The Barnett apartments, Union Terminal Warehouse and College Park shopping center redevelopment are some of the Jacksonville projects that have benefited from the financial backing of the nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corp.
And more are in progress or nearing completion.
The money provided through grants and loans fulfills the LISC mission locally, said LISC CEO Michael Pugh during a two-day visit June 12 and 13. The headquarters of the national organization is in New York City.
Pugh and Jacksonville LISC Executive Director Irvin PeDro Cohen toured LISC-funded projects around the city and met with city officials, local LISC staff and leaders of the Jessie Ball duPont Foundation.
The Ford Foundation and six corporations created LISC in 1979 to address the need for resources to revitalize economically distressed urban neighborhoods.
The organization’s mission is to provide funds to help stressed neighborhoods improve the quality of life, spur economic opportunities and provide increased affordable workforce housing.
Of those areas of interest, creating and preserving properties for affordable workforce housing is a primary mission, Pugh said.
It will take public and private funding to address the problem.
“So it just can’t be done by any single entity, and that means working very closely with local government, national or federal levels in terms of government and engaging community partners and private sector to help join this issue,” Pugh said.
“We know it on a national level, we’re hearing more than 7 million homes (are) needed in order to address the major issues and beyond that I think when we talk about the work itself, we also have to consider preservation as a key component of addressing this housing crisis.”
On June 11, Cohen and the United Way unveiled a $5 million home loan project.
LISC is contributing the first $1 million. The money will be loaned to developers constructing or rebuilding homes in the 32202, 32204, 32206, 32208, 32209 and 32254 ZIP codes. The houses must be for sale. They cannot be turned into rentals.
Some of the LISC projects in Jacksonville include:
< East Jacksonville: A $1.4 million construction line of credit to build and renovate homes in the historic neighborhood.
< Homes: A $1 million line of credit to build as many as five homes at one time in East Jacksonville to be sold to owners making 80% of the area median income.
< Union Terminal Warehouse: A $4.5 million predevelopment loan to redevelop the historic structure into apartments and commercial maker-space units.
< Union Warehouse Phase II: A $4.6 million loan to acquire and convert a cement plant into 300 or more units of affordable workforce housing.
< The Phoenix Arts District in Springfield: A $3.39 million rehabilitation loan to renovate the Springfield warehouse district into mixed-use projects.
< Springfield home manufacturing: $5 million will be spent to create an affordable modular home manufacturing facility.
< College Park: A $10.76 million loan to support the redevelopment of the former Town & Country Shopping Center.
< The Barnett: A $4 million loan for the Downtown apartment building that began leasing units in 2019.
< Juliette Balcony: $800,000 in acquisition financing for the apartment and restaurant project at 225 N. Laura St. Downtown between Chamblin’s Uptown and the defunct Mag’s Cafe.
Jacksonville LISC has an annual $1.5 million operating budget, Cohen said.
Pugh said those funds have a $20 million economic impact on communities through job creation, construction and education.
Over the next three years, through public and private funding, LISC nationally expects to invest more than $5 billion across the country.
The program’s first graduate closed recently on an Eastside home with another four homes being built in that neighborhood designated to be owned by other graduates.
“These Opportunity Centers create a place, a safe place for learning to develop financial education skills, and those skills then help people make smarter, better financial choices,” Cohen said.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency stripped $29.69 million in HUD Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing Program funding from LISC.
It was later replaced in full after LISC appealed the decision.
Being able to document LISC successes around the nation will be important when asking for federal funding in the future, Pugh said.
“I am less focused on what happened versus where we’re going and that the dollars have been turned back on. We’ve got work to do, and we’re getting to it,” he said.
“As I look at where we stand with the new administration, this is an important moment in time for us to build relationships, ensure that we are telling the story about the importance of the work that we do, and how in many cases, our work is indeed aligned with the administration priorities.”
Pugh’s tour included the Union Terminal Warehouse, the historic Eastside and the Phoenix Arts District.
He was especially struck how LISC money was used to help open Strings Sports Brewery, The Block Skate Supply store and Crispy’s Springfield Gallery.
“I’ll tell you, the Main Street business corridor just pulled at my heartstrings because we were able to see several small businesses that received the benefit of loans made possible from LISC,” Pugh said.
“When you create a place that becomes a meeting spot for folks to live, work and be entertained, I think then you start to enhance a sense of community.”