A Look Inside 220 Riverside

[Steve]

Good news for 200 Riverside? In the T-U today:

NAI Hallmark Partners paid $2.1 million for two parcels totaling 1.7 acres next to its 220 Riverside development.

I thought they already owned the 200 Riverside parcel.  They have been using it for staging for years.

Maybe they just had a land lease on these?

[Captain Zissou]

I heard from one of the NAI Hallmark partners yesterday that 220 is fully leased in both the residential and commercial components.  That's great news for their phase 2 but also for East San Marco, which should have an easier time with the banks going forward.

[BoldCityRealist]

I heard from one of the NAI Hallmark partners yesterday that 220 is fully leased in both the residential and commercial components.  That's great news for their phase 2 but also for East San Marco, which should have an easier time with the banks going forward.

Yes! Definitely good news for East San Marco. I sincerely hope that *finally* gets off the ground this year. Between that and the new Daily's, San Marco will be set. Although I do wish they'd extend the Skyway from the King Street Station down to the San Marco center.

[acme54321]

Good news for the whole core.  I wonder how Brooklyn Riverside is doing?

Although I do wish they'd extend the Skyway from the King Street Station down to the San Marco center.

I think the closest you'd get is somewhere along the north side of Atlantic between the tracks and the Wells Fargo.

[CCMjax]

I think I speak for many others other than myself when I say "We told you so!"  Many of us knew this project would lease out pretty quickly and do well and it is simple . . . there are no other options like it in the core.  Jacksonville has a lot of young professionals but a severe lack of modern/updated apartments, or any apartments at all for that matter, in or near the core.  Riverside is the closest thing to an exception but still not many options for a core neighborhood.  Just go to Zillow and do an apartment search of Jacksonville's core vs Charlotte's core.  The vast majority of rentals in Charlotte cluster around downtown in the core.  The same search in Jax shows the dots scattered throughout the city with a very low number in the core.  San Marco practically has zero and it is a vibrant neighborhood one mile from downtown with a simple commute to both downtown and Southside!  Yet there are vacant lots like East San Marco with still no action even now that the economy has picked back up.  I don't get it.  The last developer trying to get East San Marco off paper didn't get the financing approved.  I'm surprised some big shot developer from Atlanta or Miami hasn't stepped in and taken that over.  There are loads of young professionals stuck over by the Town Center because there are no other options.  Yes I realize a lot of people like the Town Center and those types of communities but there are many many others who are screaming from their suburban style apartment complexes for more options in a cooler neighborhood.

[CG7]

I toured Brooklyn this weekend with my sister who is looking to move from the suburbs, and the agent at Brooklyn said they were over 75% leased.

[dp8541]

I think I speak for many others other than myself when I say "We told you so!"  Many of us knew this project would lease out pretty quickly and do well and it is simple . . . there are no other options like it in the core.  Jacksonville has a lot of young professionals but a severe lack of modern/updated apartments, or any apartments at all for that matter, in or near the core.  Riverside is the closest thing to an exception but still not many options for a core neighborhood.  Just go to Zillow and do an apartment search of Jacksonville's core vs Charlotte's core.  The vast majority of rentals in Charlotte cluster around downtown in the core.  The same search in Jax shows the dots scattered throughout the city with a very low number in the core.  San Marco practically has zero and it is a vibrant neighborhood one mile from downtown with a simple commute to both downtown and Southside!  Yet there are vacant lots like East San Marco with still no action even now that the economy has picked back up.  I don't get it.  The last developer trying to get East San Marco off paper didn't get the financing approved.  I'm surprised some big shot developer from Atlanta or Miami hasn't stepped in and taken that over.  There are loads of young professionals stuck over by the Town Center because there are no other options.  Yes I realize a lot of people like the Town Center and those types of communities but there are many many others who are screaming from their suburban style apartment complexes for more options in a cooler neighborhood.

This - my first two years in Jax I lived in an apartment by the town center because I was not familiar with the area, and it is much easier to rent from an apartment/condo development such as the ones by Town center, and now 220 Riverside and Brooklyn, than it is to find a vacant room in a quadplex in riverside or san marco.   

[Downtown Objective]

I toured Brooklyn this weekend with my sister who is looking to move from the suburbs, and the agent at Brooklyn said they were over 75% leased.

I'm in 220 Riverside; They're over 95% leased.  I think The Brooklyn has struggled a little bit because the views at 220 are much better, but I actually like the floor plans of Brooklyn a little better.  Both are great options. 

[ProjectMaximus]

I'm in 220 Riverside; They're over 95% leased.  I think The Brooklyn has struggled a little bit because the views at 220 are much better, but I actually like the floor plans of Brooklyn a little better.  Both are great options. 

Awesome. How do you like the amenities? And if you don't mind me asking, where did you move from? What part of town and what type of housing?

[mtraininjax]

The 220 are cheaper than the Unity Plaza ones and I have friends moving from the Strand to 220 Riverside for just that reason.

[Steve]

The 220 are cheaper than the Unity Plaza ones and I have friends moving from the Strand to 220 Riverside for just that reason.

220 is the Unity Plaza ones. Do you mean people moving from the strand to the Brooklyn?

[simms3]

Great news!  Can anyone remind me the official open date and when people first started moving in?

I think this will certainly help other projects.

But I do want to offer up, from personal experience, that it doesn't seem like the lease-up of this project (or the Brooklyn, if what I heard above is correct) were as fast or "pent up" as I would have hoped, based on what I have seen happen in other cities such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, and certainly San Francisco where 5 projects of 220 Riverside's size could open up in 1 month, all fully pre-leased at rents between $5-8psf.

The rents I have seen in the building are lower than what I would have expected, and a full 30+% lower than countless similar buildings going up in Charlotte or Nashville (I believe Birmingham's newer buildings also post stronger rents).

I'm confident that this is all good for Jax, but remember that lenders and developers also have projects going in other cities.  They are able to weigh development risk with construction/land costs against achievable rents and lease-up time in multiple cities.  I just hope that Jax scores well (given hopefully 0 development risk and the fact that land and construction costs are incredibly cheap when all of those have skyrocketed elsewhere).

[Captain Zissou]

^Simms, I believe units started to come online this summer, but not all units were completed at that time.  I might be able to determine the average time from when units became available to when they were leased. 

[thelakelander]

With both of those projects, a small number of units came online as others were still under construction. In any event, it appears the response to their introduction was enough to convince Broadstone's developers to attempt to move forward with their Southbank project.

[brainstormer]

Perhaps the popularity of the area will result in 200 Riverside (Phase 2) adding to our skyline. I would love to see them build something similar to the height of the Everbank or Florida Blue buildings. Hopefully the former YMCA property is purchased by a developer and becomes a residential additional to the neighborhood.