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According to Mayor John Peyton, the real estate situation in Jacksonville is on the up-and-up.

He has indicated that developers are constantly coming to him asking for new land to start new projects on. These requests invariably lead to the announcements of new developments such as a 68-story hotel, new condos and the development of a plaza.

All in all, there are 23 development projects downtown that are in various stages of construction. But this hasn’t pleased everyone. Some are openly questioning whether Jacksonville can handle them all along with all the extra problems these projects bring including the increased traffic.

http://tinyurl.com/r2anm

When a building is given a “landmarked” status, that can be both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because of the grants and tax breaks now suddenly available to the property but a curse because of the tight inflexible rules which now govern the building and its future. Developers have differing opinions on whether landmarked status is good or bad for the building’s interests.

Now the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission has earmarked seven downtown properties for possible landmarked status which will decided on at the commission’s next meeting in April.

Buildings under consideration include the old Federal Courthouse, a post office, the Haverty’s Building and a couple of fire stations.
http://tinyurl.com/l2a2h

Two Florida developers have announced plans to partner up and build a condo riverfront village in the Southbank, estimated to cost around $1.5 billion.

The Related Group of Florida, which can boast connections to tycoon Donald Trump, and Riverwalk Hotels LLC will build the San Marco Riverfront Village which will consist of 2000 units including four towers, a marina, riverfront, six restaurants and 200,000 square feet of retail space.

The condos are expected to be sold for between $300,000 and $1 million each.

http://tinyurl.com/n3fhq

The First Coast Real Estate Outlook Conference in Jacksonville has made some interesting predictions about the immediate future trends of Jacksonville’s property markets.

Among the predictions will be a shift from renting a property to actually owning one, the desire of property seekers to find buildings at least 11 years old and apartment occupancy to hit 96% in 2006.

The predictions were made with lots of scenarios factored in including insurance, taxes and other costs.

The conference is being held at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.

http://tinyurl.com/qtuuy

The Southbank seems to be changing fast and it’s all due to it being on Mayor Peyton’s high list of priorities for downtown development. But the one sticking point could be something which is out of the city’s hands – the School Board building.

The problem is that the school board won’t sell their building right now and the mayor can’t compel them to sell. The value of the building will go up by 10% a year so if the School Board waits 5 years, they could see $5 million added to the building’s value. So it’s not too hard to see why the School Board is in no hurry to sell the property to a private developer, despite the property being keenly sought after.

http://tinyurl.com/j2f79

To use “Chamber-of-Commerce-speak”, it was “a win-win-win for everybody”. The mayor is happy, Mr Sleiman is happy and so is Mr Kuhn. They each could claim a victory from the protracted saga called the Jacksonville Landing parking dispute.

It was forced smiles and handshakes all round as all three men announced a deal that finally allows the mayor to put the episode behind him, Mr Sleiman can get on with his parking spaces and Mr Kuhn can finally green-light his $100 million condo project.

Now why can’t all deals be solved with a smile and a handshake like this?

http://tinyurl.com/jher7
(Registration is required to view stories at jacksonville.com)

After initially rejecting the city’s parking proposal for the Jacksonville Landing, developer Toney Sleiman and Mayor John Peyton got together and worked out a deal that makes both sides satisfied.

The final agreement means that developer Cameron Kuhn can finally get his project off the ground. He bought land opposite the Landing last year and the parking spaces dispute meant his project was being delayed.

What made a deal possible was the city agreeing to sell the east lot which will give Sleiman an extra 1000 parking spaces.

The city hopes that other developers will be impressed that the mayor and Mr Sleiman were able to negotiate a mutually beneficial agreement and that this will help allay any fears other developers may have about starting projects in Jacksonville.

http://tinyurl.com/n5zxm

Although statewide condo sales dropped 23% across Florida in February, the median sales price went up by another 10% in Jacksonville.

The figures were tracked and compiled by the Florida Association of Realtors. According to their information, in Jacksonville, 125 condos were sold in February and the median sales price rose to just under $167,000. The statewide median price is now $218,700.

http://tinyurl.com/ou77x

People are happy that a deal has been reached on the parking issue for the Jacksonville Landing but it’s worth for a moment to take a look at the behind-the-scenes efforts which led to that deal.

First there was the huge public uproar which followed Mayor Peyton’s decision to reverse himself on a deal with Mr Sleiman. Everyone with an interest in what happens downtown put pressure on the mayor’s office to again change their position which culminated in a packed-out public hearing which piled on the pressure even more on the mayor who also happens to be running for re-election.

That leads to the politics behind the whole thing. Mr Sleiman, a big party donor against an incumbent who wants another term.

Oh and let’s not forget the Paris Hilton effect – Mr Sleiman’s plans to lease 12,000 square feet of property for the Club Paris nightclub.

Add up all those factors and we have a Landing deal.

http://tinyurl.com/zcns3
(Registration is required to view stories at jacksonville.com)

A controversial property deal near Jacksonville International Airport has prompted critics to take a closer look at the Jacksonville Aviation Authority’s charter. This has disclosed a rule making a review of the JAA’s performance and efficiency mandatory which has gone unnoticed until now.

It was discovered after critics of the land deal in question began looking for ways to debate the deal’s legality. The deal involves leasing 328 acres of land to California developer Majestic Realty Inc for up to 65 years. If Majestic goes forward with the deal, they can build commercial properties on the land, rent them out and share the profits with the JAA.

But that didn’t sit well with a Dallas developer – Jackson-Shaw Co. who sued the JAA to force them to consider other bids for the land.

http://tinyurl.com/q5gv6

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