There’s a renaissance brewing in Springfield.
The historical neighborhood occupying Jacksonville’s urban core has long been in need of new development. While the area is home to many beautiful, historic houses and buildings, it hasn’t gained any attention from commercial developers in quite some time.
As a result, many storefronts along Main St. and the neighborhood’s other busy streets have sat vacant for years – some for decades.
Part of the issue is how dense the area already is. Springfield experienced a huge construction boom following the Great Fire of 1901, when many downtown residents and businesses opted to relocate to the then-small neighborhood. The urban core became densely packed, and new development moved back to downtown and further south. The answer to this dilemma, ideally, is to redevelop historic property to fit modern uses.
Recent surge of projects
The Springfield area has recently enjoyed a renewed interest among local developers.
Back in May, Bono’s Bar-B-Q announced their intention to convert the 9th and Main building into a restaurant, bar, and entertainment center. Crispy’s, a project by Springfield resident John Crispens, had previously announced its plans to open at 1735 N. Main St.
In July, plans were announced to convert property at 1731 N. Main St. into retail space. Last month, two breweries were added to the development slate: Hyperion Brewing Company (1740 N. Main St.), and Main and Six Brewing Company (1636 N. Main St.)
Altogether, these projects would certainly be enough to kickstart activity on the neighborhood’s main corridor.
Trouble from the neighbors
Unfortunately, not everyone was excited about the renewed interest.
Specifically, the Main and Six project drew criticism from church leaders because of its proximity to multiple churches and a school. They believe that the presence of a craft brewery joint would contribute to crime and underage drinking – presumably more than the full-service liquor bar right down the street.
It also drew criticism from city council member Reginald Gaffney. Gaffney, who represents Springfield on the council, echoed the church leaders’ sentiments. He and the church community claimed to be caught off-guard by the development. He also attempted to delay a zoning hearing on the project, likely knowing it would gain approval.
In a strange move, Gaffney also requested that the city’s planning division put a hold on any projects in his district so he would be able to review them first, which would effectively grind development to a halt in the Springfield area.
Moving forward(?)
On Tuesday, the zoning hearing went forward despite Gaffney’s objections. The vast majority of voices at the hearing spoke out in approval of Main and Six Brewing Company.
As a result, the proposal will now go to a city council vote, having cleared one early hurdle on its way to approval. It seems almost certain that Springfield is on its way to seeing a nice boost in activity and walkability in the near future.
A few issues remain, though. As these vacancies are eliminated, many storefronts, buildings, and houses will continue to be unoccupied and dilapidated. The area also must grow in terms of multi-family housing. Converting old buildings or houses into lofts or apartments could provide a method of killing two birds with one stone, but the developer interest has to be there before this can happen.
Hopefully a revitalized N. Main St. corridor will spark even bigger plans for Springfield.
Your turn
What do you think of the debate over Main and Six in Springfield?
What do you think the Springfield area needs the most?
We want to hear what you have to say – share your thoughts in the comments section, or message us on any of our social media accounts.
(CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly indicated that city council member Joyce Morgan had also voiced opposition to the proposed brewery.)
My hopes are that Springfield will grow to be more like San Marco with restaurants, retail shops and maybe even a theater. My husband and I just moved to Springfield from Riverside(the King Street corridor). With all the new bars that now line King Street, parking is horrible. Luckily in that area most homes have off street parking. We lived 1 block off King. Friday and Saturday nights we got the overflow of people trying to find parking. Constant trash in our yards( beer bottles, cans…etc). Crime has also risen in the area. We do not want to see Springfield grow in that way. We looked in Springfield for months before deciding to move here. We talked to many people who live in the neighborhood. One thing that stuck in my head from everyone we spoke to was that Springfield was a front porch community. Everyone talks to each other. People wave at folks even if they don’t know them. You don’t get that in Riverside or most communities for that matter. We have been here now for 4 months and we love it. I feel safer here than I did in Riverside. With all that being said, we are in favor of the growth in Springfield. We would welcome and support local shops and restaurants. Without that growth, we have to go all over town for any number of things. The convenience of options right where we live would be amazing. We also feel that bringing those options to Springfield would invoke a feeling of belonging to and contributing to what makes Jacksonville a great place to live.
Springfield needs the brewery! The time is now!