LaVilla

LaVilla is a historic neighborhood located immediately west of Downtown. Jacksonville’s first suburb, it was originally an independent city until it was annexed in 1887 along with several other suburbs. It included streets west of Clay Street and north of McCoy’s Creek and the railroad lines. The part of LaVilla north of Adams Street was for many years a center of African-American life and culture in Jacksonville. Most residents were black, and the neighborhood contained many venues, such as theRitz Theatre and the many clubs on the Ashley Street strip, which showcased black entertainers. The southern part of the neighborhood was a major railroad hub, with several rail lines meeting at Union Station (now the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center), and probably not coincidentally, was also for a period Jacksonville’s primary red light district.^[5]

LaVilla was incorporated in the 1860s as a predominantly African-American town. Union troops were based in the area during the American Civil War. Along with five other suburbs, it was annexed by Jacksonville when the city limits expanded in 1887. The Great Fire of 1901 started in LaVilla, but the neighborhood was largely spared, while the fire ravaged downtown. Over the next several decades LaVilla saw the growth of a burgeoning music and entertainment scene, and many nationally renowned artists came to play at the local clubs on and off Ashely Street that catered to black audiences. In the 1960s, however, the neighborhood declined precipitously and has not recovered. The railroad industry declined and urban decay set in, and after the end of segregation many residents left to seek opportunities in other neighborhoods. In the 1980s began an urban renewal campaign that continues today.

Our Company – Arwood Waste Established 1984

Arwood Waste, an American Indian owned JSEB, MBE & DBE, has been serving Florida and Georgia for over 30 years, offering exceptional service in areas of demolition, roll-off dumpster and compactor container rentals, small/massive clean up, site work, land clearing, plant dismantling and portable rentals.

Complete Line of Waste Removal, Demolition, and Clean Up Services

We are Jacksonville’s largest locally owned roll-off container company offering you a full line of recycling programs. We’re the leader in advanced waste delivery programs and able to handle hazardous material. We offer a range of 12-45 yard roll-off dumpster containers as well as compactors – breakaway and self contained.

We offer selective and total demolition, as well as driveway removal. We have demolished buildings as large as 1,000,000 square feet. If your home or office has burned and you need help with clean up or you are remodeling and need a demolition crew, Arwood Demolition is at your service. We work with homeowners as well as general contractors to complete all sizes of demolition projects. We do emergency demolition and clean up for the City of Jacksonville.

We guarantee dependable and prompt service by providing radio-dispatched drivers and owning all of our own up-to-date equipment. We offer a highly trained professional staff including our own maintenance department to ensure customer satisfaction in all areas. We are fully licensed and bondable.

The Arwood Story, How it All Began

It all started when father and son began cleaning up metal factories in 1984. They thought of a way to recycle metal while offering clean-up services to the factories through dismantling old cranes, tanks and rail systems. Their exceptional service brought more business when factory owners contracted them to remove waste as well. They invested in roll-off trailers as a mean to accomplish this. With the resources to haul more waste, they began to seek out more opportunities for hauling. This led them to begin site clean up and hauling for home builders.

John C. Arwood, an American Indian, who grew up in the foothills of West Virginia as a Coal Miner’s son, understands what hard work is all about. His father taught him, “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” He moved his family to Florida in the early 70’s where he took a job as a welder for Buffalo Tank. And this is where it all began.

Recycling has been a passion of John D. Arwood since he was a child. Even then he recycled aluminum cans and coke bottles while traveling around the neighborhood on his bicycle. This passion has motivated him to grow Arwood Waste & Demolition to the business it is today.