Homeless Center In the Old Armory Building...Brilliant!

[CityLife]

Word on the street is that Mayor Brown is considering opening a homeless center in the historic
Armory Building on the border of Downtown and Springfield. This building is city owned and is adjacent to Confederate/Klutho Park, which should be the crown jewel of Jacksonville's urban park system (we have a lovely vision plan for the park). For those that don't know, the Armory Building is the brick building next to the Dog Park. Can someone please post a picture?

Thoughts? I'll bite my tongue for now...

[tufsu1]

but you didn't bite your tongue...you said Brilliant!

[CityLife]

Word on the street is that Mayor Brown is considering opening a homeless center in the historic
Armory Building on the border of Downtown and Springfield. This building is city owned and is adjacent to Confederate/Klutho Park, which should be the crown jewel of Jacksonville's urban park system (we have a lovely vision plan for the park). For those that don't know, the Armory Building is the brick building next to the Dog Park. Can someone please post a picture?

Thoughts? I'll bite my tongue for now...

We printed this three years ago, if you remember.

You knew Alvin Brown would be elected three years ago? Any good stock tips? I kid, I kid.

Is this the original discussion of the armory?

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php?topic=13431.0

[buckethead]

NIMBY. srsly... I love all people and I hope for compassion and meaningful assistance for the homeless. But nimby.
What's that, you say? It's not in my back yard? Then by all means... wonderful idea.

[thelakelander]

This came into my email:

An important quality-of-life issue impacting all residents has suddenly come to our attention, just today.

Mayor Alvin Brown will be proposing that a new homeless center (daycenter/shelter) be placed in our neighborhood, in the old Armory building on Market Street (next to our Springfield dog park).

It will attract many hundreds of homeless to the area on a daily basis. We already have a saturation of social services and homeless in our neighborhood, and this would mean a major increase, and all the various issues that come with it.

This will be made public soon, and the zoning is technically appropriate.

Obviously, this could set the Springfield (and Eastside) neighborhood back immeasurably, and be counter productive to all the hard fought progress we have earned over the last decades.

For those new Springfielders, the neighborhood was seen as a dumping ground for social services and "undesirables" of all types for many decades. Thus, the neighborhood deteriorated into a slum. Slowly but surely, we have fought to change that trend, and been mostly successful. Several years ago, a large rehab facility planned to set up shop in the neighborhood, and through our loud voices they eventually decided to move elsewhere. A new mass homeless feeding was also persuaded to go elsewhere just a couple years ago, because of our enthusiastic input.

My initial thoughts?  If you don't view downtown as a self contained gated community, then its not the best site.  Just goes to show that many still looks at the parks lining Hogans Creek as an afterthought and not as an economic asset.  If you do view downtown as a self contained gated community, then its a great site because the city already owns it and its out of the way from the heart of the CBD.  Anyway, I don't know all of the details in the decision making process, so my view isn't set in stone. 

However, Stephen is right.  This idea was around a long time before Alvin Brown came into office.  I remember discussions on this topic taking place right on these forums during the Peyton administration.

[CityLife]

Its not really in Springfield proper, its the west end of the East Side, but its pretty close.

Correct. The Springfield Historic District doesn't start until north of 1st Street I believe. This site is a block or two south, but due to its proximity to the Dog Park, a lot of people consider it to be in Springfield, kind of like the EHT/Park View site.

[simms3]

Horrible idea.  You'll never see that area realize potential with a homeless shelter that large there.  Taking care of the homeless is a major issue...never seen one in a nice area of any city, and for a reason.  If you want those parks to be crown jewels attractive to middle class residents/families and young professionals/joggers/regular people, then you better keep the homeless away or they'll start using that park even moreso than they already do and it will never be a nice place to play.  Having a shelter there could actually result in the complete demise of all progress in a whole section of Springfield.  Witnessed one shelter near me completely devalue a $350M trophy class A office tower as one by one tenants left, residents left the area, one of the city's top restaurants closed, etc etc etc.  BAD idea.

[Bridges]

What does "proposed soon" mean?  Is that the mayor's timeline?  Cause that timeline for a drop in day center by the end of the year isn't looking too "soon" either. 

How real is this?  Or is it a little bit hysteria mixed with some rumors?  I honestly couldn't believe the Mayor would propose such a thing considering the vital importance of downtown's surrounding neighborhoods to the success of downtown revitalization (see today Times Union for the article).

But then again, I'm continually surprised by the choices of some of our leaders.

As an advocate for the Homeless, a resident of Springfield, and a Downtown supporter, I fail to see how this location would help any one of those 3 things. 

[Bill Hoff]

I wonder what happened to the site in Tallyrand they are/were considering? It's a more industrial area and wouldn't directly conflict witu 30 years of revitalization efforts.

Strange how while COJ is currently supporting NSP3 funded projects, brownfield grants, and LISC E.P.I.C. initiative to continue the revitalization efforts, and has spent so much money on infrastructure improvements, park visioning, urban core visioning, and incentivizing investment in the neighborhood in previous in recent years and past decades, they'd sabotage their work by plopping a homeless center in the same spot.

How much has Springfield's property values increased in the last 30 years (and thus COJ revenue)? How many millions of dollars in public and private investments? You could kiss all that goodbye if this happens.

Funny.... in today's Times-Union/Jacksonville.com there was a great piece about how our historic neighborhoods surrounding Downtown can & should be seen as assets towards Downtown revitalization. This, again, sabotages that idea as well.

To say that placing a homeless center in a revitazing area is counterproductive is putting it kindly.

[fsujax]

The city should sell the land and the building to reuse as an office space or something. I heard that the Florida Ballet was looking to expand. I am sorry, but I have to agree with Simms on this one.

[If_I_Loved_you]

Using this Old Armory is the wrong thing to do. But don't forget even if you have a Homeless Center you can't force the homeless to go if you don't believe me just ask the ACLU.

[Cheshire Cat]

Has there been any confirmation that this is actually being considered at this time?  I know in the past the areas outside of the core that were under discussion were rejected because of the lack of public transportation.  If there is real movement on a day center the community needs to be aware and participating.  I believe a day center is a good idea in the right location, out of the core.  The overriding problem will still remain in that so many services for the homeless are established in the core.  I have often thought areas of the Naval base off of Roosevelt might offer an opportunity.


Diane Melendez

[strider]

I can't comment on whether the old armory is the best location or not, but a real day center is most definitely needed in Downtown. This location seems to work as far as proximity to the various other services available.  And if it gets the building used now and does not let it sit around for ten years until MCCD tries to tear it down, then it might just be a great location.

I do know this.  Rather than blasting the idea as some are doing already, we should be making sure the programs will be effective. That the homeless will get what they need from the facility.  That will ultimately be what we, even those among us who have real issue with the homeless, need, a moving towards a more permanent solution.  We can start with the idea that it will be a day center, not another shelter.

Of course, we could simply continue to hinder downtown as much as humanly as possible and then let Sheriff Rutherford have his "relocation camps".  Things like that have worked so well for everyone throughout history.  I'm sure it will work just as well for Jacksonville.

[Cheshire Cat]

Does anyone know the square footage at the Armory?

[johnnyman]

If they make the armory into a homeless shelter then where will all the hookers go?  Right now that is the central hooker/johns hub.