Sale of Downtown office property a good sign for Jacksonville's urban core

[thelakelander]

The mostly vacant Life of the South Building at Laura and Bay has been sold to former NFL player Eugene Profit.



The DC area based investor plans to fill it with new businesses and hold it long term.

The $3 million sale of the Life of the South Building in Downtown Jacksonville could be a beacon of hope for other properties in the urban core.

"I think an investor from out of town buying a primarily vacant building indicates that they're hopeful that Downtown Jacksonville is going to see a better future," said Oliver Barakat, a senior vice president with CBRE Group Inc. in Jacksonville.

full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2014/01/03/sale-of-downtown-office-property-a.html

[vicupstate]

Good to see it changing hands, hopefully it will start to lease up. It sold for $41 a SF and the garage is going up next door, so the new owners should have room to make some improvements. 

[urbaknight]

The fact that the buyer is not from here gives me hope that he might actually bring some vision and practical ideas that our local elite clearly lacks.

We need more people from out of town (especially if they're from up north) to come down here and rescue our urban core by buying up our empty buildings and rehabbing them.

Look at that guy that bought that building on East Bay st, for example. If he hadn't left Jax to play for the NYJ, I don't think he'd have a clue. But that time up there gave him a chance to see how it should be done.

[urbaknight]

^ And no offence to the smart people in Jacksonville. And I'm sure you smart people understand exactly what I'm trying to say.

[ProjectMaximus]

Look at that guy that bought that building on East Bay st, for example. If he hadn't left Jax to play for the NYJ, I don't think he'd have a clue. But that time up there gave him a chance to see how it should be done.

That time playing at the Meadowlands in New Jersey?! okaaay. Not to scoff at the notion of Jax benefiting from out-of-town vision and ideas, but I don't think urban planning is a large part of the NFL schedule/routine. Laveranues Coles is probably not even driving the design aspects of his concept...he's probably getting locals to do it.

[icarus]

...he's probably getting locals to do it.

John Allmand is doing the design work. www.jaaarchitecture.com

While anyone investing in downtown Jacksonville is a positive, the purchase of a building by an outsider is not a magic bullet.  Usually, it is someone with 'patient' capital ... i.e. the cash flow to buy a cheap asset and hold it until it starts performing.

Just because a building changes hands doesn't mean it will lease up either.  This is especially true considering the same four major real estate firms represent the majority of vacant commercial space in Jacksonville.

[Tacachale]

Movement on several downtown buildings is definitely a good sign about the market conditions compared to the last couple of years. I don't think anyone is claiming it's more.