Sulzbacher is beginning the final phase of its move out of Downtown.
Established in 1995 at 611 E. Adams St., the nonprofit provider of emergency and transitional services for homeless people is rezoning property near Walgreen Road and Interstate 95 in Northwest Jacksonville.
When the rezoning to planned unit development is approved by City Council, expected later this month, work can begin at the Sulzbacher Enterprise Village campus on a 17-acre site near Brentwood Golf Course.
“This has been in the works since the first Sulzbacher Village was built four years ago,” Sulzbacher CEO and President Cindy Funkhouser said.
Sulzbacher Village is the nonprofit’s community at 5455 Springfield Blvd. where transitional housing and services are provided for homeless women and families.
When Sulzbacher Enterprise Village is complete within about three years, it will provide comprehensive social services and health care, job training and on-site job placement, Funkhouser said.
The campus design includes a 60,000-square-foot administration building with short-term housing; 60,000 square feet of transitional workforce housing; a 45,000-square-foot community clinic and respite care building; and a 7,600-square-foot center for job skills training.
Also in the design is a 100,000-square-foot building designated for a new manufacturing facility that will provide employment for Sulzbacher clients and others in the community.
Funkhouser said Sulzbacher’s partners in the project include The Vestcor Companies for the workforce housing and Florida State College at Jacksonville and Goodwill of North Florida for job training in construction trades and entry-level health care skills.
The manufacturing facility is a planned partnership with an Idaho-based company that manufactures components for modular workforce housing, Funkhouser said. She did not identify the company.
“This is how you solve homelessness – with housing, training and jobs. It’s a win-win,” she said.
The city Planning Commission recommended approving the rezoning June 9.
The rezoning legislation is on the agenda when the Council Land Use and Zoning Committee meets June 21 and could be voted on by the full Council at its June 28 meeting, Funkhouser said.
Sulzbacher is represented by attorney Cyndy Trimmer, a partner at Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow.