Is All Aboard Florida A Match For Jacksonville?

[Metro Jacksonville]

Is All Aboard Florida A Match For Jacksonville?



Quietly in late August, construction began on All Aboard Florida (AAF), a $2.5 billion passenger rail system that could eventually reach Jacksonville. The FEC eliminated passenger rail services between Jacksonville and Miami in 1968, during one of the most violet labor conflicts of the 20th century. While these days may be gone, what does appear to be back is Henry Morrison Flagler’s 19th century use of passenger rail along Florida’s East Coast as a means to enhance real estate development around railroad stations. Is it possible for Jacksonville to take advantage of the economic opportunity that could be headed its way?

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2014-nov-is-all-aboard-florida-a-match-for-jacksonville

[JeffreyS]

Quick reply from the Jacksonville city council "What...Huh??? how much asphalt?"

Seriously, Ennis good article. I hope AAF is something Jacksonville chooses to use and leverage some of this city's future growth.

[jaxjaguar]

^more like "Let's spend a few million studying this and when the 'study' is done we can study some more." 25 years later "Turns out the Prime Osborn wasn't properly maintained so we can't use that. Let's do another study to see what our other options are."

[fieldafm]

Have cities like West Palm, et al contributed to the feasibility/ridership/economic studies for AAF... or has that been 100% done by AAF?

Obviously, there has to be a lot of coordination b/w public and private agencies in regards to land use planning, connectivity, etc issues at a local level... but were the initial studies a public/private partnership with municipalities, or completely handled by AAF?

[thelakelander]

100% funded by AAF.

[mbwright]

I'm sure there are some that will say since AAF did the study, it is wrong, or biased.  I'm sure they would not do this if not profitable.  It's like they are opening a kiosk at the mall.  This is major.

[finehoe]

AAF plans to develop millions of square feet of commercial, office, and residential development around its downtown stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.

So AAF owns the land surrounding the stations in all these cities?  How and when did they obtain it?  And if the answer is yes, that's your answer to them coming to Jacksonville.  If they control the land surrounding a future station, they'll come.  If they don't, why would they.

[cline]

AAF plans to develop millions of square feet of commercial, office, and residential development around its downtown stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.

So AAF owns the land surrounding the stations in all these cities?  How and when did they obtain it?  And if the answer is yes, that's your answer to them coming to Jacksonville.  If they control the land surrounding a future station, they'll come.  If they don't, why would they.

AAF is owned by Florida East Coast Industries.  FECI also owns Flagler Development which is a huge commercial real estate company that owns all this land.  Both of these companies are owned by Fortress Investments.

[floridaal]

What do the people at JTA have to say about this topic?  Have there been any interviews with them?

[tufsu1]

Most of the land surrounding the Prime Osborn is owned by JTA.  From what I understand, AAF reps have been talking with JTA staff about some of the land and potential opportunities in the past year or two.

[fieldafm]

AAF plans to develop millions of square feet of commercial, office, and residential development around its downtown stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.

So AAF owns the land surrounding the stations in all these cities?  How and when did they obtain it?  And if the answer is yes, that's your answer to them coming to Jacksonville.  If they control the land surrounding a future station, they'll come.  If they don't, why would they.

AAF is owned by Florida East Coast Industries.  FECI also owns Flagler Development which is a huge commercial real estate company that owns all this land.  Both of these companies are owned by Fortress Investments.

Fortress and Parkway have been looking at potential deals related to AAF in North Florida (not just Jacksonville). They certainly have interest. How feasible those opportunities are, is still a topic of conversation.

[fieldafm]

Most of the land surrounding the Prime Osborn is owned by JTA.  From what I understand, AAF reps have been talking with JTA staff about some of the land and potential opportunities in the past year or two.

Keep in mind, they already have major land holdings around FEC lines in Flagler, St Johns, Volusia, etc Counties

[Tacachale]

I've always wondered how affordable and usable this will be. If it's not cheaper than a plane and faster than a car, it won't compete. Maybe their land development ventures will pay off enough that they can keep the prices on the rides down.

As far as Jacksonville goes, it would be interesting if JTA could work something out with them to put some money into the transit center in exchange for a good deal on some of the surrounding property to develop. It sucks that our local leadership and media don't even seem to be aware of AAF.

[acme54321]

I say sell the whole Prime Osborne back to the FEC, they built it in the first place.

I will believe it when I see FECI companies snatching up properties in strategic locations.   They could probably build a station in San Marco south of Atlantic if they wanted to, their ROW is very wide there and most of the properties along the tracks there seem to be for sale. 

[thelakelander]

They ended up purchasing additional property around the South Florida station sites for TOD. I suspect that the Prime would be attractive given the centralized location and blocks of available dirt surrounding it.