This view of 103rd Street shows heavy traffic at a stop light at Firestone Road. | Google Maps
Published on May 12, 2026 at 4:07 pm
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Jacksonville city officials are seeking feedback about a proposal to create a special business district on the Westside.
They want business owners to log onto an online petition and fill in suggestions by mid-June.
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The district would be called the Wonderland Corridor, stretching along 103rd Street from Blanding Boulevard to the Cecil Commerce Center.
City Council member Rahman Johnson believes this is the first fully digital corridor petition process in city history. He believes it will create a new model for how local government engages stakeholders, gathers data and explores future economic development opportunities — needs that he heard from business owners during town meetings there.
“Some of the business owners said, ‘We need more,'” Johnson told Jacksonville Today. “That was the impetus for doing the research to see what we could do not to crowd the Westside; we certainly don’t want to be the Town Center. But we want to make sure that we did everything possible to give businesses the opportunity to flourish. And because you are dealing with lighting and infrastructure and signage down that corridor, the communities benefit from that.”
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The Wonderland Corridor would be a designated area where small assessments on commercial properties within the district would be used to fund better lighting, store facade improvements, street beautification and grant leverage for bigger upgrades.
Johnson initially presented an ordinance last year to establish a Business Improvement District for commercial properties along 103rd Street to improve security and landscaping via property assessments. It was later withdrawn.
The decision was then made to set up an online versus physical petition drive. City Council member Jimmy Peluso had set up a similar process after holding multiple community meetings last year about forming the Five Points business improvement district.
“What is most important is that the community have a voice in it. The state does give guidance as to how you set up special taxing districts, which is what this would be for the businesses there,” Johnson said. “But they do not give a specific way as to how you set up each piece. So the recommendation by the general counsel is to have a petition process.”
The online survey features corridor mapping, stakeholder information, project specifications and drone footage showcasing the proposed corridor and its development potential along Jacksonville’s Westside.
Creating the business district
Johnson said it would take multiple steps to even begin setting up the district. In part, that’s because the Wonderland Corridor, at just over 10 miles, is so long and full of multiple businesses. The online petition will make sure “everybody’s voice is heard,” Johnson said.
The survey will not set up a district or authorize any taxation or assessments. It will not set up any binding governmental structure. To create a district requires separate legislation and formal approval by the City Council.
The petition process is about “gathering real data” to find out whether there is any public interest in setting up the business district, Johnson said.
“This is not about tomorrow. This is about 20 years from now, 30 years from now,” Johnson said. “I believe this is a multibillion-dollar, multidecade impact that will help the Westside to grow and flourish.”
Once survey results are completed and analyzed, Johnson plans to convene a public meeting with fellow council members before filing any related legislation.
The Wonderland Corridor petition can be accessed at jacksonville.gov/wonderland for 45 days, starting this past Monday.
