Lake Forest Elementary in Jacksonville, FL, closed in 2019. Now, the site will make way for affordable housing units. The Florida-Times Union reports that the development, tentatively named “The Village of Lake Forest,” will provide anywhere from 160 to 180 housing units.
Eighty percent of those units will be designated as affordable housing, reserved for those making less than 60 percent of the area’s median income. The remaining 20 percent will go for at-market rates. Twenty-five of the overall units are reserved for Duval County school employees.
Lake Forest Elementary School closed in 2019.
The venture’s owned by Ability Housing of Northeast Florida, a non-profit organization. The organization strives to provide housing for low-income and homeless individuals. Right now, it has three active projects, including Ozanam Villages Phases II and III in New Port Richey, FL.
Ability Housing of Northeast Florida expects to spend about $30 million to demolish Lake Forest Elementary. The school opened in the 1940s and would have required about $11 million in renovations to remain open.
An aerial view of the future build site, per Google Earth.
The Village of Lake Forest won’t open for another three years. It’s being met with some opposition from residents in the area, noting that new apartments in the area are poorly-maintained and not helping nearby property values. The Florida-Times Union reports that Ability Housing of Northeast Florida has a good reputation for maintaining its developments.
The Construction Journal lists the Village of Lake Forest’s address as 901 Kennard Street, Jacksonville, FL, 32208, in Duval County.
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Attended this school 1957-1959. Hate to see it go. All “affordable” housing becomes unattractive and not maintained from residents who don’t care how they live. It takes bo time to keep trash picked up or toys put away. Landlords are only a small percentage of what becomes wrong. And yes it will make your property not sought after. That’s why clean people don’t want to live next to this type of housing.