Debs Store News Today

Jacksonville neighbors say once The Corner at Debs Store opens on Florida Avenue and E. 5th Street it will provide a resource for the area considered a food desert.

Community leaders broke ground Tuesday afternoon on two new soon-to-be homes on the Eastside, in hopes of improving the area and helping pull local residents out of poverty.

A Jacksonville nonprofit and a developer have purchased a pair of troubled apartment complexes on the city’s eastside, paving the way for renovations and property improvements. Nonprofit LIFT JAX and real estate company Joined Development announced on Tuesday that they official purchased Eastside Terrace and Eastside Gardens for $6.2 million. The agreement was years in the making. They expect to begin renovations within 60 days.

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Thanks to a major investment from Florida Blue, there will be new playgrounds and parks Out East, and Debs Store will reopen as a nonprofit grocery.

The nonprofit is partnering with VyStar Credit Union and Goodwill to offer fresh food and financial and job skills training to the former Debs Store.

A project to bring life to an old grocery store on Jacksonvilles Eastside could end the food desert there.

The nonprofit is partnering with Goodwill Inc. and VyStar to redevelop a property.