JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There is work being done to revitalize the historic business corridor of Jacksonville’s Eastside.
The A. Phillip Randolph Boulevard corridor, which neighbors call the “Avenue,” was designated as Jacksonville’s first Main Street.
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Currently, there is a 60% vacancy rate in the area. A new organization called Florida Avenue Main Street is working to change that by fostering economic development in the area.
“We are imagining new restaurants, new stores, new retail opportunities to bring people back to the community and to have them be a part of what’s going on,” Executive Director of Florida Avenue Main Street Nigelle Kohn said.
They are working to create opportunities for current businesses in the area but also pave a path for new ones to enter the neighborhood.
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“It is exciting times what’s going on out east,” Dana Miller, the owner of The Man Cave Barbershop on A. Philip Randolph Boulevard, said.
Miller said these opportunities will allow businesses to feed off each other to drive up revenue.
“If another restaurant, a nice restaurant comes out here, or a spa or a gym, you know I can gain from that them coming to visit my barber shop,” Miller said.
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And as Florida Avenue Main Street starts planning new developments, the executive director wants this to be a community-driven process.
“We could come up with plans every day all day long but if it’s not what the community wants it really doesn’t matter,” said Kohn.
The organization will start its strategic planning process in late April or early May.
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