Jacksonville Real Estate Blog Feb
28
Jacksonville Council proposes temporary ban on construction
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Concerns are being raised at the number of condo projects popping up throughout Riverside and Avondale with the latest complaints being directed at the planned St Johns Village Center. Many people are concerned that the latest condos don’t really fit into the neighbourhood as well as the traffic they attract.
This has prompted a member of the Jacksonville City Council to propose a temporary moratorium on rezoning applications and construction of buildings higher than 35 feet. Under the proposal, the ban would stay in place until the middle of next year and a consultant would make recommendations to keep the integrity of the area intact.
The proposal has attracted its fair share of supporters and opponents.
http://tinyurl.com/mzjz3
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Feb
26
Jacksonville shoots up the property charts
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It’s the talk of the town – is real estate in or out? Up or down? Well according to economy.com and home property valuation service Fiserv CSW, Jacksonville is number 2 in the property charts.
Even though there are some small signs of a slight slowdown nationwide, Jacksonville still has an impressive projected growth in 2006 of 8.1% with a median home price of $164,700, a figure which vastly outperforms the median price of the chart’s number one holder – San Antonio. Their median price is only $129,900.
The property chart analyzed the numbers on the 100 largest metro regions in the US and Jacksonville ended up number 2. Five other Florida locations made the list.
http://tinyurl.com/8lt2y
Feb
24
Jacksonville land gets snapped up by Dallas company
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In a deal worth $60 million, Dallas-based Jackson-Shaw Co. has bought 163 acres of land in the Jacksonville International Tradeport, closed to Jacksonville International Airport.
The deal involves 9 buildings totalling almost 1 million square feet of space and 86 acres of undeveloped land.
Jackson-Shaw has indicated that potential tenants are being lined up and they are hoping that further plans to add 700,000 square feet of commercial space will bump up the property’s value by another $85 million.
The company also wants to build a 180 room business hotel
http://tinyurl.com/qs8v3
Feb
24
All news is good news in Jacksonville real estate
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On the whole it seems to be good news all round for the real estate industry in Jacksonville. Net absorption is up by over 300,000 square feet and vacancies in the Central Business District shot up to just over 17%.
Property rental rates also went up by a little over half a percent, hovering around just over $17 a square foot. This marks a trend where the market seems to be getting gradually stronger.
Property construction also seems to be riding on a wave with the next trend being the desire to occupy a new property with better and more efficient floor plans. 85% of almost 700,000 square feet of office property ended up being pre-leased with the two main players being Fidelity Building #6 and Flagler Center 700.
Even though construction costs are starting to rise due to Hurricane season last year, the flip-side is that investment in existing real estate will remain strong.
http://tinyurl.com/rqoyz
Feb
24
Warehouses and shops popping up in St Johns County
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Work has begun on a St Johns County development. Business Condos USA plans a retail section as well as warehouses on the land which will be for either sale or lease.
The warehouse side of the business will comprise a total of just over 43,000 square feet with each unit starting at nearly 2,500 square feet.
On the other side of the development, the retail side will take up almost 55,000 square feet with each unit going from a small 1,500 square feet to a huge 10,000 square feet.
To show how much this is already in demand, it turns out that some of the units have already been snapped up! So when construction ends in July (if all goes according to schedule), people will be able to move in right away.
http://tinyurl.com/lskrx
Feb
24
No sooner has the First Street Grill succumbed to closing doors than the Lighthouse Grill followed in its wake. The restaurant at the San Pablo bridge is now owned by Chase Properties Inc whose gameplan now is to convert the property into 37 townhouses with a minimum price-tag of $650,000, boat slip included.
What slipped this past the Jacksonville Beach council was keeping the buildings under the 35 feet height limit, something that was the wish of the voters in the 2004 election.
The plan by Chase mirrors similar plans by other developers which involve buying up land, tearing down the property and building anew, resulting in Jacksonville Beach’s character being irrevocably changed.
http://tinyurl.com/luewv
Feb
24
4,285 homes were sold in the Jacksonville area, with the exception of Nassau, in the fourth quarter, amounting to a rise of 21 percent. This amount makes Jacksonville third place behind Orlando and Tampa and even though Jacksonville sales are up, sales across the state are down 7% overall.
Median prices were not affected though by the statewide slowdown in sales. That shot up 29 percent since the end of 2004. The median price even went up while sales went down, the prime example being Lakeland where sales went down 34 percent compared to a rise of 38 percent in the median price. Jacksonville’s median price meanwhile went up 19 percent.
http://tinyurl.com/j2ho2
Feb
12
An op-ed piece by the Times-Union in which the writer hopes that the mayor’s grand plans for downtown doesn’t hold up development in Northbank. Southbank is bustling and prosperous while Northbank is anything but. Although some public projects are full steam ahead, such as the ballpark and the library, storefronts remain empty and the residential side of things isn’t as good as Southside.
Some people blame bureaucratic hold-ups and official dithering when it comes to making a decision. Some others say that with taxpayers money at stake that there should be slow and deliberate planning but there’s a fine line between slow thoughtful consideration and outright indecision which isn’t fair to the developers involved.
http://tinyurl.com/jj7lu
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Feb
12
Thick skins needed for government property negotiations
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When dealing with local government over land and property deals, a thick skin is necessary as well as a willingness to cut your losses if everything falls through. That’s the conclusion of several local property developers.
Even after years of talking and money has been invested, the whole deal might go sour. Uncertainty goes hand in hand. Even though one official says yes, a commission, committee or another official might later come along and say no.
A classic example of this is the Jackson Landing situation where Mayor John Peyton ruined Toney Sleiman’s day by reversing his decision to sell Sleiman the land. The reversal of fortunes also affects Orlando developer Cameron Kuhn.
But developers don’t often shrug their shoulders and walk away when the deal falls through. Mr Sleiman for one still hasn’t ruled out legal action over the mayor’s decision.
http://tinyurl.com/z3zk5
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Feb
11
Toney Sleiman announces plan to buy parking lot
Filed Under Jacksonville property development, Jacksonville property values | Leave a Comment
Mayor John Peyton has been informed in a letter by developer and owner of the Jacksonville Landing, Toney Sleiman, that he (Sleiman) intends to buy an adjacent parking lot. This throws a potential spanner into the works for plans by the city to move forward with downtown projects.
This comes right after the mayor reversed a decision to sell land to Mr Sleiman which ended plans for a $250 million renovation. The parking lot was recently valued for almost $5 million so Mr Sleiman and the city will need to negotiate a selling price for the land.
The mayor recently unveiled plans for revitalising downtown but it all depends on Mr Sleiman’s co-operation.
Where it gets sticky is if the parking lot is sold, it could threaten other projects such as one by developer Cameron Kuhn.
http://tinyurl.com/r7w59
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