The Sponsor

Sulzbacher, in Jacksonville, Fla., provides health care, workforce development and housing services to people experiencing homelessness and others facing significant social and economic barriers. Founded more than three decades ago by a collaboration that included the City of Jacksonville, the United Way of Northeast Florida and area businesses, Sulzbacher now has three campuses as well as hundreds of scattered-site housing units, offering both health care and job training programs for people with low incomes. It is the social safety net health provider for Duval County.

The Project

Sulzbacher Enterprise Village (SEV) is a three-phase development project that is building workforce housing, a comprehensive health facility, a center for job skills training and a manufacturing facility that will employ Sulzbacher’s housing and health clients. It relocates Sulzbacher’s downtown services to Northwest Jacksonville and expands their scope in order to better serve area residents.

Broadstreet is participating in the financing for the second phase, which includes a new 34,000-square-foot Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and a new 14,600-square-foot job training center. The project aligns with Broadstreet’s priorities to expand access to health care and fuel quality jobs, particularly in communities that lack opportunities for both. Once fully operational, it will serve more than 28,000 people—nearly 40 percent more than Sulzbacher’s existing capacity.

The healthcare facility is projected to accommodate approximately 56,390 patient visits annually. It will provide comprehensive primary and specialty care services, including behavioral health and addiction-recovery treatment. These services will complement Sulzbacher’s supportive and permanent housing programs, which are designed to promote stability and improve health outcomes for individuals experiencing homelessness, including those requiring medical respite care. Services will be offered in partnership with the Mayo Clinic and Duval Family Health Center.

Job training programs are focused on the food service, manufacturing, and health fields and include partnerships with Goodwill Industries of North Florida and Florida State College, as well as local employers eager for trained workers.

SEV is located in a community with high rates of poverty and chronic disease, and where people face high barriers to health services, including a shortage of local providers. To fuel the project, Broadstreet committed $10 million in federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) investment authority on behalf of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). The financing is part of a $40 million NMTC package that also includes the Corporation for Supportive Housing and BBIF, as well as additional support from Truist Bank. Truist Community Capital is the NMTC investor.

The Impact

NMTC financing is absolutely vital to this project; it would not have moved forward without it. SEV could not sustain substantial permanent debt and still provide the kinds of services needed, especially amid increased pressure on public health budgets. In addition to fueling comprehensive services for thousands of people, the NMTC support is helping create nearly 200 local jobs associated with the development, while also supporting economic empowerment for people in the surrounding community.