New 52 Story 620 Foot Tall Mixed Use Tower Planned for Downtown Tampa

[heights unknown]

No, I am not trying to make anyone jealous; just letting everyone know what other large Florida cities are planning, "tower wise," outside of Miami; let's face it, Jax, Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and/or St. Petersburg can ever compete or come close to Miami's skyline. Miami is just totally off the chain, up and running, and will never get caught; so, that leaves the other large Florida cities to compete within themselves.

Well, the market, and the demand, I think is just not there for anymore tall towers in downtown Jacksonville. 2005 to around 2008 was our window; we had a handful of "talls" on the planning drawing board, and because of the economy down turning, we just couldn't get moving relative to tall towers; the economy has returned robust; and it seems that all of the large Florida cities, except Jacksonville, are on the move with building tall office and/or residential towers; and yes, tall buildings do not make a city; but they sure do send a strong signal relative to the economic and financial health, organization, and political prowess and strength of that city.

By the way, it seems that Tampa is making sure that the height of this new tower is 620 feet tall, 3 feet taller than our BOA building; Tampa has did that a couple of times when building their new tall office towers, ensuring that they eclipse Jacksonville's tallest by a few feet or more.

http://www.fox13news.com/news/7699738-story

Heights Unknown (Garry)

[spuwho]

The economics for office or mixed use towers have changed quite a bit since 2006. Its really for companies who find the economies of closeness to outweigh the cost per sq foot the towers bring.

Also many of the newer buildings are more tech aware and have post  9/11 design features.

[CCMjax]

Tall doesn't equal better.  See Savannah, Charleston, Portland Maine, DC, San Antonio, even Boston to a certain degree . . . and pretty much every city in Europe, etc.  All of which I think have central districts that are more attractive and better functioning centers as far as quality of life than Miami, except San Antonio (but its downtown is still very cool without tall skyscrapers).  I think the most attractive parts of Miami are Miami Beach and the areas south of downtown, which are densely populated but medium rise at most.  I've said this before but I think Jacksonville would be better off for the time being focusing on medium rise infill in and around downtown and preserving/upgrading the medium to high rise buildings already built.

[thelakelander]

Jax doesn't need to worry about tall. The market can barely support the construction of 5-story buildings, much less +600 footers.

[gedo3]

On the other hand, if heights are your thing, Chicago's Aqua Tower has a very nice apartment on the 80th floor--for just a little over $5 million.  One wonders (from several experiences!) how many people who live/work in the higher high rises are prepared to trek up and down all those stairs when the elevators don't work (and, yes, it does happen!).

[CCMjax]

Property values are too low in DT Jax and too many open vacant lots around it for new high rise to make any sense at all.  High rise only comes when space is limited and existing is all filled up or nearly filled up.

[I-10east]

Keep in mind that this is just a proposal, and far from set in stone. TBH I'm very skeptical on any proposal until it's approved and construction is on its way.