Jacksonville's Westside Information Blog

Westside Flea Markets

jaxwestsideinfo — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:56:28 +0000

There are several flea markets located on Jacksonville’s Westside Area but one we are familiar with is the Johnson Family Indoor Family Flea Market located on Ramona Boulevard next to I-10. The flea market is in an Old Home depot building. They offer lockable garage style spaces with two tables for vendors. The rates are fairly reasonable at $17 per day or $50 for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If you opt to take the weekend rate you can bring your stuff in on Friday and lock it up at the end of the day and on Sunday empty out your space. They also have monthly rates at about $200 a month. Those rates are subject to change so please call ahead for reservations and information. The building has heat/air and wireless service available. There is also a small restaurant in the back that has some good food at average prices that is family owned and operated. They offer a discount for vendors. The building is opened Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00am to 6:00pm. The people are friendly and helpful if you have any questions.

The bad is that there is only one bathroom area. The women’s bathroom really could use some updating. There are several halogen lights that whine real loud in the area we were in and the air was turned off 2 hours before closing. Sadly, the wireless network was not working when we were there so we cannot say anything about that. The garage areas are not painted or cleaned up in anyway once a vendor leaves. The monthly vendors are encouraged to paint the walls, put down some kind of flooring or carpeting on their own. The place has some problems but it does have some potential. There is an open air market feel to the place that we liked.

There are several websites still active out there for the Johnson Family Indoor Flea Market but the last one is supposed to be the current one in service. It was created by one of the vendors but has been updated since October last year. The Management was doing some marketing promotions each month to help out the vendors and you will have to contact them to see if they are still doing that.

Oldest Version of the Johnson Family Flea Market
http://johnsonsfamilyfleamarketjacksonville.com/

Second Version of the Johnson Family Flea Market
http://www.johnsonsfamilyfleamarket.com/page/page/1002752.htm

Current Version of the Johnson Family Flea Market
http://thejohnsonsfleamarket.com/

****************************************
Calling All Potential Writers, Poets and Limericks Writers. Our sponsor Jolene’s Books and More is sponsoring a Contemporary Limericks Contest. The contest is open to all U.S. Residents over 18. There is a small application fee but you can submit up to 5 different limericks for consideration. The winners will be paid $50 for 1st place and $20 for second and have their limericks and names posted on the website and published in the end-of-the-year Contemporary Limericks Book! They have created a website for submission and contest rules at: http://all-about-limericks.jolenesbooksandmore.com

Nursing Home vs Assisted Living

jaxwestsideinfo — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:32:26 +0000

I was emailed this link to information about Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities. I thought it was a very easy to understand graphic to get you started on your research should you or someone in your family need a little help now or in the future looking into either one. We have quite a few Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities in the Jacksonville Florida Area. But there are only a few on the Westside. Reading through the article you will find the basic differences between Skilled Nursing Facilities, Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities. The Website http://www.skillednursingfacilities.org/vs-assisted-living/ allows you to copy and embed the graphic onto your website. See Below.

The State of Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration has their Florida Healthcare Finder with a search feature that allows you to look for different types of medical professionals and facilities that they regulate. It is a very helpful tool as well. http://www.floridahealthfinder.gov/index.html

Assisted Living Facilities

A HOME SWEET HOME ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY OF JAX INC
5022 PERRINE DR
JACKSONVILLE FL 32210 Duval
(904) 772-0651

BAYVIEW RETIREMENT CENTER
2200 BAYVIEW ROAD
JACKSONVILLE FL 32210 Duval
(904) 389-3305

EJ’S PLACE INC #2
5210 WITBY AVENUE
JACKSONVILLE FL 32210 Duval
(904) 317-8961

SAN JUAN RETIREMENT HOME
6561 SAN JUAN AVE.
JACKSONVILLE FL 32210 Duval
(904) 695-9605

SOME PLACE LIKE HOME, INC.#3
4217 CHIPPEWA DRIVE
JACKSONVILLE FL 32210 Duval
(904) 744-8580

STERLING HOUSE OF MERRIMAC
4455 MERRIMAC AVENUE
JACKSONVILLE FL 32210 Duval
(904) 389-5959

WATTS GUARDIAN CARE INC.
7217 EUDINE DRIVE NORTH
JACKSONVILLE FL 32210 Duval
(904) 693-2276

HOME SWEET HOME AT HOGAN LANE
1307 HOGAN LANE
JACKSONVILLE FL 32221 Duval
(904) 783-6473

MESA HAVEN INC
1520 MESA DR
JACKSONVILLE FL 32221 Duval
(904) 378-0117

CLASSY LIVING
5714 PLUM HOLLOW DRIVE W
JACKSONVILLE FL 32222 Duval
(904) 619-5062

Nursing Homes

SIGNATURE HEALTHCARE OF JACKSONVILLE
2061 HYDE PARK RD
JACKSONVILLE FL 32210 Duval
(904) 786-7331

HEARTLAND HEALTH CARE CENTER JACKSONVILLE
8495 NORMANDY BLVD
JACKSONVILLE FL 32221 Duval
(904) 783-3749
www.hcr-manorcare.com

WEST JACKSONVILLE HEALTH AND REHABILITATION CENTER
1650 FOURAKER ROAD
JACKSONVILLE FL 32221 Duval
(904) 786-8668
www.encore-healthcare.com

ALL SAINTS CATHOLIC NURSING HOME AND REHABILITATION CENTER, INC.
5888 BLANDING BLVD
JACKSONVILLE FL 32244 Duval
(904) 772-1220
www.allsaintsnursing.org

by Skilled Nursing Facilities and Assisted Living Facilities

West Jacksonville among the Great Moving Destinations in the Area

MeghanP — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:28:07 +0000

Since employment has been rough, many have been forced to move to new places for work. The city of Jacksonville is a prime Florida spot for development of commercial and residential real estate. Even though the Jax housing market has hit some of the same obstacles as other cities, the late year 2011 real estate numbers could be beneficial for prospective Jax home owners.

There are great deals of different price range levels throughout Jacksonville. The middle class and luxury inventory have both experienced lower price averages than normal. Throughout the fall, these numbers have stayed mostly steady. Even though the Jacksonville market isn’t thriving, the steady market is still home to many appealing properties.

Throughout the fall and into the winter, houses are spending less time on the market. Right now the average house is only on the market for about 180 days. Even though the number is a bit high, it should drop by the end of the year or early 2012. There’s excellent availability as far as inventory as well as great service from online resources.

One of the most important aspects is the fact that Jacksonville is a great city with some outstanding activities and areas to live. The area is home to excellent restaurants and nightlife, including places like the Landing. The fall and winter are great as sports events light up the town such as the Jaguars games and the yearly game between Florida and Georgia. There are also tons of opportunities to play golf and hit the beach.

For first time movers to the Jacksonville area, it could be the perfect time to invest in a new home. The excellent deals throughout the area continue to highlight why choosing to invest in a home would be smarter than looking at Jacksonville apartments right now. Whether you’re looking to rent out your property or simply want to be a home owner to increase space and value, Jacksonville is an excellent home destination.

What’s Happening at the Library

jaxwestsideinfo — Fri, 13 May 2011 12:00:03 +0000

One of our greatest resources is our Public Library. If you haven’t been to one of the local branches lately you should get out and spend a little time to see what they have to offer. Each branch location is unique and tries to offer information and resources that the local residents find the most useful. You can even go online read books in electronic format, reserve a book to your local branch where ever they may be, receive emails about events at your local branch, when your books are about to be due and much, much more. Of course they have kids events, teen events and specialty group events that are generally free and open to the public. Many groups hold meetings in the meeting rooms, parents and kids use the study rooms for tutoring and research and many branches have early voting.

Argyle Branch
7973 Old Middleburg Rd S
Jacksonville, FL 32222
(904) 573-3164
Hours
• Monday – Tuesday: Noon – 9 p.m.
• Wednesday – Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Sunday: CLOSED
http://jpl.coj.net/lib/branches/ayl.html

Webb-Wesconnett
6887 103rd St
Jacksonville, FL 32210
(904) 778-7305
Hours
• Monday – Thursday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
• Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Sun: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
http://jpl.coj.net/lib/branches/cw.html

West Regional
1425 Chaffee Rd S
Jacksonville, FL 32221-1119
(904) 693-1448
Hours
Monday – Thursday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday: CLOSED
http://jpl.coj.net/lib/branches/wst.html

Highlands Regional
1826 Dunn Avenue
Jacksonville, FL 32218
(904) 757-7702
Hours
Monday – Thursday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sun 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
http://jpl.coj.net/lib/branches/du.html

Maxville
8375 Maxville Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32234-2748
(904) 289-7563
Hours
• Mon: 12 noon – 8 p.m.
• Tues, Wed, Thu, Sat: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Fri & Sun: CLOSED
http://jpl.coj.net/lib/branches/max.html

Go online now and read the Jacksonville Public Library’s Blog at: http://ilovejpl.wordpress.com/.

Cecil Commerce Center

jaxwestsideinfo — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:27:48 +0000

We spent the morning riding through the Cecil Commerce Center area just to see what is there now. The south area of the complex still houses an Army Detachment, Homeland Security, US Coast Guard, various businesses related to aviation life Northrup Grumman as well as Florida State College of Jacksonville buildings for Aviation and Aerospace training and truck driver training. There are still some Army houses occupied by Army families (I am assuming as they are behind secured gates). There are a couple of parks, lakes and fitness center that is maintained by the city Parks and Recreations Department. The little post office is very cute. Surprisingly, for such a huge base there is not that much there. There is some of the original buildings that are yet to be occupied and there is not that much new building going on yet.

On the Northside of Normandy Boulevard there is the main FSCJ Cecil Campus, the Bridgestone Plant and a couple of more companies and lots of empty land. There are a couple of signs throughout that say there are between 5 to 5000 acre tracts available for sale for commercial building. On northside there is the Cecil Commerce Aquatic Center with a baseball field and nature trail. Across from that is the Jacksonville Equestrian Center. That is a very nice facility with a large indoor arena, barns, and camping facilities that include water, electric and septic disposal. All in all it was a pretty nice ride through the area and there are some nice pictures in our gallery below.

The Center has signs all over the place saying that it is “America’s Logistics Center” and it is supposed to be a future spaceport. Now we didn’t see any evidence of that but there is lots of room their to grow. State Road 23 even has a sign that states it will be a “Toll Road” in the future. But for that to happen they will need to build some overpasses.

Equestrian Center Events

FSCJ Aerospace Program

FSCJ Cecil Center

Cecil Campus Map

cecilcommercecenter

Westside Neighborhoods

jaxwestsideinfo — Sat, 01 May 2010 13:00:31 +0000

While cruising the web I came across the Metro Jax website. They have done a series of articles and pictorial reviews of various neighborhoods throughout the Jacksonville Florida area. They are worth a look or two.

Here is one for the westsides Lake Shore Area:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2008-mar-urban-neighborhoods-lake-shore

The article features various pictures throughout the Lake Shore area with a little bit of information about each shot. Not much else but some really great pictures.

Here is a article on the fairly new area of Oakleaf:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-apr-suburban-jacksonville-oakleaf

There are lots of pictures of the neighborhoods, condos, shopping malls and recreational areas located within this planned community on the Westside.

We consider the Ortega Area as the beginning boundary for the Westside area along the St. Johns River.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2008-feb-exploring-ortega The neighborhood starts at the Ortega River bridge, runs along Roosevelt Boulevard and ends just before NAS Jacksonville.

They Also did a pictorial feature on the Cecil Field Commerce Center:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-apr-suburban-jacksonville-cecil-commerce-center The article has pictures old and new as well as history of NAS Cecil Field and what businesses are currently there.

We hope you enjoy the pictures and historical information in the articles. We sure did!

What to Do on the Westside

jaxwestsideinfo — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 08:55:44 +0000

I have been trying to rack my brain to come up with ideas for this blog. I am still doing research on some subjects that I would like to do and have yet to come up with some extra gas money to spend some time on the Westside checking out new places to go and things to do. I have found a website that has some information that might be worth checking out. The Jax4Kids website is one of them. Check out the listing here: http://jax4kids.com/index.php?page=places%3E%3Ewestside

One of these on the list is the Diamond D Ranch. My family and I had a great time out there several years ago when our company had an employee picnic there. They have a lovely website at: http://www.diamonddranchinc.com/m_23.asp. The events they have are kind of expensive but if you love to ride a horse then it is probably worth it.

The other place on the list that I can hardily recommend is the Chamblin Bookmine. It is one bookstore that I have visited on several occasions and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The shelves and stacks of used books, searching through the piles until you find what you are looking for and to have the ability to trade in your own books for store credit. They use to give you cash but I guess that practice had to be changed. They also have a website you should check out before you go at: http://www.chamblinbookmine.com/

Find Out Whats In Your Neighborhood

jaxwestsideinfo — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:34:07 +0000

The City of Jacksonville has a great resource for residents on their web called JAXGis which is the Jacksonville Geographic Information Service maps. They include information based on a specific address about Flood zones, local schools, parks and much more. I put in our address and got a listing of which schools my children will be assigned to, what parks are nearby, what nursing homes, library branch, who the city council person was, US Congressman, Senators and much, much more. It also tells you whether or not your home is in a flood zone. That information is very important especially when you need to get housing or renters insurance. The city along with the Fire and Rescue Division has a static map you can print out that list the Hurricane zones for all areas of Jacksonville. I know that map is available in the hurricane literature but it is nice to know where to get it if you don’t already have one of those brochures or just want to look at one. Go to the http://www.coj.net/Departments/Fire+and+Rescue/Emergency+Preparedness/Preparedness/Evacuation+Zones+Map.htm and save it to your bookmarks or favorites to have instant access whenever you need it.

There are several other websites you might want to bookmark and visit periodically and they are the Jacksonville’s City Website, the Local Television Station Channel 4 and of course the FEMA government website. Each of these has a wealth of FREE Information for those who are willing to go there and read about it!

New Year Turning Over A New Leaf

jaxwestsideinfo — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:09:06 +0000

Jacksonville Florida’s Westside Residents know that the old year was pretty bad but are hoping that the New Year will bring new opportunities. There is a lot of construction going on along I-10 as well as the Cecil Field Area which is supposed to bring new jobs. Most of the people who live or have lived on the “Wild Westside” are looking to get jobs nearer to their homes. I noticed the other day while traveling on I-295 during rush hour that there are lots of people going from the Westside to the Southside to work. Never mind the fact that the commute is a “killer” with that many people going in the same direction at the same time but it is bad for the environment, bad for your nerves and costly as well. Now there is supposed to be the Cecil Spaceport. There is an unofficial website that has been set-up at: http://cecilspaceport.com/index.html but there is nothing on it yet. You might want to bookmark it though and check periodically to see if and when jobs will be opening up. FCCJ also has a campus in the Cecil Commerce Area that specializes in Aeronautical training. Getting into FCCJ is fairly easy for those who have graduated from a Duval County School and live here than any of the other schools. Going to school on the Westside will be more convenient for residents in the area, save time, save money and save the environment as well. Now that FCCJ is a 4 year institute you may even be able to get your Bachelor’s degree there as well. The future really should be about learning about space, being able to fly a space type vehicle as well as being able to build and maintain one.

Another website you might want to add to your favorites is: http://www.cecilfieldspaceport.com/ This website has been up and running for a while now and seems to have more information about the upcoming Spaceport that has been approved by NASA. So, now is the time to get training and an education in this exciting new field. Don’t let them bring in outsiders to take jobs away from us. You want to get a job that is close to home to save money, to save the environment and to give yourself and your family a good future!

Jacksonville Westside Farms

jaxwestsideinfo — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:07:00 +0000

When I was growing up I thought that most of our produce came from farms around town. There use to be a lot of family farms on the north and westside of Jacksonville. I went looking for information about farms on the Westside to do a feature for this blog. Now I know that times are very tough right now and the family farm is being pushed out due to so called “PROGRESS” and the construction of new homes but can we really do without the family farm or even local farmers? With the prices of food, gas, etc. don’t we really need to go back to some of the basics of life? To that end I am looking for information about small family farms on the Westside. I believe there is still some room on the Westside of Jacksonville for small farmers to thrive and supply some of the other Jacksonville residences with much needed organically grown produce. If you are such a farmer or know of someone who is we would like to hear from you!

I have sent out some emails to some of the people who sell at the local farmers markets around town and hope to get some responses however I don’t believe that any of them are on the Westside. There is one listing for the Oakleaf GreenMarket but it closed for the season at the end of November and their website is still under construction. There are other “Open-Air” markets opened one day a week in Mandarin, The Town Center and the Beaches area. There is also the year-round Farmers Market on Beaver Street. Come-On Westsiders! What are you doing to promote your local farmers in your area?

Cheers
webmistress