JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Sulzbacher is one step closer to building a new facility to help Jacksonville's northside. Mayo Clinic will donate $5 million to Sulzbacher for the creation of a health clinic at the new Enterprise Village.
Cindy Funkhouser, the President and CEO of Sulzbacher, said the Enterprise Village will serve as a one-stop-shop for people living in the city's northwest quadrant.
"This campus, the Enterprise Village, is actually step two of Sulzbacher moving out of downtown. And it entails three phases," Funkhouser explained.
The first phase will be the creation of 100 affordable housing units for men, similar to the Sulzbacher Village for women and families off Pearl St. The second phase is a healthcare clinic. Mayo Clinic donated $5 million to the project and is the official healthcare partner. Kent Thielen, the CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida, said they will provide everything from primary care, to dentistry and therapy.
"This is one area that's had a challenge with access in the past, and so bringing to bear our resources, both financial but also expertise as it relates to designing the facilities, incorporating access to virtual capabilities, will also be a part of our presence in the community," Thielen said.
The facility will be built off Walgreen Rd. which is right off the Golfair Blvd. exit on I-95. Funkhouser said this area is a healthcare desert, which means there is limited access to healthcare and resources for the people living there. Funkhouser hopes to change that by offering medical services to everyone, regardless of their income, housing, or insurance.
"To bring housing and healthcare to a health desert, and that is a health desert, and jobs and job training there is critical, and everything there is open to the whole community," Funkhouser said.
Construction is expected to begin in 2024 and they hope the housing and clinic will be done by 2027. Funkhouser believes this is a crucial step to transforming the northside of Jacksonville.
"The northwest quadrant has not had investment for many, many decades. So that is really the goal, is that we will be a catalyst for a continued and renewed development of the northwest quadrant," Funkhouser explained.
The third phase of the Enterprise Village will be a job training and manufacturing facility.