DIA Expands Retail Enhancement Grant Program

[Ken_FSU]

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/the-mendenhall-report-dia-expands-retail-enhancement-grant-program

[thelakelander]

From the article:

Although she recommended Vestcor's proposal, Boyer thinks mixed-use development in the historic Downtown neighborhood could boost density.

Vestcor was concerned that retail space created in the townhome development would sit empty, she said.

"I totally understood why. It was in Vestcor's application. They didn't shy away from it. They didn't put retail in right now because they didn't think the market would support it," Boyer said. "There's some truth to that, but you take up the physical land now, you cannot add it later."

Retail isn't Vestcor's bread and butter. The Johnson Commons proposal included retail and had secured an arrangement with an anchor restaurant operator. This would suggest there are more market nuances at play then just going along with an opinion that there is simply no retail market at all. Moving forward, a good thing about competitive RFPs for city property is that long tired assumptions about downtown's potential can be laid to rest as the quality of proposals being submitted to the city will go up. Where traditional local players may not believe, others with experience and exposure in other areas may bring ideas and new concepts that we've never considered.