The Five Points Business Improvement District Supervisory Board appointed its inaugural slate of officers at its first meeting on July 20 as a new quasi-governmental body.
Five Points property owner Lon Walton will serve as president, with Five Points business owners Dori Thomsen to serve as vice president/secretary and Cheryl Croft as treasurer. Legislation passed earlier this year by Jacksonville City Council approved the formation of the five-member supervisory board of Walton, Thomsen, Croft, Andre Green and David Wingard with two alternates, Ashley Kendrick and Cody Mashni.
The Jacksonville City Council approved legislation creating the Five Points BID in October 2025 with an amendment carving out 11 properties that did not want to be included. The geographic boundaries of the BID include Riverside Avenue, Copeland Street and Post Street. Churches, retirement homes and residential buildings within those boundaries will not be included in the BID. This is the second BID to be formed in Jacksonville; the first one is Downtown Vision, Inc.
Beginning next year, commercial property owners within the BID boundaries will see a special assessment on their property tax, which will fund the BID to execute initiatives aimed at improving landscaping, security, and other areas identified by its supervisory board for the Five Points merchant community.
“One of the reasons the BID was formed was not only to unite the community to create security and beautification, but it’s to take some of the weight off the merchants’ shoulders, so that it doesn’t all fall on the merchants to feel like they’re the ones having to do all the cleaning and the safety and security of their staff and patrons,” said Thomsen, who has been involved in the formation of the BID since discussions about it began roughly three years ago. “That’s the main thing that I always envisioned was, let the merchants be merchants, let them focus on their growth and sustainability, and that way here, through the BID, we can take charge of the bigger items.”
Croft joined the Five Points merchants community in 2024 when she assumed ownership of the Edge City boutique following the retirement of Five Points icon Gunnel Humphreys. As of Aug. 10, Croft will also succeed Thomsen as president of the Five Points Association.
With the BID now able to assume some of the “heavy lifts” addressing larger, overarching needs and concerns of the merchants district as a whole, Croft said the Five Points Association will be able to redirect its focus on community events and initiatives that will help preserve the bohemian culture of the community.
To help the BID get off the ground through its first year before assessments are issued and collected, District 7 City Council Member Jimmy Peluso will seek council approval to allocate $200,000 from his district’s allotted funds from the Community Benefits Agreement to the BID.
Seeing that first meeting take place was a gratifying moment for Peluso.
“I think we’re putting ourselves in the right posture to make sure that we can make the most improvement in a relatively short amount of time,” said Peluso. “That’s what I’m excited about.”