Exploring Freedom Commerce Center

[CityLife]

FYI, there is actually a provision in the SJC comp plan that allows the county to request a real estate analysis, but its typically done for Comp Plan Amendments. I do recall it being used for a recent PUD though. Oakridge Landing, which is near Durbin Crossing. The study pretty clearly highlighted the demand in that area.

[kbhanson3]

My apologies, CityLife.  Clearly I should not attempt to post on the go.  I misread your post as being from cline.

[CityLife]

No worries at all. I appreciate your insight.

[kbhanson3]

Its actually pretty darn easy to get land entitled in SJC. I would know first hand. If you are below the max density allowed by the Comp Plan, you're pretty much good to go. That's not to say there isn't a cost to go through the process and that there aren't concessions for open space, wetlands, etc...but they rarely, if ever deny anything there.

The entitlement & zoning process should be straightforward and predictable provided that the developer proposes a project that complies with the existing comp plan.  My firsthand experience in SJC is that virtually every project must go through the PUD process, and that process is anything but predictable and often is rather political.

Market demand for more housing in SJC? You mean more than is currently built? Or more than is currently entitled?

Market demand for more buildable lots than currently exist.  Number of lots currently entitled can be misleading since large scale projects such as Nocatee and other DRI's have many lots entitled but it will be years before the lots are actually buildable because of the time that it takes to actually design & construct the entitled subdivisions.

[fieldafm]

Number of lots currently entitled can be misleading since large scale projects such as Nocatee and other DRI's have many lots entitled but it will be years before the lots are actually buildable because of the time that it takes to actually design & construct the entitled subdivisions.

Agreed.

Depends on your long and short term view of housing demand/supply.  For a smaller development that probably needs to be turned over in 18-24 months, the relevance of supply/demand is different from that of a larger DRI (like Nocatee) that still has a pipeline that will last another 8-10 years.  Additionally, perhaps buyers have a preference for certain neighborhood amenities or a particular type of housing stock that is not presently being met.  Simply saying that there is enough building stock for an 14 month supply of housing is not indicative of a a variety of sub-market of buyers.. and these preferances shift all of the time (that drives price up or down-the ultimate indicator of a market's equilibrium).  Maybe all of the foreclosed homes in the adjoining neighborhood are all uniform cheap builds and financing availability is difficult due to that sub-market's comps... while your 20 home subdivision is within the same desirable school district or proximity to shopping offers superior home design and features than the adjoining PUD with foreclosure problems. Perhaps buyers now want more townhomes or desire to live in a mixed use faciility... there may be x amount of housing units within a particular neighborhood, but perhaps buyers don't want a mcmansion with large upkeep costs and prefer a highly amenitized multi-family community.

Gov't shouldnt dictate to you the terms under which you can invest money nor should they have to agreet to your particular interpretation of the market.  The market will decide if your product is viable, not a pencil pusher from a zoning commission.   

[fieldafm]

BTW, this is why I firmly believe that concurrency/mobility fees are important.

A developer should be allowed to invest their money as they see fit (not to say design guidelines aren't important for instance-that's a seperate issue), but if a developer bets money on a particular project and it fails after they have received a waiver on impact fees... you are then transferring their costs to someone else.  If I invest in a condo complex and I totally misjudge the market and completely mismanage my product, then I have to live with the results and the resulting financial misfortune.. but I have a real fundamental problem having to pay for somone else's mistakes.

[finehoe]

The market will decide if your product is viable, not a pencil pusher from a zoning commission.

Will "the market" restore wetlands to their former state after the development on them fails?

[Know Growth]

 Fast Backward:  Mayor Delaney,Freedom Commerce Centre & Better Jacksonville;  An abbreviated Exploration through and around a Wet Land


First time I met Steve Diebenow was thanks to Freedom,Goodman and a Florida Wildlife Federation Vice Chair position.
Inevitable.

Steve and I ,our intitial meeting at the Regional Planning Council location,bright light streaming in just past the doorway,basking in The Light,Avondale/Ortega neighbors, we would certainly become chums...
And then,the light brightens,the door has opened....a certain  glow.......the Federation attorney appears..........Steve's jaw drops.........dang!.....WTF,Tom Reese!........We got Trouble,Right Here In River City!.......(Oh!,we got trouble!!!)
never seen this before.....Tom Reese,Florida Wildlife Federation!.....

Million dollar Better Jax payment deal just another footnote,and the visit from the Jeb Bush office,RiverKeeper board cartwheels,meanwhile the Federation performs heavy lifting,"Mitigation" concepts include far south potatoe farms and end up on I-95 St Johns,Carlucci et al,(the "reasonable" narrative- what a loser,on the heels of Dad,Brannon Chaffee,Beltway...Matt,stop lurking,sit down please).

At this point,obviously lost details.

So- just how many of those current FC wetland acres could be converted?
Could this wetland acreage,vested,be further mitigated,traded?Demand?

Come on now,let's get down to "brass tacks" .

[Know Growth]

Sorry-hit "River Summit" tab in error

[fieldafm]

The market will decide if your product is viable, not a pencil pusher from a zoning commission.

Will "the market" restore wetlands to their former state after the development on them fails?

There is a wetland mitigation and compensatory mitigation process, which is sort of similar to an impact fee.

[Know Growth]

Will "the market" restore wetlands to their former state after the development on them fails?

...an adaptive re-use concept for sure!

When we were addressing Freedom Commerce Wetland Permit Application/Clean Water Act Alternative Sites, a couple were obviously apparent.
What development rights/mitigation was tossed on to Commerce wetlands might play strategic role, even if not clearly revealed here.
As for those basking in Freedom Commerce Wetland Wonderland,if even only an exercise,look in to future development status,mitigation and growth management aspects.
After all,such is a hint to where Growth might be headed.

[thelakelander]

Freedom Commerce Center has a new name......"Prominence."

The South Florida real estate firm that acquired Freedom Commerce Centre in late 2012 has renamed the Baymeadows office park Prominence.

The renaming is part of a multimillion-dollar overhaul that Boca Raton-based Crocker Partners kicked off this summer, as the Business Journal first reported in June.

full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2014/01/22/freedom-commerce-centre-renamed.html

[Bill Hoff]

Inspiring.

[Know Growth]

As anticipated.

[lewyn]

More development made for cars not for people.  If we can't get it returned to nature, why not rebuild it as a place for people?  Just google "retrofitting suburbia" or "retrofitting office parks"- for example:

http://thetysonscorner.com/suburban-retrofit-office-sprawl-for-walkability/