PHOTO BY DAVID BLANCHETTE
Demolition is underway at the intersection of West College Avenue and South Church Street in Jacksonville to prepare the site for new single-family residences and brownstones that are being developed as part of a partnership between local developer Rabbi Rob Thomas and Garrison Group, Inc.
What Jacksonville needs most is a few more good homes, and that’s the aim of a new development in the center of the city that will turn dilapidated properties into new single family residences and brownstone-type condominiums.
A partnership has been formed between local developer Rabbi Rob Thomas, his wife Lauren Thomas, and Springfield-based commercial real estate agency the Garrison Group, Inc. The partners have obtained several lots near the intersection of West College and South Church streets in Jacksonville and will begin construction on the new residences this summer. Some of the lots are currently vacant and others will soon be cleared as the city demolishes the remaining long-neglected homes at the development site.
It’s a process that will transform blight to benefit as the partnership seeks to address a longstanding issue in Jacksonville – the dearth of housing to accommodate the influx of young professionals seeking employment and opportunity in the community.
“While talking to businesses that I’m encouraging to locate or expand to Jacksonville, they said apartments are great for young professionals, but people need homes when they want to grow their families,” Rabbi Rob Thomas said. “When they asked about housing availability, I had to say it was low at best.”
The construction and funding for the project are being handled by Sherman Pershing LLC, a company that Thomas formed and named for two of the original World War II-era armored vehicles that are part of his world-famous tank collection. It won’t be tanks, but other tracked vehicles like bulldozers and backhoes, that are now working making the development a reality.
Construction will start mid-summer on three single-family homes with attached garages along West College Avenue in a style compatible with the area’s existing homes. Chicago-style, two-to-three-story brownstones with rear garages will be built along South Church Street starting in the fall, with the final number of units still to be determined. The single-family and brownstone structures are intended to make home ownership possible for middle-class families.
“There are programs that support low-income housing and the wealthy, of course, can afford to buy land and build or renovate a home,” Thomas said. “It’s the folks in the middle who are getting squeezed, so this is a gap that we can help to close.”
The Garrison Group has been working with Thomas for about two years on these and other new developments in Jacksonville. The firm has assisted with property acquisitions through its brokerage division and continues to help Thomas with the property management of his other developed sites.
“We get the privilege to partner with a client who has a mission to make a community better,” said Garrison Group President and CEO David Plake. “It’s one of the greater joys we have had as a team in my time at the Garrison Group because it’s making a difference in a community and in individual lives.”
Sherman Pershing and the Garrison Group have been busy transforming existing downtown Jacksonville buildings into approximately two dozen apartments and several commercial spaces. But those are primarily for rent or lease, while the new development is intended for home buyers.
“Rabbi Rob’s vision is fulsome for the redevelopment of these properties that will help bring jobs in,” Plake said. “I hope what we do here in Jacksonville becomes contagious to other communities, because in central Illinois we need this kind of thing.”
Jacksonville does indeed need the additional housing, according to Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corporation president Kristin Jamison. Several years ago, the city asked the JREDC to participate in a community revitalization program being offered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority, a process which first entailed a community-wide needs survey.
“Our boots-on-the-ground work included preparing a survey and holding public meetings to assess community needs, as well as the completion of a housing stock survey,” Jamison said. “Our team walked every ward in Jacksonville to record and better understand the opportunities for housing development and renovation throughout the city.”
The JREDC teamed up with Jacksonville Community Development director Brian Nyberg, plus the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce, Jacksonville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and Jacksonville Main Street to complete the extensive two-year survey.
“We knew this foundational information was important to help future developers understand the opportunities for housing development in Jacksonville,” Jamison said. “The recent announcement Rabbi Rob and the Garrison Group made is significant for Jacksonville and indicates our community is moving in an upward trajectory. It is also rewarding to know that our team’s strategy to improve and increase housing stock is working.”
Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard is pleased with the community housing transformation he’s witnessed recently and hopes it will inspire a continued push for improvement.
“It is another reminder how committed Rabbi Rob and Lauren Thomas and the Garrison Group are to our community,” Ezard said. “Folks are noticing the sweat equity and money being committed to that area by various owners and their development on West College is another limb on the tree. It has been and will be exciting to follow.”
Thomas hopes that other investors will take note of what he and the Garrison Group are doing in Jacksonville.
“We can prove to other developers that you can come to Jacksonville, find a friendly environment and idyllic atmosphere, and build quality, mid-tier-priced homes for a profit and find a community willing to buy them,” Thomas said. “Will we do another development? I think the answer is almost certainly yes, and it may be on an even larger scale.”