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What is the Southside Community Redevelopment Area?

The DIA serves as the Community Redevelopment Agency for the Southside Community Redevelopment Area (CRA), which operates under Chapter 163, Part III, Florida Statutes. The Southside CRA Plan and associated Southside Community Redevelopment Trust Fund were created on February 24, 1981 and expires December 31, 2041 (Ordinance 80-1347-704). A full list of all amendments to the Southside CRA Plan is provided below. 
 
In 2014, the DIA updated and consolidated the CRA Plans for both the Northbank Downtown CRA and the Southside CRA. The CRA Plan for all of Downtown is titled: the Downtown Jacksonville Community Redevelopment Plan. This Plan was approved by the DIA on July 30, 2014 (Res. 2014-07-03), enacted by City Council on February 10, 2015 (2014-560-E).

In 2022, the DIA updated the CRA Plans for both the Northbank Downtown CRA and the Southside CRA. The update is required by State Statue and must occur every five (5) years. This Plan was approved by the DIA on February 23, 2022 (Res. 2022-02-08), enacted by City Council on June 28, 2022 (2022-0372-E).


Southside Community Redevelopment Trust Fund

The Southside Redevelopment Trust Fund was created in 1980 by Ordinance 80-1347-704.


Tax Increment Financing | Primary Functions

As the Community Redevelopment Agency for Downtown Jacksonville, the DIA has six primary functions for which it can allocate funding:
  1. Constructing public capital improvements such as improving parks, streetscapes and parking structures;
  2. Assembling land for public use and any public/private partnerships;
  3. Promoting and marketing the Southside CRA;
  4. Leveraging grants, loans, and other funding instruments;
  5. Engaging in economic development; and
  6. Promoting housing.


Community Redevelopment Area Goals

  1. Increase commercial office utilization, occupancy, and job growth to reinforce Downtown Jacksonville as the region’s epicenter for business.
  2. Increase rental and owner-occupied housing Downtown targeting diverse populations identified as seeking a more urban lifestyle.
  3. Increase and diversify the number and type of retail, food and beverage, and entertainment establishments within Downtown.
  4. Increase the vibrancy of Downtown for residents and visitors through arts, culture, history, sports, theater, events, parks, and attractions.
  5. Improve the safety, accessibility, and wellness of Downtown Jacksonville and cleanliness and maintenance of public spaces for residents, workers, and visitors.
  6. Improve the walkability/bike-ability of Downtown and pedestrian and bicycle connectivity between Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods and the St. Johns River.
  7. Capitalize on the aesthetic beauty of the St. John’s River, value its health and respect its natural force, and maximize interactive and recreational opportunities for residents and visitors to create waterfront experiences unique to Downtown Jacksonville.
  8. Simplify and increase the efficiency of the approval process for Downtown development and improve departmental and agency coordination


Redevelopment Activities

The following is a list of redevelopment activities, projects, and programs, for which the DIA (acting as the Southside Community Redevelopment Agency) can seek to allocate Southside CRA Trust Fund monies throughout the life of the Southside CRA to continue the redevelopment of Downtown: 
  1. Economic Development
  2. Directional Signage and Wayfinding
  3. Streetscape and Infrastructure
  4. Parking
  5. Design Guidelines
  6. Historic Preservation
  7. Housing
  8. Riverfront, Parks and Open Space
  9. Public Investment Properties
  10. Marketing, Festivals, Entertainment, and Tourism
  11. Culture, Arts, and Education
  12. Community Health
  13. Resiliency


Ethics

As a Florida special district, a unit of special purpose local government, Ch. 112, Part III, Florida Statutes, provides general pertinent ethics rules applicable to the CRA.

Jacksonville has a very strong commitment to ethics in city government. In 1999, the Jacksonville City Council enacted a comprehensive Ethics Code for the city. Jacksonville's Ethics Program is innovative.  Instead of just emphasizing laws, it attempts to train all city employees in the values behind the rules and regulations. Training is organized through the Office of Ethics, Compliance and Oversight with the assistance of the Office of General Counsel.


Financials

The CRA follows the same fiscal year as the City of Jacksonville, October 1- September 30. The CRA does not impose any additional assessments, taxes or fees, but is funded by general ad valorem tax revenues generated from increases in property values within the CRA Area since its creation.
 


Audited Financial Reports

City of Jacksonville, Florida | Community Redevelopment Agency Fund

 
Department of Financial Services (DFS) Annual Financial Report

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) website provides public access to the special district’s Annual Financial Report, as required by Section 218.32(1)(g), Florida Statutes. DFS Annual Financial Report search application: https://apps.fldfs.com/LocalGov/Reports/
 

Community Redevelopment Agency Annual Report

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Legal Description of the Southside Community Redevelopment Area

The legal description of the Southside Community Redevelopment Area, as set forth in Ordinance 80-1347-704 and subsequently amended in Ordinance 83-22-66, and as further amended hereby, is as follows:

A part of the City of Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida described as follows: Begin at the point of the center line of the St. Johns River on the north right-of-way line of the Fuller Warren Bridge, Interstate 95; thence Easterly along said Northerly right-of-way line to a point of intersection with the southwesterly edge of the southbound roadway of South Main Street; thence northeasterly along a line drawn straight from the last described point to the northwesterly corner of Lot 18, Block 1, Bostwick's Subdivision of Block 46 in South Jacksonville, as shown on plat recorded in Plat Book 3, Page 68 of the current public records of said County, said northwest corner being located in the northeasterly right-of-way line of the northbound approach to said South Main Street from said Interstate 95; thence southeasterly and easterly along said northeasterly right-of-way line and northerly right-of-way line of Interstate 95 to an intersection with the southeasterly right-of-way line of Vine Street; thence northeasterly along said southeasterly right-of-way line of Vine Street to the northeasterly line of that certain alley running southeasterly through Block 17, Reeds Fourth Subdivision of South Jacksonville, as shown on plat recorded in Plat Book 1, Page 46 of the former public records of said County; thence southeasterly along said northeasterly alley line to an intersection with the northwesterly right-of-way line of Alamo Street; thence northeasterly along said northwesterly right-of-way line of Alamo Street to its intersection with the northerly right-of-way line of Utah Avenue; thence easterly along said northerly right-of-way line to its intersection with the northerly prolongation of the centerline of Barbara Avenue; thence continue northerly along the prolongation of the centerline of Barbara Avenue, a distance of 390 feet, more or less, to the center of a drainage canal; thence continue northeasterly along the centerline of said drainage canal to a point where said canal empties into a shallow bay; thence continue northerly along the waters of said bay to a point on the centerline of the St. Johns River; thence westerly and southerly along said center line of the St. Johns River to the Point of Beginning.