Jacksonville Development News

[vicupstate]

The building on the left of the 7 story one was just sold (along with the Ed Ball building itself). Wachovia is looking for new space in Jax within 2 years, so they will be vacating both buildings. Since it is only two stories, and either not historic or remuddled, I'm hoping it will come down and be replaced with something bigger and more positive to the area.

Great pic of the Lerner building in it's heyday. Thanks for sharing. I heard a few months back that the restaurant that is considering the Lerner location was "The Loop".

[Lakelander]

The Loop would be a great addition to that stretch of Adams. The Loop would complement the new Mudville Grill and the two Japanese restaurants coming in. That area could use more establishments that stay open late. Now the Barnett & Laura Place projects need to get started. I also wonder will any new tower proposals come online in response to Wachovia's need for new space?

[Lakelander]

Its time to rescue this thread from the dead:

Random news from today's Jax Daily Record.
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Burrito Gallery targets fall opening

by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer

Encountering minor setbacks and a temporary construction halt last month, partners behind the Burrito Gallery on East Adams Street said they still plan to open the restaurant by November.

“It’s looking good,” said developer Tony Allegretti, “but we’re having a little bit of an issue with the people from Building Code Adjustment.”
Allegretti, also a principle partner in Venture Resources, said the BCA wants him and partner Paul Shockey to “install a grease pit the size of a swimming pool behind the restaurant.”

“That doesn’t really fit in with what we’ve already planned for,” he said. “However, we’ve looked into previous situations that other restaurants have had and I think we’ll be able to solve this issue and continue to move forward. We’re confident we will.”

Once work resumes, Allegretti said the Guatemalan-themed restaurant will “add something unique, not only to downtown, but to the entire city.”
“We’re calling it Guatemamerican,” he said, “and I’m telling you, you won’t find anything else like it anywhere around here.”

Allegretti, who’s also working with partners based in Delray Beach, said the 75-seat restaurant will feature “unique ingredients combined with fresh produce.”

“I don’t want to give too much away,” he said, “but we’re going to be shopping for produce every morning. We’re really trying to focus on serving authentic Latin-American fare and that’s part of it.”

Focusing on lunch, upcoming menu items will include hand-rolled burritos, homemade soups and various salads. Patio seating will also be available.
“We’re going to be building a 3,000 square-foot deck that’s going to be awesome,” said Allegretti. “It’s going to provide a great view and add an entirely new element to downtown that we don’t really have now.”
A second floor upscale restaurant is also being developed.

“Our partners from Delray specialize in fine dining so they should be able to do great things there,” said Allegretti. “It’s going to be much more formal than the Burrito Gallery.”

Work on that project won’t begin for several months.
“Not any time soon,” said Allegretti. “We’re keeping it open so that it will be available during the Super Bowl for parties and things like that.”

Other downtown news
• Ieyasu restaurant on West Adams Street has pushed its opening back again, possibly to September. According to building management, equipment needed to operate the Japanese restaurant has not arrived.

• For nearly six months, there were four vacant lofts in the in the W.A. Knight Building. The building’s leasing agent says they are no longer available. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “They all went right in a row within days. We have another one that will become available later this month, but I have a feeling we’ll have a signed lease on it before it’s even empty.”

• Developer Mike Langton’s plan to redevelop the old, and now empty, Barnett Bank building for mixed-use remains cool for now. Langton said City incentives will be “crucial” to getting the project off the ground, though no deal has been made. Langton however, is still expected to close on the property by June.

[Lakelander]

By MARY KELLI PALKA
The Times-Union

A Jacksonville-based residential developer is considering purchasing one of the largest private developments in the city's downtown, an action that could help settle a legal dispute between the current project owner and the city.

If LandMar Group LLC decides to purchase The Shipyards, the company would take over the responsibilities of current developer TriLegacy Group LLC, according to a draft news release given to the Times-Union Monday.

Those responsibilities include completing $36.5 million of public improvements on the project -- expanding the Northbank Riverwalk, providing a public park and widening Bay Street. It also includes repaying the more than $40 million the city borrowed in tax-exempt bonds to lend TriLegacy for the public improvement portions of the project. So far, the city has given TriLegacy $36.5 million.

The draft news release leaves out a lot of details of the settlement between TriLegacy and the city, including what would happen if LandMar chooses not to purchase The Shipyards and details of how $36.5 million has been spent.

City General Counsel Rick Mullaney wouldn't provide any additional details about the proposed settlement, which he said could be finalized this week.

A dispute between the city and TriLegacy became public in April when the city questioned how TriLegacy spent $36.5 million the city put in for public improvements.

Mullaney said LandMar and its chief executive officer, Ed Burr, have been a "very positive and important part" of the city's discussions with TriLegacy the past few weeks.

"We consider them to be developers with an outstanding reputation," Mullaney said.

He said any developer who purchased The Shipyards would have to provide the city with the public improvements already agreed upon, direct at least $36.5 million to those improvements and agree to the debt repayment plan in the city's original redevelopment agreement with TriLegacy. That plan calls for taxes generated from the project to be used to repay the money. If the taxes aren't enough to cover the debt repayment, the developer is supposed to pay the difference.

The first $3.15 million payment on the bonds is due next year.

Michael Munz, a spokesman representing LandMar, declined to comment Monday night.

In the draft news release, which was reviewed by Munz's office, Burr said he was thrilled with the possibility that LandMar might take a leadership role in The Shipyards.

"We salute the shared vision of TriLegacy and the city for this site that is so integral to the future promise of downtown and its unlimited potential for greatness," Burr is quoted as saying in the news release.

The $860 million project when approved in 2001 was expected to include shops, boat slips, office space, condos and a hotel.

LandMar would have up to 120 days to more thoroughly review the project before deciding to buy. If LandMar decides to make the purchase, the company would agree to build One-Shipyard Place, the first condominium planned for the site, according to the release. The release said construction would start "as soon as possible after the signing of a definite purchase contract, and could be completed in about 18 months."

The city and TriLegacy have been working since April to settle their disagreement about the public money.

TriLegacy records show that the company combined the $36.5 million with $15.4 million in private money for the overall development and then spent all of that money on a variety of expenses, including some of the public improvement work, mortgage payments, marketing materials, meals and entertainment.

TriLegacy informed the city in December that $15.4 million had been spent on the public improvements, according to records from the city General Counsel's Office released in April. An attorney for TriLegacy said in April that company officials believed they could use the money advanced by the city any way they felt appropriate, as long as in the end, an equal amount was spent on the public improvements. City attorneys said the money should only have gone toward public improvements.

TriLegacy is a company founded in 1999 by the Spence family to purchase and develop the land on the riverfront that used to house shipyards.

Carlton and Jeff Spence wouldn't comment but in the draft news release they're quoted as saying they shared the city's goal of making The Shipyards a project that would enhance downtown.

"We chose to pass the baton to LandMar after considering many possible development partners. We feel confident LandMar has the financial resources, development expertise, environmental commitment, great love of Jacksonville, and above all a sense of stewardship needed to develop The Shipyards," the Spences are quoted as saying.

LandMar made its name creating lower-priced country club communities, developing the large projects and selling them to national home builders. With houses costing $120,000 to $350,000, the communities proved popular, particularly with Northern transplants.

Among the company's projects are Osprey Pointe on San Pablo Road, Hampton Glen on Baymeadows Road and Tall Cypress Cove and Willow Pond in Mandarin. In 2002, the company finished the LandMark Condominiums, a 44-unit luxury tower overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1999, LandMar embarked on an on-going partnership with Crescent Resources Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., a move that brought additional cash resources to the Jacksonville-based company.

LandMar's move to take over The Shipyards didn't surprise other local real estate company officials, who said LandMar was well positioned for the responsibility.

"They cannot have picked a better company," said Roger O'Steen, chairman of the PARC Group, who has been involved in local residential development for about 25 years. "They have the development expertise. Most importantly, they know how to position their product in the marketplace. They're very good at what they do."

The company possesses both the money and the expertise needed to do a large-scale project like The Shipyards, said Greg Matovina, president of the Northeast Florida Builders Association, who pointed at the high-rise condominiums LandMar has done at the beaches.

"They're very strong financially," Matovina said. "They're a very well-run company."

LandMar was founded in 1987 by Burr, a Jacksonville native who previously worked as a real estate specialist at Coopers & Lybrand in Miami and New York. Recently, the company has been involved in a range of residential, commercial and mixed-used developments throughout the Southeast.

Last week, the Jacksonville Port Authority approved a deal allowing ICS, the main company owned by the Spence family, to build a warehouse at the Talleyrand Marine Terminal, so long as the city reaches a settlement on the Shipyards project.


Times-Union writer Timothy J. Gibbons contributed to this report.


mary.palkajacksonville.com, (904) 359-4104

[Sunstorm]

There has ALWAYS been drama surrounding the shipyards property. Why can't this property get developed (with a quality development) once and for all w/o something messing it up?

[Captain Obvious]

Why can't this property get developed (with a quality development) once and for all w/o something messing it up?

Because it was an extremely high-priced piece of environmentally damaged property with poor infrastructure in a particularly undesireable district (jail, coffee plant, fop building, bay st, a phillip randolph street, etc) of a generally undesireable downtown.

Fortunately, in the last several years, many of these factors have been mitigated in one way or another. Downtown in general has become much nicer and much more popular in general. The specific area has also been cleaned up a bit with several street improvements, the new sports facilities, and berkman plaza (though obviously numerous problems still remain, and I think the former One Shipyards Place mediocre pre-sales are indicative of that). Furthermore, Trilegacies significant investments helped clear the virtual mountain of red tape, and they obviously made a lot of needed infrastructure improvements. Now, assuming another company is willing to take a look at the site (which I'm sure will still have an astronomical price tag) they are that much closer to getting things done. It might actually be to the point where the land is environmentally and structurally sound, and the new owner will just be able to build.

[Lakelander]

Up goes The Strand

Strand project goes vertical

by Kent Jennings Brockwell
Staff Writer

At a ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday for The Strand on the Southbank, Mayor John Peyton ditched the traditional chrome plated shovel for something with a bit more power.

After hopping into a diesel backhoe and receiving a quick tutorial from the machine’s operator, Peyton went to work.

Thursday’s ceremony marked the beginning of vertical construction on The Strand, a riverfront 27-story, 295-unit luxury rental apartment community.

The Strand is the first phase of the St. Johns Center development, a three-phase residential project on the Southbank.

The project’s developer, American Land Ventures’ Granvil Tracy, said the new development will bring a new look and new life to the Southbank and the rest of the city.

“This property has been vacant for many years,” said Tracy. “Over the next 30 years, this development will bring more than $100 million in taxes for the City.”
Now that construction is underway, Tracy said the new apartment complex should be completed in 22 months. Construction was pushed back because of extremely wet ground conditions thanks to the string of recent hurricanes, but Tracy said everything is ready to build now.

“We decided to put in the pool first,” he said jokingly.
Along with The Strand tower, Tracy said the first phase of construction will include redeveloping the Southbank Riverwalk. He said the developer has an agreement with the City, which includes refurbishing the Riverwalk’s surface, cleaning up the area and painting certain structures.

Construction on the development’s second phase, a 36-floor, 295-unit condominium tower called The Peninsula, should begin in January, Tracy said. The Peninsula’s construction should take about two years.

Though tenants for the rental apartments won’t be sought until six months before completion, Tina Kicklighter, director of public relations for the Robin Sheppard Group, said more than half of the Peninsula’s condominiums have already been sold. She said advance marketing of the condominiums has been “wildly successful.”

Both towers will feature retail shopping and cafes that will be accessible to the public, she said.

Once completed, constuction costs for The Strand will be about $55 million and The Peninsula will cost about $100 million. Kicklighter said the total cost for the three-phase project can not be projected because of the uncertainty of the last phase.
The third phase of the St. Johns Center is still in the conception stage, but Kicklighter said it might include an office building.

[smiley]

Now that construction is underway, Tracy said the new apartment complex should be completed in 22 months. Construction was pushed back because of extremely wet ground conditions thanks to the string of recent hurricanes, but Tracy said everything is ready to build now.

Perhaps they should have waited until Tuesday . . .

[Lakelander]

No kidding!

[renner01]

From the September 24, 2004 print edition of the The Business Journal of Jacksonville
From the print edition
Downtown condo competition heating up
Ryan Geddes
Staff Writer

DOWNTOWN -- According to The Plaza Condominium at Berkman Plaza's official Web site, "Jacksonville is a city perched on the edge of greatness."

The same could be said for the luxury residential development, whose 22-floor condo tower on Bay Street remains 50 percent sold after converting from an apartment building in September 2003.

Atlanta-based real estate investors Alan McRae and Will Stolz bought the tower for $46 million nearly a year ago through their McRae & Stolz Jacksonville LLC company. The Harbor Cos., also based in Atlanta, sold the property but retained ownership of an attached marina, a parcel of adjacent land and the development's riverfront townhouses, only 40 percent of which are sold after nearly two years on the market.

Harbor, McRae & Stolz, and now Atlanta-based Coldwell Banker The Condo Store, which markets the property, have long touted the tower as the premier address in Downtown Jacksonville. But the Northbank building that pioneered high-end urban living now faces competition from the up-and-coming Southbank, where a growing number of condo developers are building and proposing similar projects at a rapid pace.

San Marco Place is nearing construction, The Strand is under way and condos in its accompanying tower The Peninsula are being sold, and two more grandiose projects -- a twin-tower concept near the Aetna building, and a multi-tower, mixed-use development near the Radisson Riverwalk -- have been proposed.

"This is the hardest phase of a project -- you have 50 percent sold, but now you have new competition across the river," said Ray Rodriguez, president of the Real Estate Strategy Center of North Florida Inc. "The fact is that every person buying at the Strand is one more person not buying at Berkman. You have to ask, if these are exclusive areas, why are they not sold out?"

While Southbank condo projects wind their way through the Downtown Development Authority, the planning department and the City Council, Northbank riverfront improvement and development projects like The Jacksonville Landing retail center and the Shipyards mega-site appear stalled, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty for a burgeoning urban core.

Southbank developers market their projects as being in "San Marco," hinting at forthcoming Publix grocery stores and restaurants. But Berkman Plaza will have a definite advantage when the marketing machine that is Super Bowl XXXIX comes to town: it is already built.

"The Berkman is in a good position to provide immediate occupancy to out-of-town buyers who don't want to be put on a list," Rodriguez said. "If I were the developer, I would be waiting for a 'Hail Mary' pass."

Carol Crowley and her husband recently moved to Ponte Vedra Beach from Indiana and bought a unit in the Plaza Condominium tower, where units are priced from $200,000 to $700,000.

"We were looking into the Shipyards when we learned the Plaza was going to be converted into condos," Crowley said. "We learned the Plaza would be available [immediately], whereas the Shipyards build-out would be a year or more."

Crowley uses her unit as a second home, venturing into the city "several times a week" for sporting events, arts and entertainment and dining out.

Rodriguez said most luxury condominium buyers and brokers are already familiar with the property and that Berkman's future buyers will likely come from out of the area.

The Super Bowl, and the high-rolling corporate executives it could bring, might raise the property's profile and appeal to relocation buyers comfortable with urban living.

Brad Horner, vice president and director of sales for Coldwell Banker The Condo Store, said the Southbank projects have helped Downtown's, and thus Berkman's, sales momentum. And although the Super Bowl will be a marketing opportunity, Horner said all of The Plaza Condominium's advertising has been concentrated in Jacksonville, not in other markets.

Terry Lorince, executive director of Downtown Vision Inc., said Berkman Plaza needs more time to sell units and that buyers will continue to move Downtown as a more varied selection of housing comes to the Northbank.

"The product on the Northbank is going to be a bit of a mixture, including some of the funkier, older buildings and the new buildings on the river," she said. "But it will be more of an urban experience than the Southbank."

Downtown Vision recently surveyed Downtown's nearly 1,200 residents to gauge their opinion of the neighborhood. The response level from Berkman residents, Lorince said, was "small."

According to deeds filed with the city as of Aug. 31, McRae & Stolz has sold 102 of 206 units in the Plaza Condominium tower, and Harbor Cos. has sold eight of the 20 nearby townhouses.

But only 71 of the 110 townhomes and tower units sold, or 65 percent, are used as primary residences, according to the most recent deed and tax records available. The rest are weekend homes or investment properties.

Of the 102 Plaza Condominium tower deeds that have been recorded, only 69 of those units have homestead exemptions, according to the Real Estate Strategy Center. But Horner said 68 percent, or 140 units, have sold and 85 percent, or 119, of those owners use their units as primary residences.

"There's definitely been a lot of [sales] activity in the past few weeks," Horner said. "The project is definitely on track to sell out in two years if not before."

Horner said The Plaza Condominium would be sold out before Southbank projects like The Peninsula and San Marco Place are even completed.

Wade Hampton, a broker with Manormor Real Estate Inc., said he sold a Plaza Condominium tower unit in 2003 but most of his recent customers have been looking in Riverside and Avondale.

"One of the things that is occurring is that people are looking for condos with views of Downtown -- they are fascinated with that for some reason," Hampton said.

For skyline seekers, Riverside condo projects like Flagship Communities LLC's Villa Riva provide the view with a semi-suburban feel, a quality the Southbank developers hope to mimic.

Horner said he does not consider Flagship's project to be competition for The Plaza Condominium.

"Villa Riva is a different project," Horner said. "It has a different market altogether."

Out-of-towners like the Crowleys are a marketing force of their own, spreading the word to friends and business acquaintances.

Carol Crowley said her friends in Elkhart, Ind., liked her 12th-floor condo unit so much, they recently bought one, too, making it their third home.
http://www.bizjournals.com/industrie...1.html?f=et180

[renner01]

Last modified Sat., September 25, 2004 - 12:13 AM
Originally created Saturday, September 25, 2004

High-rise backers form own group

35-foot limit has drawbacks, they say

By Caren Burmeister
Shorelines staff writer

As a community group tries to stop high-rise condominiums from sprouting up along the beach, several Jacksonville Beach developers and real estate investors have formed a corporation to espouse the benefits of the oceanfront condos.

Thad Moseley and Chris Hionides formed Beaches Vision, a limited liability corporation, Sept. 7. Moseley said the group plans to educate residents about the city's building height rules that permit tall oceanfront condos, what those codes mean to the community and what they can accomplish.

Beaches Vision developed two months before the Nov. 2 election, when Jacksonville Beach voters will face a ballot with two competing and controversial building height amendments. One is a citizens initiative that would cap building height at 35 feet citywide; the other is a city-sponsored measure that would permit high-rises along the oceanfront but limit buildings west of Third Street to 35 feet.

If approved, they would become part of the city charter, meaning they couldn't be changed without a vote of the people.

While Moseley wouldn't confirm it, some residents are speculating that Beaches Vision or its members sponsored a telephone poll that is under way. According to several people who have been surveyed, many of the questions refer to the building height amendments and were asked in a way that highlights the high-rise condos' benefits.

The survey was conducted by American Public Dialogue, a Jacksonville firm that used to be chaired by Bruce Barcelo, a political consultant who specializes in polling and shaping public opinion on constitutional amendments.

Moseley refused to say whether Beaches Vision sponsored the poll.

Moseley said he couldn't identify how many members Beaches Vision has, but he said the group has received contributions from a wide number of people and interests.

"It's very much a work in progress," he said.

Beaches Vision will work to educate voters about the ways the city's present building height codes can benefit the community, Moseley said. That includes the property taxes the new condos are generating or will contribute in the future and the expanse of green space between the condos, which is required under a city formula that lets the developer exchange side yard space for extra building height.

For example, four oceanfront condos built since 2002 will generate about $1.6 million in annual property taxes, according to the 2004 tax roll published by the Duval County Property Appraiser's Office. Those condos are the Landmark, Eastwinds, Oceania and Oceanic condominiums.

A condo owner who has paid $1.2 million for a unit, which isn't uncommon for many of the luxury suites, can expect to pay about $24,000 in property taxes.

Beaches Vision "will do its very best to get that message across," Moseley said.

The group takes the opposite position from Beaches Watch Group, an organization of community activists who led a petition drive for the 35-foot building height amendment. The watch group formed a political action committee in the spring so it could raise money to promote its mission described as protecting the area's quality of life and environment.

The watch group's petition drive was a reaction to the rapid trend of oceanfront high-rises. There are 25 condo plans in the pipeline on or near the oceanfront. Four are under construction, the others are under development plan review or have recently been permitted.

Moseley and Hionides and other oceanfront property owners and developers recently filed a lawsuit asking the Duval County Supervisor of Elections to declare the 35-foot building height amendment illegal and remove it from the Nov. 2 ballot.

Their suit says the amendment violates the City Council's legislative authority, would alter the use of their land as it's currently zoned and cause "irreparable damage" to their property investments.

A court hearing took place on the motion for injunction Friday, after today'sShorelines deadline.

Moseley and Hionides were also on the 19-member citizens height study committee, which the City Council appointed to review building height limits and other growth controls and make a recommendation by Aug. 5.

Subsequently, the council approved its own amendment that would place the city's present building height rules on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Moseley emphasized that the council has revised the building height rules four times since 1999 to control the number of tall buildings in the city and create open space between high-rise oceanfront structures.

Last year, the council adopted a 35-foot height limit for almost all areas west of Third Street. In June, the council applied that 35-foot height limit to planned unit developments and the city's two redevelopment districts.

Jim Overby, a member of the Beaches Watch Group who participated in the recent telephone poll, is curious about who is sponsoring it. He said the questions were asked in a way that "was meant more to sway opinion than to measure public sentiment."

He and Darrell Shields, another Beaches Watch Group member who was surveyed, said the pollster asked them if certain information might change the way they voted on the amendments.

For example, the pollster asked questions such as: If you knew the condos would provide the city with thousands of dollars in property taxes, would that change the way you vote? If you knew developers had to create a lot of open space around the buildings in order to construct the high-rises, would that change the way you vote? If you knew the 35-foot building height amendment violated the property owners' rights, would that change the way you vote?

The pollster also asked how they felt about the Beaches Watch Group, its chairwoman, Sandy Golding, and which candidate they will choose as the next mayor.

Mayoral candidate Fland Sharp said he, too, was surveyed, as was his mother and a neighbor. Sharp said he did not commission the survey.

One of his political opponents, Bland Cologne, did commission a telephone poll in June to define the issues that mattered to residents. Based on a series of questions about development and oceanfront condos in Jacksonville Beach, Cologne determined that about 80 percent of those surveyed support the 35-foot building height referendum. He paid Wilson Research Strategies, an Oklahoma-based marketing research company with a Jacksonville office, about $6,500 for the poll.
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/st...16726005.shtml

[Lakelander]

Interesting, I never would have expected a group to step up and support high-rise construction on the beaches. I also agree that a 35ft height restriction isn't needed. If anything, they should work to enhance the architectural guidlines of Jax Beach's projects. Personally, I'd rather see a nice 12 story condo tower, with street retail, than a 35ft wall along First St., since all the units would face the Ocean anyway.

[renner01]

Interesting article

IN DEPTH: STRUCTURES
From the October 22, 2004 print edition
As projects queue, builders debate architecture's effects
Clennon L. King
Correspondent

SOUTHBANK -- Over the next five years high-rise construction cranes will dominate the city's Southbank area as developers break ground on four large-scale projects that are expected to fundamentally change the architectural look Downtown.

Whether the change will be for better or worse depends on whom you ask.

Riverpointe, the proposed 48-story, twin-tower multi-use development, is perhaps the boldest proposal. It features a glass and steel design topped by a spire that is eliciting divided opinion among some area architects.

"It's oversized," said Erik Kasper, president of Kasper Architecture and Development in Jacksonville. "It appears to be out of context with its surroundings." The project is expected to be built next to the existing Aetna building and become the city's tallest building.

Kasper's not alone in his criticism of the development, while other architects expressed support for its design. In any case, architects and developers agreed that four major projects breaking ground in five years could change the nature of the riverfront skyline Downtown.

Some architects did not mince words when commenting on the Riverpointe design. "It's a little assaulting, what it's doing to the fabric and scale of the neighborhood," said Larry Wilson, a partner in the Jacksonville architecture firm Rink Reynolds Diamond Fisher Wilson P.A. "I can't figure out how they're going to squeeze it in there. It's going to be pretty tight."

Boynton Beach-based Krook Douglas Development LLC is proposing the project, which includes 550 residential units ranging from $150,000 to $170,000, a 10-story parking garage, townhouses, a restaurant and commercial space.

Officials with KBJ Architects of Jacksonville, which designed the project, said the design is inspired by styles of the 1950s. It is meant to complement the nearby Aetna building, which KBJ designed in 1954.

The Downtown Development Authority's Design Review Committee gave preliminary approval to the design in March.

The three other developments on the Southbank also figure to help reshape, if not redefine, the Downtown landscape, developers and architects said.

The design of the Peninsula & Strand at St. Johns, located next to the existing Riverplace Tower, calls for a 36-story condo tower, another apartment tower, a seven-story office building, parking decks, retail space and townhouses on the St. Johns River. Miami-based American Land Housing Group is proposing the development.

Adjacent to the Peninsula, Miami-based Riverwalk Hotels LLC is proposing the Riverwalk/Radisson Project, a 17-acre, $500 million development comprising six buildings, including three 35-story towers. It will also feature a public park, marina and grocery and encompass the existing Radisson Riverwalk Hotel and the former Crawdaddy's restaurant.

The fourth Southbank project is San Marco Place, a $46 million, 141-unit condo project headed by developers Jay Southerland and Michael Balanky. The units will range in price from $190,000 to $500,000.

From plain-Jane to cutting edge?

Architects said Jacksonville's existing skyline has long steered clear of cutting-edge architecture, preferring instead fairly traditional mainstream design. And with the exception of Riverpointe, this latest generation of Southbank projects is no exception.

"There's some truth to people building for functionality here," said Al Battle, managing director of the Downtown Development Authority. He doubted the city would ever compete architecturally with New York, Los Angeles or Chicago.

"The question is, do developers build into the existing context" or should they take a chance? Battle said.

Retired Jacksonville architect Taylor Hardwick said the decision is not easy.

The designer of Jacksonville's soon-to-be-replaced Downtown library, Friendship Park and 11 area public schools said developers are hard pressed to take chances when so much money is on the line.

"They don't want to scare people away," Hardwick said.

But even functionality does not guarantee longevity in the world of Jacksonville's architecture.

That's one reason Hardwick is lobbying Mayor John Peyton and the Jacksonville City Council to salvage the old Downtown library, which will be replaced by the new Main Library that was designed by New York architect Robert Stern and is being built on Hemming Plaza.

"There are economic forces that you can't do anything about," said Hardwick, expressing disappointment at the impending threat of demolition. "It's part of the American tradition."

The Peyton administration said it doesn't take lightly the leadership role government has in fostering architecture that is timeless and distinguished.

"I think government can have a real influential role in impacting how this community looks and feels by investing in good architecture," Peyton said.

The mayor pointed to several public projects to illustrate how aesthetically pleasing architecture can be functional. His examples included such recent

projects as the Baseball Grounds, the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena and the latest version of the county courthouse.

"Our courthouse, while it will have fewer frills, will be attractive, handsome, durable and safe," Peyton said.

There is no question about the utility and functionality of all four Southbank projects. Driving each is a consumer market keen on spending less time behind the wheel and more time living closer to their workplace.

Despite widely held criticism that Jacksonville developers have not been prepared to spend what it takes to produce great city architecture, several architects said the Southbank projects are taking the city to "the next level."

"I perceive it as good news," said Mick Stuebben, president of the Jacksonville chapter of the American Institute of Architects. "It's adding elements of a residential component. I don't think it will redefine the skyline. I think it will reshape it."

Despite skepticism about Riverpointe, Wilson characterized the design as "unique" and "futuristic."

"I enjoy anything that pushes the envelope," he said. "The fact that it presents something that hasn't been presented before is exciting to me."

Jacksonville architect Jose Perez predicted the twin towers would be the beginning of a trend.

"In the next 10 to 15 years, you're going to see more avant-garde structures in Jacksonville," Perez said.

One school of thought is that "cutting-edge" high-rise architecture can give a city an ambience that attracts companies.

Many of Jacksonville's boosters have long hoped that a Fortune 500 company would relocate and perhaps add a new tower to the city's skyline.

Last year, Fidelity National Financial Inc. relocated its headquarters from Santa Barbara, Calif., to Riverside Avenue in Jacksonville.

Although CEO Bill Foley has announced plans to build a 10-story office building and a $12 million high-rise condo, hotel and restaurant development on an adjacent 5.9-acre tract of land, there's still no word whether the design will be "cutting edge."

Hardwick is not convinced that cutting-edge architecture will act as a magnet for high-powered companies. He believes the engine driving the proposed Southbank development is not the design of a building, as much as the fact that housing is being built.

"It's the activity that defines the architecture of a city and not the other way around," he said.

jacksonville@bizjournals.com | 396-3502
http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/...s1.html?page=2

[Sunstorm]

Good article. I like the design of Riverpointe if for no other reason than it's not as boring in design as many of Jax's other highrises are. And with it being a potential tallest, it will make an even bigger impact. Hope at least one of those twins gets built.

[Lakelander]

Courthouse: Fired designer pleads case



By MATT GALNOR and MARY KELLI PALKA
The Times-Union


The architectural firm Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton fired last week is offering to finish designs on the new Duval County Courthouse, saying the project still can be done for the $267.9 million Peyton wanted.

Cannon Design officials say their cost estimators believe the project can be brought in on budget and estimates filed with the city by the construction manager are wrongly inflated.

Peyton isn't interested.

The mayor, who inherited the courthouse project when he took office in July 2003, said last week he had lost confidence in Cannon, and his staff said Thursday he wasn't interested in Cannon's offer.

The city still will start from scratch on a new courthouse, spokeswoman Susie Wiles said.

Last week, Peyton fired both Cannon and Skanska Dynamic Partners, the construction firm on the courthouse, after months of grappling with an overbudget project. Skanska delivered its guaranteed maximum price last week -- more than $26 million over budget -- and both companies were fired the same day.

But Cannon says its own cost estimators say it can be done cheaper.

"We believe in our work and we believe we should put our money where our mouth is," said Gary Miller, Cannon's chief executive officer.

"Where were all these promises before we got to this point?" City Council President Elaine Brown asked.

Skanska said last week, and reaffirmed Thursday, that it did everything possible to bring the project in at budget.

The courthouse budget was $190 million when voters approved the Better Jacksonville Plan with a half-cent sales tax increase in 2000. Former Mayor John Delaney used contingency dollars to bump the budget to $211 million, and last year Peyton and the council increased the budget to $232 million.

In September, Peyton said the budget would need to be increased to $267.9 million for a building that would meet the city's future needs, but he pulled the plug last week when newer estimates crept toward $300 million.


matt.galnorjacksonville.com, (904) 359-4550

mary.palkajacksonville.com, (904) 359-4104

This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stor..._17111709.shtml.

[Lakelander]

Updated Jacksonville P&C list (11/05/04)

[edited by Admin]

The thread has been updated, thus this list has been removed since it is now redundant. See the thread's first post for the current Jax development list.

[renner01]

great synopsis

[MIAballinboi]

pretty good those bridges are nice!

[Jasonhouse]

There is a surprising quantity of stuff going on in Jax.

Are all of these active projects, or are some more of the "iffy" kind?

[vdogg]

Wow! I didn't know Jacksonville had so many tall buildings. And the proposed ones look real nice too. This area is very overlooked. It seems to be much more of a major city than everyone is led to believe.