Jacksonville city leaders, Millennia Management mark rebirth of Eureka Gardens with groundbreaking

“We’ve been crying out for help for a long time,” said Gail Thomas, the president of the tenants association at Eureka Gardens.

Thomas said Thursday marked a new beginning for residents at Eureka Gardens.

Time and time again, they’ve been told problems with water, mold and holes would be fixed.

“When the mayor came out, I took them in one the apartments and it was so...oh my God it was fill of mold,” Thomas told Action News Jax.

Now they can finally see progress begin at the apartment complex, which will now be called Valencia Way.

“These residents were out here fighting this fight long before I was thinking about being a mayor,” said Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry.

On Thursday, Millennia Housing Management joined Mayor Curry and Councilman Garrett Dennis to break ground on the troubled apartment complex.

“One of the things I committed to was to get the bad owner out—and we did. Now we have a new owner, new management company, and as you can see, construction has already started,” said Councilman Dennis.

He represents District 9, where Eureka Gardens is located.

One tenant described the transformation as “disgrace” to “amazing grace.”

“Thank God for the Mayor, City Council, everyone that came in to help us,” Thomas said.

Neighbors had the opportunity to see what their new homes will look like.

Improvements to units at Valencia Way will include new kitchens and bathrooms, new furnaces, central air conditioning, energy-efficient fixtures and new appliances.

Millennia will also make improvements to the buildings’ exteriors, including new roofs, windows, doors, lighting and landscaping.

Renovation is expected to now cost more than $24M million and be completed in the fall of 2020.

Millennia said Eureka Gardens is part of the most challenging portfolio they’ve ever had.

The management company is planning to invest more than $44 million in renovations to three other multifamily communities in Jacksonville: Moncrief Village, Southside Apartments and Washington Heights.

Cox Media Group