Downtown Jacksonville has emerged as the region’s Innovation District – a dense urban environment where anchor institutions and companies cluster and connect with start-ups, business incubators and accelerators. Physically compact, transit-accessible, technically-wired and blossoming with arts and culture, Downtown Jacksonville offers the right resources to foster creativity, ideas, collaboration and entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs

Downtown Jacksonville hosts a thriving ecosystem of innovation, providing the right support and resources for entrepreneurs of all types. Startups of all types are making a home here. Our robust community shares ideas constantly, connecting on a personal scale in the heart of a major city. This site provides a foundation for information for this innovation community, allowing for even more growth and prosperity.

Artists

Innovation lives in Downtown Jacksonville as a collision of creativity from both artists and technology. Inclusive of the creative energy from arts and culture, the Spark District reflects the strong community already working side-by-side in DTJax.  The term “Spark” already has profound meaning, inspired by the SPARK district from the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville with its annual grant program and One Spark, the World’s Largest Crowdfunding Festival held annually in Downtown Jacksonville.

A compact geographic area in the heart of the urban core, The Spark District offers numerous resources and amenities for the growing business, arts and culture community.

Resources in Downtown

Our community is growing fast and we want it to grow even faster. Numerous resources exist to facilitate innovation, collaboration and success. Reach out, plug in, get involved and become part of our community today.

A community driven group of 700+ starters and thinkers who provide a pillar of support for those who bet on themselves. We work together to push through hard problems, create viable business models, and learn from each other as we each try to push through our life's venture.

CoWorkSpark

We are a nonprofit creating community and connecting resources for founders of innovative and high-growth startups in NE Florida. We're here to develop and support a vibrant innovation ecosystem where founders flourish and the economy escalates.

The JAX Bridges program is a simulation that educates entrepreneurs. It creates

A Grass Roots Social Group focused on uniting, educating, and inspiring the Local Innovator to pursue their New Products and Concepts.

Our vision is that every person who served in the military has the community, the requisite network, and the resources to realize their full entrepreneurial potential.

The Downtown Investment Authority is the Community Redevelopment Agency and Economic Development arm Downtown Jacksonville. Our mission is to attract investment, facilitate job creation, and increase the residential base of Downtown Jacksonville and truly create a place to live, work and play. If you’re interested developing, opening a business, or expanding an existing business in Downtown Jacksonville, we’re here to help.

OneSpark Adblock

Traditional Support Resources

SBA North Florida – https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/fl/jacksonville

SBDC Florida – https://www.sbdc.unf.edu/

Beaver Street Enterprise Center – http://www.bsecjax.com/

ScaleUp North Florida – http://www.scaleupnorthflorida.com/

SCORE Jax – http://www.scorejax.org/

FLVEC – http://www.flvec.com/duval/

Sign up for our Newsletter

Stay up to date on whats going on in the Spark District

Why DTJax?

The Spark District is part of a thriving Downtown Jacksonville community, with restaurants, bars, shops, museums, entertainment venues, amenities and events catered to a live/work/play urban lifestyle in the city core.

For everything happening in Downtown Jacksonville, visit http://www.DowntownJacksonville.org.
BurroNight

Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS AN INNOVATION DISTRICT?

Innovation districts contain economic, physical, and networking assets facilitating innovation. When these three assets combine with a supportive, risk-taking culture they create an innovation ecosystem—a synergistic relationship between people, firms and place (the physical geography of the district) that facilitates idea generation and accelerates commercialization. For more information about the rise of innovation districts, click here:  http://www.brookings.edu/about/programs/metro/innovation-districts)

WHO IS PART OF JACKSONVILLE’S INNOVATION DISTRICT?

Inclusive of the growing entrepreneur and arts community in Downtown Jacksonville, The Spark District is supported by a grassroots collaboration between innovation resources, the City of Jacksonville, the City’s Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) and a robust group of Downtown stakeholders and non-profits, including JaxChamber, Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and Downtown Vision Inc.