Land Swap for Florida Blue & Fidelity

[Snufflee]

Let's get the new Residence Inn to drop it's surface parking and have valet only at the new garage across the street. Win for all. (If the Residence Inn ever gets built)

Maybe I'm not the right example for this, but as someone who has stayed in a lot of Residence Inns on vacation, my family would absolutely not pick one requiring us to give our car to a valet. That's a non-starter for us.

Agreed, If I am choosing a Residence Inn or similar type hotel for a weekend getaway or want to sink my money into "experiences" vice the place all I am doing is sleeping/showering then valet only is a non starter for us as well.

[Steve]

Let's get the new Residence Inn to drop it's surface parking and have valet only at the new garage across the street. Win for all. (If the Residence Inn ever gets built)

Maybe I'm not the right example for this, but as someone who has stayed in a lot of Residence Inns on vacation, my family would absolutely not pick one requiring us to give our car to a valet. That's a non-starter for us.

That's nearly every Residence Inn in an urban setting in America.

[jaxjags]

Then you haven't been to Charleston or Savannah or NY or ATL or even Charlotte and many other cities where ALL DT hotels have valet parking only. In Orlando most resort hotel charge a fee for self parking. One option is for the hotel to have an agreement with the garage to offer self parking at a lower fee. Also the majority of Residence Inn customers are business travelers who expect these types of situations and fees.

[jsjax37]

I'm pretty averse to valet parking or really paid parking of any type.  However, we stayed at a Residence Inn in downtown West Palm Beach, which had valet only parking.  It really wasn't a problem, and was actually a decent setup.  I would imagine that a setup like that would work in this instance, I know that I really wouldn't have a problem with it, especially in a more urban setting such as this.

[marcuscnelson]

That's nearly every Residence Inn in an urban setting in America.

Maybe that's why we almost never stay downtown on vacation.

Then you haven't been to Charleston or Savannah or NY or ATL or even Charlotte and many other cities where ALL DT hotels have valet parking only. In Orlando most resort hotel charge a fee for self parking. One option is for the hotel to have an agreement with the garage to offer self parking at a lower fee. Also the majority of Residence Inn customers are business travelers who expect these types of situations and fees.

I've been to all but one of those cities (NY), and we're a large family that usually needs the two room suite. I can say for certain we've never stayed in a hotel with valet parking, both because of cost and likely also because my parents don't trust someone to decently park a full-size SUV with a cargo tray on it. Either way, we at least have consciously chosen our hotels based on the parking situation.

[thelakelander]

^Yes many do. When I travel, I normally select my hotel location based on the availability of reliable transit options within walking distance because I prefer not to rent cars or pay higher ride share fees if a cheaper, reliable mobility option is available. Luckily, many brands offer products in a variety of settings to cater to the consumer's multiple lifestyle choices. So in a way, a Marriott Residence Inn in a central business district without parking would be similar to a downtown McDonald's without a drive thru.

[Kerry]

Let's get the new Residence Inn to drop it's surface parking and have valet only at the new garage across the street. Win for all. (If the Residence Inn ever gets built)

Maybe I'm not the right example for this, but as someone who has stayed in a lot of Residence Inns on vacation, my family would absolutely not pick one requiring us to give our car to a valet. That's a non-starter for us.

I stayed at a Residence Inn in Memphis that didn't have any parking, not even valet.  I parked in a public garage about 3 blocks away.  This maybe be part of that 'cultural' thing I mentioned in another thread.

[JaxAvondale]

FloridaBlue/Guidewell turned the empty lot on Park Street into a surface parking lot. I assume this means that we should know Fidelity's plans for Riverside Avenue soon.

[KenFSU]

I assume this means that we should know Fidelity's plans for Riverside Avenue soon.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/project-sharp-proposes-a-500-job-dollar145-million-hq-near-fidelity-national-campus

[Peter Griffin]

That's awesome news! Hopefully they can break ground soon

[thelakelander]

^Now that's a much better use of public incentive money. Hope it works out.

[Captain Zissou]

300,000 sq feet is pretty significant, but on that much land they don't have to go very tall.  I suspect HU will be disappointed with the renderings.

[acme54321]

So I might have missed it, but is the city planning to buy this parcel from BCBS then sell it to fidelity?  Or lease it?

The article wasn't very clear on that piece.

[KenFSU]

Awesome news.

And a demo I can get behind because it's making way for a concrete, better option, even though I wish the Fire Station could be moved.

Great work by all involved.

[thelakelander]

300,000 sq feet is pretty significant, but on that much land they don't have to go very tall.  I suspect HU will be disappointed with the renderings.

That's a big lot.  245 Riverside is roughly 137,000 square feet of rentable space and TIAA Bank Plaza is around 222,000 square feet. Height will depend on if structured parking is included vertically or horizontally. My guess is that this will end up in the 10 to 15 story range. More importantly, when it comes to activating the street, will this include an opportunity for retail along Riverside Avenue? Same goes for the BCBS garage and Forest/Park Streets.