A Closer Look At 220 Riverside

[duvaldude08]

THANK YOU GOD! And with Khan committing to help finance the Laura Street Trio, looks like ole duval county will rise from the ashes for the recession after all.

[mtraininjax]

And with Khan committing to help finance the Laura Street Trio, looks like ole duval county will rise from the ashes for the recession after all.

Whoa Nellie, we're not out of the woods yet. People still cannot sell their homes to move to jobs and until the equity level improves with homes, we will not see the clearing from deep in the woods.

Nice drawings, I think I saw something like that with the Shipyards, so we'll see when they put a shovel in the ground.

[duvaldude08]

And with Khan committing to help finance the Laura Street Trio, looks like ole duval county will rise from the ashes for the recession after all.

Whoa Nellie, we're not out of the woods yet. People still cannot sell their homes to move to jobs and until the equity level improves with homes, we will not see the clearing from deep in the woods.

Nice drawings, I think I saw something like that with the Shipyards, so we'll see when they put a shovel in the ground.

Im speaking of projects finally moving that the recession slowed down. Thats it. I wasnt talking about anythingelse.

[JaxNative68]

not to be a wet blanket, but i have a couple of complains.
1) the buildings do not take advantage of the zero lot line set back along Riverside Avenue - which in my opinion loses some Urban appeal.
2) the 'service drive' with diagonal parking off riverside avenue kills the urban street scape along Riverside Ave.  This parking could have been incorporated into the site allowing the buildings to be pushed up against the sidewalk, giving it a true urban feel.

To end on a positive note:  I do like the overall architecture.  It's crisp and has a progressive feel, something that will be a nice addition to Jacksonville.

[Jason]

I think the setback along Riverside Ave was to allow for future Skyway expansion.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Looks really nice. I just hope it looks like the rendering when complete. This area has been screaming for something like this. Its so un-Jacksonville like though,,lol how's that I-10 east,,J/k btw. I really like this and hope it follows through.

[Anti redneck]

Was this the same plan that drew controversy from DDRB?

[acme54321]

Was this the same plan that drew controversy from DDRB?

No that is caddy corner to the north of this property.

[Ocklawaha]

I don't know if I like it, I mean, hell, I'm waiting for them to revive The St. John condo project. We 'need' a 50+ floor brilliantly lit structure. 

Hines Announces Contractor Selection for the St. John

8/30/2006

JACKSONVILLE, Florida â€" Hines has tapped an elite team of construction, architecture, design and engineering firms to design and build The St. John, a 51-story luxury condominium tower that will be the new icon on Jacksonville’s skyline.

W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Company of Philadelphia, Mississippi, has been chosen as the general contractor to build the 640,000-square-foot luxury tower on the south bank of Downtown’s riverfront. W.G. Yates, which has an extensive portfolio of completed high-rise, residential, resort and hotel construction projects â€" including the Pelican Beach and Portofino Condominiums on Florida’s Gulf Coast â€" expects to begin building The St. John in December and complete the building in approximately two-and-a-half years.

“This announcement follows a long, scrupulous review of national firms who are all top performers in their field,” said Michael Harrison, senior vice president of Hines. “Our evaluation culminated with the selection of an incredible team of industry professionals â€" one that undoubtedly has the experience and prestige to create a high-rise masterpiece in one of Florida’s most dynamic cities.”

Plans for The St. John include 300 luxury condominium homes in a tower located adjacent to The Aetna Building on Jacksonville’s Southbank. The St. John will rise nearly 582 feet and its west façade will be within 15 feet from the edge of the St. Johns River. Ground breaking is expected later this year with occupancy slated for 2009. Preliminary pricing of units is estimated at a range of $325,000 to more than $2 million.

The tower has been designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica â€" a firm that has earned international acclaim for its creative use of building forms that transform skylines.

The firm is planning many high-end, cutting-edge architectural details for The St. John including floor-to-ceiling, tinted glass exterior walls and clear glass balcony railings that will emphasize the views of the winding river.

"At The St. John, residents will have an infinite backyard â€" sweeping views of the beautiful St. Johns River,” said Bernardo Fort-Brescia FAIA, principal of Arquitectonica

“This building will certainly take advantage of the river views, which surround the building in every direction.”

[jcjohnpaint]

yeah I loved the look of the St. Johns Tower.  I do hope that goes in at some point. 

[Anti redneck]

yeah I loved the look of the St. Johns Tower.  I do hope that goes in at some point.

I say send all these dead projects their way. I'm sure there's a way to get them going again.

[JaxNative68]

The St John tower is a nice design, but the site is all wrong.  I was shoehorned in between the bridge and the Aetna building.  Plus I can't imagine the bottle neck of traffic with the hospital, the residential tower and the train tracks during high volume times.

[duvaldude08]

The St John tower is a nice design, but the site is all wrong.  I was shoehorned in between the bridge and the Aetna building.  Plus I can't imagine the bottle neck of traffic with the hospital, the residential tower and the train tracks during high volume times.

Yeah that location puzzled me. I work over at Prudential and I went looked at the site once on my break and wondered how the heck they were going to build that thing.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

The St John tower is a nice design, but the site is all wrong.  I was shoehorned in between the bridge and the Aetna building.  Plus I can't imagine the bottle neck of traffic with the hospital, the residential tower and the train tracks during high volume times.

Agreed 100%.  I had almost forgotten about this project and I'm in and out of that area all the time.  What was the driving force in selecting 'that' location?

Vu was also supposed to go up near the Peninsula, but I know ALV had backed out of that project even before The Strand was completed.  I don't remember if they even had the property, or if that was still in development also.

[thelakelander]

If you haven't read a copy of the Jax Biz Journal this week, I'd recommend trying to pick up a copy.  They have a couple of articles about the Brooklyn apartment developments, the Laura Trio, and an editorial blasting DDRB member Chris Flagg for saying the Riverside Park project was too suburban.  In the article "Can Brooklyn support nearly 600 new apartments?"  they have a quote from Ray Rodriguez that will surely irritate urban core advocates.  Rodriguez, president of the Real Estate Strategy Center of North Florida doesn't believe there's a real demand for either 220 Riverside or Riverside Park.  However, he makes the claim that two similar projects underway on the Southside are more viable.

Rodriguez said he doesn't favor any big developments in Northeast Florida, but that ones near the town center may be a little more viable (one project is actually a few miles away at I-295/9A and Baymeadows). 

A lot of people travel there (SJTC) for entertainment, for working and what have you.  The momentum is there," Rodriguez said.  "Statistically, if you have 1,000 fishes going by the entrance and you put out a net, yeah, you're going to catch some.  How many people travel to Riverside?"