5 Awesome Apartments Coming To Downtown

[JFman00]

When I was looking for modern/contemporary rentals in the urban neighborhoods, the only ones available were the Metro Lofts and The Strand. Very exciting that new options will be available for others with similar tastes so soon.

[thelakelander]

are you in favor of the City paying 20% of the construction cost, because that is roughly what is being requested by the developer?

Hmm. For me, it would depend on a mix of total upfront cost and what the ROI in terms of property taxes, downtown's enhanced image, etc. would be. For example, if we paid for a garage on city property, could that garage be designed that allows for extra development opportunities on top or around it (see project example below)? Another example would be determining the value of keeping these buildings standing and occupied verses having to eventually demolish them, leaving a big black hole of failure in the heart of the Northbank. If so, what type of ROI numbers would we be looking at then?  On the other hand, if this project dies, what does the result do to the effort of leveraging the private sector to invest in DT revitalization?

Located in the central business district of Greenville, South Carolina, this urban mixed use infill screens a multi-story parking garage and provides for an active street front retail with residential dwellings above. The eight story, 52,000 sf structure provides for thirty dwellings and 7,000 sf of retail. The all precast concrete building shell offers the residents excellent sound privacy, fire protection, and thermal mass benefits which contribute to over 25% energy savings.

http://www.johnstondesigngroup.com/m-bookends.php

[camarocane]

are you in favor of the City paying 20% of the construction cost, because that is roughly what is being requested by the developer?

as for an update, the DIA is expected to issue a Go/No Go on the proposed incentives by March

I would love to have the city use my taxes for something that would interest me for once....

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

... For example, if we paid for a garage on city property, could that garage be designed that allows for extra development opportunities on top or around it...

You mean like this?

This project is still behind schedule but they intend to break ground before the end of the year.

Parador's Downtown parking garage to break ground by year's end

full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2013/10/02/paradors-downtown-parking-garage-to.html

Parador's Downtown parking garage to break ground by year's end
Oct 2, 2013, 1:29pm EDT

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Reporter

The majority owner of the SunTrust Tower plans to break ground on an adjacent, six-story parking garage by the end of the year.  The Haskell Co. on Tuesday submitted to the city site plans for the garage, which is owned by Atlanta-based Parador Partners. Parador has already struck a deal with the city for a $3.5 million incentive package for the project.“Obviously, a lot of this depends on the permitting process,” Ashish Bahl, Parador managing partner, said, “but our goal is to break ground this year.”

The Downtown Development Review Board has already signed off on Parador’s design. The garage is to include 600 parking spaces. Having a designated parking garage has long been seen as key to the SunTrust Tower’s ability to attract office tenants.  The garage is well behind the schedule Bahl laid out last year. In December, he said he hoped to have the garage completed by the end of 2013; in June, he said bids had come in higher than anticipated, which delayed the process. His projected cost is $10 million.
Bahl said he is still working on a deal with a “big insurance company” to move into the tower, which he told the Business Journal about in June. In late 2012, Parador began acquiring more square footage within the tower, which was converted into commercial condominiums in 2005. Parador now owns 250,000 square feet of the 383,000-square-foot building.

That appears to be about 35% of construction costs.  How's the retail portion coming along?

[coredumped]

are you in favor of the City paying 20% of the construction cost, because that is roughly what is being requested by the developer?

20% of how much? Any idea?

[fieldafm]

are you in favor of the City paying 20% of the construction cost, because that is roughly what is being requested by the developer?

What you fail to also say is that the parking garage would be built specifically for the adjacent hotel, apartments, restaurants and office spaces (meaning parking utilization of said garage will be quite high... generally a 65% utilization rate is a break-even-ish rule of thumb) and would have ground level retail.... replacing an entire city block of dead space (two surface parking lots).

Sounds like probably the best parking garage the city could ever build, if you ask me. Considering the city still subsidizes parking garages at the sports complex... and just gave a private developer money to build a half-assed parking garage adjacent to a half-empty SunTrust Building (using Landing money, without actually solving the Landing parking problem)... then there is certainly precendant for such a scenario. 

[thelakelander]

That appears to be about 35% of construction costs.  How's the retail portion coming along?

Parador got out of including any retail until the Suntrust Tower is occupied at a certain percentage. I have no idea of where occupancy rates stand at the moment.

[Tacachale]

The best way to look at the Laura Trio/Barnett/new construction deal is best looked at as separate projects that are being coordinated together. If the requested amount had been split among separate projects, no one would bat an eye. But because all the different elements compliment each other, the effect could be much greater than the sum of its parts.

[simms3]

Generally I would be opposed to a city paying for 20% of a private development's costs, however, the city forced its own hand in this case by not spending enough money downtown to begin with (neglect), not spending it wisely (neglect), and other consistent poor decisions that have left Jacksonville in a ditch so to speak such that natural momentum isn't even there as a force, economically, over the whole region.

For a sunbelt FL city, growth is slow now.  Job growth is slow and not meaningful or conducive to downtown or city development.  Downtown is long neglected.  We're at a point where frankly the city needs to full on subsidize projects such as this.  A healthy downtown will do wonders for the whole city in the future, and could certainly impact population growth and job growth going forward as it's a "sign" of the health and attractiveness of the city.  It should spend the money.

[jcjohnpaint]

I absolutely agree.  I would not go for this if in Philly, but we have made it necessary to help fund such large scale projects.  I think the return would be more than worth the investemnt.  I also feel the historic value of these buildings is another issue.  If this opportunity passes, the trio is good as gone.  I don't think it has but a few years before the structural integrity is beyond repair. 

[For_F-L-O-R-I-D-A]

In all honesty, $8 million in public financing for what has been proposed? Four of the most historic buildings being revived? That is $2 million a piece? My friends, the amount I see in property taxes increasing DT is worth it alone and we are talking about HISTORY with mixed use public access, not just giving money to build a brand new condo.

[Lunican]

How much would it cost to tear these buildings down? That's pretty much the other option.

[thelakelander]

Probably more than $8 million.  However, I believe the city is also being asked to build the garage.

[downtownbrown]

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=39193

timing is everything!

[thelakelander]

How much would it cost to tear these buildings down? That's pretty much the other option.

For comparison's sake, the Mayor's old proposed budget called for spending $4.2 million to tear down the closed courthouse on Bay Street.

http://downtownjacksonville.org/blog/2014/07/29/2014-2015-city-budget-investing-in-downtown/