flyer bus rapid transit stop on the site. JTA declared the remainder of the 8-acre parcel as surplus property in June.

KIPP Jacksonville, part of a national network of college preparatory charter schools, is considering the site for construction of a new K-8 academy campus.

“It’s part of our 2025 strategic plan. We are committed to offering high-quality education options to families in Northwest Jacksonville,” said Lize Pierre, KIPP spokeswoman.

KIPP has two campuses in Jacksonville: an elementary school at 2525 W. First St. and an elementary and middle school at 1440 McDuff Ave. N.

The bus stop on the property at 815 Golfair Blvd., near North Davis Street and Interstate 95, has covered shelters and digital information boards. The rest of the parcel is vacant.

The site is assessed at about $651,000 according to the Duval County Property Appraiser.

“We have the property and we’d like to develop it to enhance the community,” said JTA spokesman David Cawton.

According to a memo submitted to JTA’s board of directors by JTA Chief Administrative Officer Cleveland Ferguson, the proposed development will be connected to the First Coast Flyer Green Line by integrating the transit stop into the KIPP campus.

Pierre said having a school at the site would make access convenient for students and their families who live in the area.

“But we are early in the process,” she said.

 

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