Local

Jacksonville nonprofit on a mission to revitalize the Cathedral District

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Cathedral District Jax is a local nonprofit on a mission to help revitalize the Cathedral District, a neighborhood located in the heart of downtown Jacksonville.

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JoAnn Tredennick has been going to St. John’s Cathedral on East Church Street for years.

Her parish is located in the Cathedral District, which is home to five historic churches.

“It’s a beautiful peaceful neighborhood and we need people living here,” Tredennick said.

Cathedral District Jax is now working with developers to add more than 300 apartments to the area in the next year and a half.

One of the buildings they are converting into housing is a former homeless shelter on Duval Street.

There are also plans to turn several shipping containers into another apartment complex but not all neighbors are on board.

“Where’s everybody going to park? There’s already a little street right there and they’re going to build containers four stories high. It’s not cool with me,” said Brian Blalock, a neighbor who has lived in the area for 10 years.

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The district already has a few stores within walking distance but Cathedral District Jax said it also wants to add more retail businesses, restaurants and public art to help generate millions in economic investment.

In the next few years, they also want to see a new school built to draw in more families downtown.

The nonprofit put up more than 100 banners around the Cathedral District on Friday to start branding and just to let people know where they are located.

Tredennick said she has been waiting to see the area come to life and can’t wait to see what’s in store for it.

“We’re trying to return this to the beautiful walkable quiet neighborhood that it was,” she said.

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