Historic Springfield

The Springfield Historic District is located approximately one mile north of downtown Jacksonville. Springfield was established in 1869, but experienced its greatest growth from the early 1880's through the 1920's when many of the city's most prominent and wealthy citizens relocated after the great fire of 1901. Fifty years ago Springfield remained a quiet middle class neighborhood.


The decline of Springfield was relatively swift. The neighborhood was devastated by the combined effects of a change in zoning to a business district, a continued flight to the suburbs, and the conversion of Main Street to a highway.

The resurgence of Springfield was sparked by the city-sponsored Springfield Initiative in 1998 and continues to be fueled by both public and private development projects. Springfield has become an emerging arts district and home to a new generation of Jacksonville residents. As a result, appraised values have increased from $32 sq. ft. at the auction in 1998 to over $135 sq. ft. on new construction homes today.

Well Defined Borders

The district contains 119 city blocks in an area of approximately 500 acres or slightly less than one square mile. The district has well defined boundaries with 31 acres of parks. Hogan's Creek and a city park form the southern border. Shands Jacksonville forms the western border along 8th Street. Railroad lines form the northern and eastern borders. Main and Eighth Streets join at the heart of the district. The blocks are laid out in a regular grid with alleys along most of the blocks.


Jacksonville

Jacksonville is the largest city in the contiguous U.S. in terms of land area, a major port, an insurance and financial center for the state, site of U.S. Navy bases, and the home of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. Some other facts are as follows:

• Jacksonville ranks as the 14th largest city in U.S. in population with about 750,000.

• The Jacksonville metropolitan area has a population of more than 1,000,000.

• Jacksonville International Airport is 15 minutes from downtown by car.
It's served by 15 major and regional airlines.

• Median sales price of new and existing homes is $128,000.

• Tops list of "America's Hottest Cities" by Expansion Management Magazine.

• Ranked in "Top Ten Places to Live" by Money Magazine.

• AOL.com lists Jacksonville as the second most undervalued city.


City Commitment

The City of Jacksonville has a major commitment to Springfield. In 1998, Mayor Delaney announced the Springfield Initiative that pledged $9 million to improve infrastructure and sponsor a home auction. Code enforcement continues to sweep the neighborhood to force "slumlords" to maintain properties and fix substandard housing. In addition, the police presence has increased. Violent crime has decreased 50% from 1997 to 2002, to a level in line with Jacksonville as a whole.


Better Jacksonville Plan
& Super Bowl 2005

On September 5, 2000, Jacksonville residents approved The Better Jacksonville Plan. The Plan generated approximately $2.2 billion for road and infrastructure improvements, environmental preservation, and new public facilities. The new public facilities include a new main library, sports and entertainment arena, AAA baseball park, and a county courthouse. The majority of these projects are located within 1-2 miles of Springfield.


Road Improvements

The City of Jacksonville funded two major road improvement projects in Springfield along Main Street and 8th Street. The projects involve more than simply rebuilding the roads, sidewalks, sewer and other infrastructure. The projects will move power and phone lines below ground, add landscaped medians and sidewalks, and install decorative lighting and street furniture.

Construction on the first phase of Main Street from 1st through 4th streets began in November 2002. The second phase from 4th through 12th streets will begin in the summer of 2003. The study and design phase for 8th Street is near completion and will likely be split into two phases. Major portions of both projects are scheduled for completion prior to the Super Bowl in January 2005.


Shands Jacksonville

Shands Jacksonville was created in the fall of 1999 when it bought and merged two ailing hospitals at the western edge of Springfield along 8th Street. Shands is affiliated with the University of Florida and recently received $150 million of funding from the State of Florida and the City of Jacksonville. The hospital currently employs over 1000 physicians, offering almost every medical specialty and the only high-level trauma center in Jacksonville. Shands will have the groundbreaking ceremony in January for a proton-beam cancer center, which will be only one of three in the U.S.


Zoning Overlay

A zoning overlay was established for Historic Springfield in December 2000. The zoning overlay "overlays" the existing building codes, which allows developers to build more densely populated projects with a mix of residential and commercial uses. The overlay also eliminates our building setback and parking requirements.


Enterprise and
Empowerment Zone

Springfield is located in the center of an Enterprise Zone (1995) and Empowerment Zone (2002). An Enterprise zone is an area targeted for economic revitalization. The Enterprise Zone allows qualified businesses to take advantage of financial incentives offered by the state of Florida and City of Jacksonville. Incentives include job tax credits, sales tax refunds, ad valorem exemptions etc. The Empowerment Zone designation offers more federal support such as wage credits, environmental cleanup deductions, new market tax credits, and low-income housing tax credits.

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  SPRINGFIELD Articles

> Related Articles


  SPRINGFIELD Resource Links 

> Street Scape

> SPAR (Neighborhood Assoc.)

> Springfield Community Page

> Springfield Home Tour

> Operation New Hope

> The Bridge of NE FL

> 1951 Market Street Lofts

> City of Jacksonville

> Epicurean Market
   (local organic market/rest.)









 

 *links not necessarily directly affiliated with Green Network

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Main St. in the past...

   The street car line serving Springfield was built in 1882.  By 1893 approximately 100 significant residences were built, primarily along Main, Hubbard, Market, and Laura streets.  The architecture was mainly Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles with some Victorian residences still remaining.

   A fire burned most of the downtown area in 1901, which led to a building boom downtown and in Springfield.  Over 65% of the residences in Springfield were built before 1921.  The houses built during this time were mainly Bungalow, Prairie, and transitional Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles.  The development of Springfield began its decline in the late 1920's with the passage of a  comprehensive zoning ordinance in 1925 that designated the area a business district.

   SPAR is the Springfield Preservation and Restoration neighborhood organization founded in 1975 to reverse the decline in the neighborhood.  SPAR has been one of the driving forces behind the revitalization of Springfield within the last couple of years.

   Check out the Springfield Community web site at www.HistoricSpringfield.com for more detail and information on the happenings in Springfield.








                



 

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Rendering of Main St. beginning in 2003...



1815 Main



Deco Lobby



Deco Loft 1

 

8th and Pearl



8th and Pearl



Deco Loft 2




Deco Hall



 

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