Sulzbacher will begin construction on Phase 1 of Sulzbacher Enterprise Village after closing on financing of the $37 million project, the nonprofit homeless services provider announced June 5.
Phase 1 will include 100 affordable studio and one-bedroom workforce housing apartments serving homeless men.
The 16.8-acre Sulzbacher Enterprise Village site is at 4785 Walgreen Road, west of Interstate 95 and east of Brentwood Golf Course.
Sulzbacher has partnered with The Vestcor Companies as its co-developer for Phase 1 of the project, according to a news release. Summit Contractors will serve as the general contractor.
Phase 1 is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Sulzbacher Enterprise Housing Ltd. and I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless Inc. intend to move the center from Downtown, where it has been since 1995.
Enterprise Village will be built in three phases.
The second phase is relocation of the comprehensive wraparound services now provided at the Sulzbacher Downtown campus. They include the nonprofit’s health clinics and a Mayo learner’s clinic and a Goodwill job-training facility, as well as other services, the release said.
The third phase is a for-profit manufacturing business for the people Sulzbacher serves.
Financing for Phase 1 has been provided by EverBank, the Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority, The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida through the Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Fund, The Jessie Ball duPont Fund, and the city of Jacksonville.
The model of housing, health care and jobs on the site will be the first of its kind, according to the release.
“The manufacturing business profits will be used to sustain the services being offered, which will create a sustainability model not just for the clients but for the organization as well. It will train the hardest to place workers, including those with felonies and those with other barriers, by providing a work environment inclusive of all the wrap-around services needed to support the client as they are being trained and are entering the workforce,” it said.
Sulzbacher operates Downtown at 611 E. Adams St., where it provides 80 emergency beds for men, along with services such as meals and medical and behavioral health care.
Its lease expires with the city in 2029.
I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless paid $845,000 for the Walgreen Road property in November 2022.
Sulzbacher’s first step in relocating from Downtown was the $21 million Sulzbacher Village, which opened in Brentwood in 2022.