1 in 7 buildings on downtown’s Northbank are vacant, study finds

[thelakelander]

Restoration of downtown's vacant buildings would accentuate the historic character, but the cost often exceeds the rents that owners can get after finishing the extensive work.

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/20180211/1-in-7-buildings-on-downtowns-northbank-are-vacant-study-finds

[Tacachale]

Another case for incentives.

[marcuscnelson]

Another case for incentives.

I can tell you don't live in St. Johns County. Here's what some people around here think about the idea of incentivization:

If you have to be subsidized or given special protections, it just proves you or the thing isn't as good as the alternative.

[tufsu1]

^ shall we discuss the subsidization / incentivization of the SR 9B-Racetrack Road area?

[marcuscnelson]

^ shall we discuss the subsidization / incentivization of the SR 9B-Racetrack Road area?

Oh, they're pissed about that too, don't worry.

[vicupstate]

To Kay Ehaus, who did the study for the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the restoration of those empty buildings is the key to downtown, as much if not more than the large-scale developments that have been rolled out for riverfront tracts like The Shipyards and The District.

"The big projects are sexy, but I really think the way you get a vibrant downtown is to do it small project by small project, and you stick to it," she said.

The key takeaway from the article.

[RatTownRyan]

Can someone link the full dupont report? I couldnt find it.

[thelakelander]

^ shall we discuss the subsidization / incentivization of the SR 9B-Racetrack Road area?

Oh, they're pissed about that too, don't worry.

Just about all new development in St. Johns County is subsidized.

[Tacachale]

^ shall we discuss the subsidization / incentivization of the SR 9B-Racetrack Road area?

Oh, they're pissed about that too, don't worry.

Just about all new development in St. Johns County is subsidized.

Yep. I most certainly don't live in St. Johns County now, but I did for a stint while saving money to buy a house in town. Folks simply had no idea how much of the county's development was subsidized by taxpayer-funded road projects, incentives for residential development, and plain old white flight. They also don't seem to notice how their lack of planning and infill - things downtown incentives accomplish -has made the whole county a mess of sprawl that gets worse every day.

[Gunnar]

To Kay Ehaus, who did the study for the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the restoration of those empty buildings is the key to downtown, as much if not more than the large-scale developments that have been rolled out for riverfront tracts like The Shipyards and The District.

"The big projects are sexy, but I really think the way you get a vibrant downtown is to do it small project by small project, and you stick to it," she said.

The key takeaway from the article.

But are there that many potential small projects left / available in downtown ? Saw a few smaller building for sale but if you look at the asking price + restoration cost - good luck  getting any decent ROI.

[Tacachale]

To Kay Ehaus, who did the study for the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the restoration of those empty buildings is the key to downtown, as much if not more than the large-scale developments that have been rolled out for riverfront tracts like The Shipyards and The District.

"The big projects are sexy, but I really think the way you get a vibrant downtown is to do it small project by small project, and you stick to it," she said.

The key takeaway from the article.

But are there that many potential small projects left / available in downtown ? Saw a few smaller building for sale but if you look at the asking price + restoration cost - good luck  getting any decent ROI.

...without incentives.

[Gunnar]

To Kay Ehaus, who did the study for the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the restoration of those empty buildings is the key to downtown, as much if not more than the large-scale developments that have been rolled out for riverfront tracts like The Shipyards and The District.

"The big projects are sexy, but I really think the way you get a vibrant downtown is to do it small project by small project, and you stick to it," she said.

The key takeaway from the article.

But are there that many potential small projects left / available in downtown ? Saw a few smaller building for sale but if you look at the asking price + restoration cost - good luck  getting any decent ROI.

...without incentives.

I am not sure if incentives are a good idea if the private owners try to sell their property at a way too high price.

This way, you also incentivize the exaggerated asking prices for downtown real estate.  I would rather them making having an empty lot or building more expensive and *then* giving incentives for returning the buildings to the tax roll.

[Tacachale]

To Kay Ehaus, who did the study for the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the restoration of those empty buildings is the key to downtown, as much if not more than the large-scale developments that have been rolled out for riverfront tracts like The Shipyards and The District.

"The big projects are sexy, but I really think the way you get a vibrant downtown is to do it small project by small project, and you stick to it," she said.

The key takeaway from the article.

But are there that many potential small projects left / available in downtown ? Saw a few smaller building for sale but if you look at the asking price + restoration cost - good luck  getting any decent ROI.

...without incentives.

I am not sure if incentives are a good idea if the private owners try to sell their property at a way too high price.

This way, you also incentivize the exaggerated asking prices for downtown real estate.  I would rather them making having an empty lot or building more expensive and *then* giving incentives for returning the buildings to the tax roll.

That's why you focus on the ones that are really trying to make a deal. At any rate I'm not sure how many building owners are really asking for exorbitant prices, versus those where the other costs just makes it unprofitable for anyone who buys it.

[FlaBoy]

To Kay Ehaus, who did the study for the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the restoration of those empty buildings is the key to downtown, as much if not more than the large-scale developments that have been rolled out for riverfront tracts like The Shipyards and The District.

"The big projects are sexy, but I really think the way you get a vibrant downtown is to do it small project by small project, and you stick to it," she said.

The key takeaway from the article.

But are there that many potential small projects left / available in downtown ? Saw a few smaller building for sale but if you look at the asking price + restoration cost - good luck  getting any decent ROI.

...without incentives.

I am not sure if incentives are a good idea if the private owners try to sell their property at a way too high price.

This way, you also incentivize the exaggerated asking prices for downtown real estate.  I would rather them making having an empty lot or building more expensive and *then* giving incentives for returning the buildings to the tax roll.

Agreed. There are ways to incentivize outside of just cash and if you make the market rely on incentives then it ends up being an artificial market.

Tacachale, what buildings would you like to see inventivized at this point? There is already a retail inventive for anyone who wants to start up in the historic district. I would love to see some regulatory burdens come off these to incentivize the change including parking reductions, etc. It does not look like JEA will be making any decisions on a new HQ until they sort out this privatization issue.

Thus, after the Laura St. Trio/Barnett project, I would like to see the city focus on:

1) Ambassador/old JEA (plans on plans for these structures through the years)

2) Old Fed to Jones Bros. Building (I do hear these buildings may be under contract now)

3) Hogan Building/218 Adams (which there was a proposal for recently)

4) Berkman II (edit: added)

5) Snyder Memorial (market forces should take of this if Laura St trio happens)

Are there any other underutilized buildings in the historic downtown that you would like to see converted to residences? This may include some buildings that are used for office space but are basically empty at this point.

[Gunnar]

2) Old Fed to Jones Bros. Building (I do hear these buildings may be under contract now)

Just curious - do you know what this went for ? If I remember correctly the asking price was somewhere in the $900k - 1 Million range.
Personally I found this to be a very interesting building (not taking the asking price into consideration).

Note: It's no longer listed on Petra's site.