David Garfunkel, President & CEO, LIFT JAX
In an interview with Invest:, David Garfunkel, President & CEO of LIFT JAX, discussed the main highlights and achievements in Jacksonville’s Eastside over the past 12 months. He highlighted key milestones, such as the historic Eastside’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places, the acquisition and improvement of apartment buildings, and the upcoming opening of the Debs Store, which will offer various community services.
What have been the main highlights and achievements for LIFT JAX in Jacksonville’s Eastside over the past 12 months?
LIFT JAX is an initiative of business leaders partnering with community leaders to eradicate generational poverty in Jacksonville using the Purpose Built Communities model of holistic revitalization. We’ve worked hard to build community trust and set the foundation for our work.
First, we succeeded in getting the historic Eastside designated on the National Register of Historic Places. This recognizes the neighborhood as a historic district and helps preserve its history and culture.
Second, we partnered to acquire and improve three apartment buildings in the neighborhood, including Eastside Terrace, Eastside Gardens, and Downtown East Apartments, adding up to nearly 200 units of improved housing.
Third, we are weeks away from opening the Debs Store. This project restores an old neighborhood market and adds new amenities such as access to healthy food, financial services through VyStar Credit Union, and workforce development services through Goodwill Industries of North Florida. Our work spans historic preservation, housing, and community wellness, bringing essential resources back to the neighborhood.
What are the main strategies and programs you have implemented?
Our model for breaking the cycle of generational poverty is the Purpose Built Communities model, which includes four key strategies.
The first strategy is mixed-income housing, ensuring high-quality housing is accessible to people of different income levels, whether low, middle, or market rate. The second strategy is cradle-to-career education, providing A+ level education throughout the educational pipeline — from early childhood through college and career — to ensure best-in-class opportunities for children and young adults in the neighborhood.
The third strategy is community wellness, bringing amenities and assets to the neighborhood to make it a healthy and vibrant place to live. This includes grocery stores, parks, green spaces, and increased access to healthcare. The fourth strategy is long-term financial vitality, focusing on the economic development of the neighborhood. This includes supporting small businesses and commercial corridors and improving job prospects through career training and workforce development.
These holistic strategies of housing, education, community wellness, and financial vitality, implemented with community leaders, form our model to break the cycle of poverty.
What are the main industries that compose the local economy in Jacksonville’s Eastside, and which sectors will be the main drivers of growth in the area?
Surrounding the neighborhood and on the outskirts are a lot of light and heavy industries. The JAXPORT and the Talleyrand area are right next to the Eastside, which is why the historic Eastside exists as it does today. About 150 years ago, formerly enslaved people settled in the neighborhood to get jobs at the port, establishing a powerful historical link between the neighborhood and port activities. Many people from the neighborhood still work at these larger port companies, including Toyota and others. Additionally, there are smaller industrial companies in various industries within the neighborhood.
Another key sector is the commercial corridor along A. Philip Randolph Blvd. and Florida Ave., which includes smaller retail and service industries like restaurants, barbershops, and screen-printing shops. Our vision is to revitalize this corridor, complementing the development happening south of the neighborhood around the renovated stadium for the Jaguars and the Four Seasons development. We want to see people leave the stadium after a game and head north into the neighborhood to enjoy restaurants, bars, and other amenities, spending their money within the neighborhood. This revitalization and activation of the commercial corridor are essential pieces of the puzzle for growth in the Eastside.
What are some of the organization’s projects you are most proud of?
One of the things I’m most proud of is our collaboration with community leaders, residents, business owners, faith leaders, and others to address local issues together. Historically, outside organizations might come into a neighborhood and implement what they think is best without engaging the community. I’m proud of the strides we’ve made to work alongside community leaders, bringing investments into the neighborhood based on their desires. This ongoing trust-building effort is crucial and informs everything else we do.
In terms of tangible achievements, we’ve repaired more than 70 homes in the neighborhood, we are preparing to open a grocery store, acquired apartments that had been a significant challenge for the community for the past 15-20 years, and collaborated with the city to reactivate parks with infrastructure investments. Additionally, we’ve supported the school district in their efforts to open an early learning center, one of the best in the city. These successes are directly tied to the relationships we’ve built in the community.
How do you foster local talent and create a skilled labor force in the region to diversify the local economy in terms of industries and types of jobs?
One of our recent programs is called Construction Ready. This four-week program prepares individuals, regardless of previous construction experience, for jobs in the construction industry. The initial motivation was to meet the labor needs for projects like the Four Seasons and the stadium, but it addresses a broader need for skilled workers in Jacksonville. This program provides a quick entry into the industry, allowing participants to start building their careers.
Additionally, in partnership with Goodwill Industries of North Florida, we’re establishing a career and workforce development hub at the Debs Store. This centrally located facility will offer career services daily, meeting residents where they are and aligning training with the needs of the broader business sector. This flexibility allows us to adapt to various industries as they evolve. For example, the Four Seasons, which is less than a mile from the neighborhood, requires a certain level of service training, and we aim to prepare local residents for these opportunities. This approach ensures that the community can benefit from and contribute to local economic growth.
What programs or initiatives have you implemented to ensure environmental sustainability in the community?
One of our key initiatives is evolving our home repair program. We have a successful model for repairing owner-occupied homes, ensuring that families, many of whom have been there for decades, can stay and prosper as the neighborhood improves. We’re partnering with our local utility, JEA, to take a more holistic approach by not only making necessary repairs but also enhancing energy efficiency. We’ve rebranded this program to “Restore, Repair, and Resilience.” This allows us to make core home repairs while also improving energy efficiency, benefiting both the homeowners and the environment. This approach reduces the energy burden on homeowners and the grid, showcasing the power of consistent, high-quality work to attract more partners and expertise.
What are your main priorities and strategies for the next three to five years?
Over the next three to five years, we’ll be focusing on a couple of key areas. First, we aim to revitalize the commercial corridors and support small-business development, particularly along A. Philip Randolph Blvd. This effort will complement the exciting developments around the stadium and rebuild vibrant business corridors that benefit small businesses and their patrons. This is a multi-year priority, and we’ve recently helped set up Jacksonville’s first Main Street, leveraging national and state platforms to preserve and revitalize these corridors.
Second, we are committed to housing stability, ensuring that current residents can stay in their homes and prosper as the neighborhood improves. Preventing displacement is critical. We will double down on our home repair program, assist residents in securing clear titles to their homes, and educate them about available tools and resources. Our focus on economic development and housing will drive our efforts to ensure that new investments benefit those who are already part of the community.
