JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Five Points for many is a premier shopping and dining destination in Jacksonville’s Riverside area, but its popularity hasn’t come without a fair share of problems.

“We unfortunately have had some crimes, some break-ins,” explained Cheryl Croft, the owner of Edge City and chairwoman for the Five Points Merchants Association. “We have a fairly consistent homeless population that makes our customers uncomfortable. They will be on the street. They may panhandle them, some of them.”

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Now, Jacksonville City Council member Jimmy Peluso and Five Points business owners are hoping to change all that, with city ordinance 2025-0539.

The ordinance establishes a special Five Points District.

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The city would collect assessment fees from business owners, the amount of which would be determined by a property’s total heated square footage.

That money would then go into a funding pool to pay for collective security, blight removal, and infrastructure initiatives. The business owners themselves would help prioritize and set budgets for the projects.

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“The neighbors want to be able to come and access all these places and feel comfortable and safe as they do so,” Croft said Tuesday ahead of the vote. “So I really think that we’re coming up with a win-win situation for everyone.”

Peluso also acknowledged Tuesday that while the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has helped Five Points stay secure, more security is needed, something Peluso and business owners hope the special district’s funding will address.

“The JSO district we’re in goes from Five Points all the way to Baldwin. So if it’s an active day or an active evening, it’s really tough to kind of keep folks in the Five Points area,” Peluso said. “So this will help allow for Five Points to really kind of have assets at its disposal when it comes to security.”

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