In the past decade, a cluster of 38 apartments along Payne Avenue had been a haven for drugs, violence and blight.
They’re just a couple of blocks from Stanton College Preparatory School, one of the best high schools in the nation.
They’re also along the S-Line Urban Greenway, a walkable rail-trail that runs through neighborhoods like Durkeeville, Springfield and much of the urban core.
Despite those positives, the Payne Avenue apartments sat for years just festering, bringing unwanted activity to the area.
They’re now empty, windowless and essentially a shell of what they once were.
And they’re coming down today, set to be replaced by 12 single-family homes.
“The most common words I am hearing are ‘It’s about time,’” said Larry Rogers, head of the Hendersonville Neighborhood Association. “As a community, they’re past ready for that place to come down.”
Mayor Lenny Curry, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and community members will be there to see the end of the eyesore and the beginning of a change for the better.
Rogers and his wife, Eunice, spent Thursday afternoon in the area, knocking on doors with flyers to tell neighbors about the demolition and groundbreaking.
Eunice Rogers said the reaction was positive — many people felt the same way about the complex.
“Oh, they were horrible,” she said, referring to rampant drug-use mixed with some break-ins.
The scene will be a visible reminder of Curry’s push to combat blight in distressed neighborhoods, a way to boost public safety.
His Blight Initiative director, Denise Lee, said she can’t wait to see the apartments come down.
“I’ve already been tripping,” she said, with a laugh. “I can’t tell you the emotion about ridding of blight … These neighborhoods work hard and everybody deserves a great quality of life.”
The former longtime City Council member started working on this area, specifically West 13th Street and Moncrief Road. From there, she said, crime trickled into neighborhoods like those on Payne Avenue.
The Northwest Jacksonville Community Development Corp. led by Paul Tutweiler is overseeing the $2.6 million project funded by federal dollars.
Tutwiler for some time had been trying to purchase the lots from the landlord, but to no avail until the past few months.
“How horrifically these were run spurred the decline in the area,” he said Thursday, walking around the job site. “It was a pretty nice community back then … but people are afraid to come back.”
By eliminating blight, crime will be reduced. After that, businesses should follow, he said.
The Payne Avenue project is somewhat of a bookend to the work the neighborhood corporation is pursuing called the “Miracle Mile.”
Bit by bit, Tutwiler said projects like the new Payne Avenue Walk homes help further restore hope and pride to a community.
Larry Rogers knows it, too. It’s more than just a beautification project. He said the homes will provide opportunities for those in the area to become homeowners, a big step in taking pride in one’s community.
And Rogers will be in attendance this morning to see the buildings topple. He wouldn’t miss it — he would do the demolition himself if they let him.
“Oh man, I would love to,” he said laughing. “I sure would. I’d push it with a big smile.”
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