San Marco Publix Site Plan and Renderings

[thelakelander]

I'd put money on this one getting out of the ground before the District, Shipyards, the Hart Bridge coming down or COJ issuing a RFP for the Landing's redevelopment after demolition....

[Captain Zissou]

Cue ignorant comments from Musicman in 3....2....1....

[Kerry]

I'm really surprised you aren't a huge LVT supporter.  Oh well.

Talking points by Ocasio Cortez

LVT is politically neutral.  It is however an Urbanist tax structure.  Suburbanites don't particularly like it because many have very large yards compared to the size of the home on it.

[MusicMan]

Sorry Captain, late to the game this morning.

""Knock on wood, hopefully we'll have some positive news to report within the year," Stein said."

I think that sums it up perfectly.

[Bativac]

A good friend of mine is a civil engineer who grew up around the corner from this. (He lives out of state now.) In his mind it's a given that the current property owners are not going to build anything on it. His exact words were "when a developer wants to build something, they build it. They don't sit on a vacant piece of property for over a decade that isn't making them any money unless they think they can make more money selling it later on than they'll make building something on it." I don't know if I agree with him or not, but he's been in the industry for almost 20 years so he knows something of which he speaks. Sure wish something would happen to turn it into a non-vacant lot.

[thelakelander]

Regency isn't exactly starving for cash.

[Tacachale]

A good friend of mine is a civil engineer who grew up around the corner from this. (He lives out of state now.) In his mind it's a given that the current property owners are not going to build anything on it. His exact words were "when a developer wants to build something, they build it. They don't sit on a vacant piece of property for over a decade that isn't making them any money unless they think they can make more money selling it later on than they'll make building something on it." I don't know if I agree with him or not, but he's been in the industry for almost 20 years so he knows something of which he speaks. Sure wish something would happen to turn it into a non-vacant lot.

The history of the space has more to do with why it's sat vacant than the wishes of the owners. It was bought before the Great Recession and though someone could check, I don't think its value has recovered to that level. The owners weren't going to make their money back by selling, so their solution for getting a return was that complicated mixed use deal. As we saw, that fell through several times. Apparently, they're thinking they can get some level of return from just the commercial portion at some point. But I doubt they could (or believe they could) sit on the property long enough that the land value will recover, unless they're banking on another historic bubble.

[JBTripper]

Sorry Captain, late to the game this morning.

""Knock on wood, hopefully we'll have some positive news to report within the year," Stein said."

I think that sums it up perfectly.

We have identified the problem. They've been knocking on wood for 17 years instead of nailing it together.

[ProjectMaximus]

A good friend of mine is a civil engineer who grew up around the corner from this. (He lives out of state now.) In his mind it's a given that the current property owners are not going to build anything on it. His exact words were "when a developer wants to build something, they build it. They don't sit on a vacant piece of property for over a decade that isn't making them any money unless they think they can make more money selling it later on than they'll make building something on it." I don't know if I agree with him or not, but he's been in the industry for almost 20 years so he knows something of which he speaks. Sure wish something would happen to turn it into a non-vacant lot.

This seems like decent logic. The difference is that in this case the owners/developers do retail only so they have been intending to sell part of it and develop part of it. It's not a project at this price point that they would develop by themselves.

[MusicMan]

At this point I'm of the opinion a Trader Joe's would be a better idea/fit for the neighborhood. It's a smaller footprint, would draw from a broader surrounding area, and leaves more room for other retail.  I think a greater variety of vendors would want to be near TJ than Publix....

[Tacachale]

TJ's is fine but isn't a replacement for Publix.

[MusicMan]

I get that. I'm not saying it is a substitute. BUT, easy drive to nearest Publix. Hell of a drive to nearest Trader Joe's. TJ has plenty of room to expand in NE Florida, and IMO that would be a great spot for one. Or Main Street in Springfield. Either way, those locations would not take away enough sales from the existing stores to hurt their business.

[Bativac]

Why does Trader Joe's always seem to be the go-to suggestion? Have they expressed a lot of interest in moving to Jax? Or is it more of a "wouldn't it be nice" kind of thing?

[jagsonville]

Why does Trader Joe's always seem to be the go-to suggestion? Have they expressed a lot of interest in moving to Jax? Or is it more of a "wouldn't it be nice" kind of thing?

We already have two in Jacksonville... a Trader Joe's would actually make sense but Publix is going there, someday.

[Kiva]

I get that. I'm not saying it is a substitute. BUT, easy drive to nearest Publix. Hell of a drive to nearest Trader Joe's. TJ has plenty of room to expand in NE Florida, and IMO that would be a great spot for one. Or Main Street in Springfield. Either way, those locations would not take away enough sales from the existing stores to hurt their business.

There is an empty supermarket on 8th and Hubbard in Springfield. Not sure about the square feet but a grocery store would do well there with all the new building in the area.