Barnett/Laura Trio Redevelopment to be announced

[MusicMan]

A Courtyard by Marriott at that site should do well. There is currently, to my knowledge, no hotel serving Riverside-Avondale-Ortega at all.

[CG7]

No, but we have some relly nice B&B's.

[fieldafm]

there was a plan to build a Courtyard by Marriott on the 200 Riverside site...but that project is on life support, so maybe Marriott decided downtown would work well instead

They don't have the required number of letter of intents to move forward... same with The Library... same with San Marco Place... same with a lot of places.  200 Riverside isn't dead though.

The new Laura Trio group has started to head down this same direction now in order to get the financing in place(honestly suprised that wasn't the focus of the original plan, well strike that I'm actually honestly suprised they didnt just originally focus on a private hotel at Barnett and left the Laura Trio alone like the Hotel Duval in Tally, they must not have thought they could get all the historic tax credit money without the trio buildings)

[ChriswUfGator]

I suspect Marriott is probably banking on the proposed new Convention-Doggle going through, in making that offer. I wouldn't hold my breath for anyone to spend any real money on anything, until those redevelopment plans are solidified. And no doubt they will be, unfortunately for the taxpayers of Duval County.

It all depends on what type of hotel Marriott would turn it into, and what type of hotel the city would want downtown. They could probably manage to make it one of their higher-end urban Courtyards and go in there today without the convention center mattering a whole lot. However, if the desire is for a full-service Marriott (or even a Renaissance given the potential historical nature of the building), then yeah, there's going to have to be some serious guarantees (or, if not guarantees, then strong implications) of a whole lot more visitor traffic coming through downtown in one way or another.

Well from the what the developers stated, they are only asking for valet parking. Thats it. But we will see how "true" this is and what actually happens. I think they developers would know a little more than we would though. But of course in typical Duval fashion we have to put the conspriacy theory on anything thats sounds promising. 

It's not promising, because it makes no business sense unless/until there is some demand for a hotel down there. Which there isn't now. So, either it's a pie-in-the-sky (most likely), or it's going to wind up being subject (in reality, if not in the developer's press releases) to some kind of public incentive package, or to a public works project that would create the demand for the development. Otherwise, what's the point? We already have a huge mostly-empty Hyatt within a couple blocks of there teetering on bankruptcy. Absent some other factor, it makes no business sense.

My apologies that you evidently consider reality to be a "conspiracy theory."

[simms3]

I apologzie in advance for the long post, but the city with the most successful (and recent) hotel rehab projects in the South is definitely Atlanta, which has quite a few.  I have some old pictures of them taken on a Sunday morning a while back with my old point and shoot, and I have bits of info on their redevelopment history.  It's important to know how they were funded and what kinds of clients they serve and why they came to be in the first place.  Atlanta is considered one of the most sophisticated hotel markets in the country, and it has almost every single brand of hotel and an abundance of lots of really large hotels of every type.  It puts its peers Houston, Dallas, Seattle, and arguably even Philly and Boston to shame when it comes to hotels.  Boutique rehabs are new to Atlanta as of the past decade, but it has surged with this class of hospitality asset.

Hotels are the way to go for adaptive re-use.  There are some real nice ones near me in addition to the chains...Of course it helps to be a major destination city with lots of major conventions.

The Glenn Hotel (serves as an Atlanta getaway hotel...sort of like an urban B&B, complete with rooftop terrace and a 4-star restaurant)




The Hampton Inn & Suites...all of the following pics were taken a couple years ago on a Sunday morning, which is why they appear "dead", and with my old point and shoot, which is why they are not very clear


An unnamed hotel with a Ted's Montana Grill and something going on at the roof




Another building nearby with something going on at the roof level...an idea for Jacksonville


The Residence Inn with ground level retail and a pocket plaza...






The Ellis Hotel, which is funded with TIF-bonds and is a real success story...meant for weekend visitors to the city, not for business travelers or Atlanta residents




And this element complements the overhanging balcony across the street at the original Ritz Carlton (The Ritz was an Atlanta creation and was started by Georgia Tech grads/Waffle House executives, LOL...they bought naming rights to a hotel in Boston and built a hotel empire starting with the Atlanta downtown Ritz and Buckhead Ritz)


The same element on the hotel across the street (Ritz Carlton)


The Georgia Terrace...the original 1913 structure is the shorter one and is where the premiere was held for Gone With the Wind (the Fox is across the street).  The taller addition came in ~1992 and is built to look as if it has always been there.  The glass atrium for the elevator bay is a modern complement.  Fremont Capital out of San Fran owns the hotel and redeveloped it in 2004.  They are about to redevelop it again.  Its restaurant, The Livingston, is really quite a good restaurant.  Guests who stay here are Atlantans for a night on the town, people who go to shows at the Fox and are overserved, and celebrities needing a 3 bedroom suite to rent out for 5 months or so while they film a movie.






Next door is the Hotel Indigo...business travelers


Nearby (and finally) is the only major historic building in Atlanta that was actually a hotel and has been converted to a mix of office, ballroom, and condos.  The president of Novare (a major developer) lives here and one of Atlanta's hottest clubs (Halo) is buried in the side.  Jane Fonda had several parties here while I was living across the street.




Halo Lounge in a non-descript door in the side of the building, leads to a multi floor warehouse/industrial style club and celebrity hangout


Oh, one more (sorry).  The Artmore Hotel...across the street from me, this hotel has a trendy bar scene and outdoor courtyard, and plays host to bands coming through playing Atlanta's version of the House of Blues down the street (Center Stage).  Jamestown and Urbana Realty Partners redeveloped it.






http://www.artmorehotel.com/



It's also important to discuss the major players behind these projects.

Indigo hotels are part of Intercontinental Hotels Group, which is based in Atlanta.  So that helps.

The Glenn Hotel was redeveloped as Atlanta's first independent boutique hotel rehab in 2005 (so we are new to it, too), and was redeveloped by Legacy Property Group, based in Atlanta.  This development firm has been instrumental in bringing back downtown, and almost every development you see around Centennial Park from Stats (the most successful sports bar in the South) to this hotel to the helipad atop the Embassy Suites Downtown is a product of this company.  They have been wildly successful and great for the city.  I urge anyone to check out their website.  This was a $28 million project.

The Residence Inn was part of a national wave of Residence Inn urban rehabs, and of course Atlanta was on the list and offered up a prime, corner, downtown building well suited for a hospitality use.  So the market, the timing, and the product all got that done.

The Ellis Hotel was a $25.9M also using TIF-bonds provided by the Atlanta Development Authority (like the Glenn Hotel discussed before).  The Ellis was a 1913 building which opened as a hotel until a fire killed 119 people, so it has a similar history and even a similar look to the Carling in Jacksonville.  RD Management of New York oversaw the project.

The Georgia Terrace didn't really turn great until Fremont Realty Capital took it over.  Fremont Capital is a major player.  I got to meet Matthew Reidy, a member of the firm's management, and attend a private hotel tour by him.  They poured A TON of money into the place.  It was a big city project that unfortunately rarely reaches the depths of smaller cities like Jacksonville.

The Biltmore renovation was a Novare project.  Novare has come back from the brink of bankruptcy and is breaking ground on yet another high rise residential (rental) project in Atlanta this year, but it is one of the largest developers in the South.  It happens to be HQ'd in the Biltmore.

The Artmore Hotel was a partnership between Jamestown Properties, which has North American HQ's in Atlanta, and Urbana Realty Holdings.  Urbana is also HQ'd in Atlanta, and owns the BB&T tower in Jacksonville.  Jamestown is HUGE.  Jamestown is one of the most successful developers in the country and they are doing big things here in Atlanta, but also in New York (they acquired the Atlanta firm Green Street Properties, the face behind the now uber-famous Chelsea Market in New York).  Atlanta just happens to be the seat of German money entering the U.S.  BVT, Wealthcap, Jamestown, Porsche, and virtually all other German corporations and funds have North American HQ's here.  That helped, though the Artmore was a smaller project.


Just as an aside...the most recent hotel rehab project hasn't reopened yet, but Hotel Indigo is about to open a new hotel in the building at left.


And the building at right in this picture is the old Macy's, which was just opened this past year as mixed-use.  It has a grand ballroom (I got to go the grand opening...it's beautiful), a police station, office space, and a new nightclub on Peachtree.

[ProjectMaximus]

Am I the only one that read "Marriott Corp. has expressed interest in operating the hotel" and didn't interpret that to mean they're beating down the developer's door?? I'd assume it's the same interest that all those national retailers would have if the Landing got their parking. Not to say it's not genuine, but I don't think any of us should start racking up Marriott Points to use downtown just yet. If the interest is real then the developers should certainly explore all their options.

[duvaldude08]

Well its better for someone to have an interest, than no one to have an interest at all. And its seems the only conditions that have been STATED are parking for valet. We will see how everything eventually works out. Just good to see everything working out after a year of work. The developers have been very diligent about this project.

[tufsu1]

the Hotel Indigo in Midtown Atlanta used to be a Days Inn....I stayed there several times in the 1990s (vs. the other days Inn on Spring St) because of its historic charm.

[Tacachale]

Well, we'll see what happens here. If it's true that the developer only gets his tax credits upon successfully completing the project, I see no harm in letting him spend his own dime on rehabbing the buildings, whether the big picture ultimately pans out or not. He clearly knows the buildings' problems with leaks and water intrusion and such, and is in a better position to patch it up than anyone.

[duvaldude08]

Well, we'll see what happens here. If it's true that the developer only gets his tax credits upon successfully completing the project, I see no harm in letting him spend his own dime on rehabbing the buildings, whether the big picture ultimately pans out or not. He clearly knows the buildings' problems with leaks and water intrusion and such, and is in a better position to patch it up than anyone.

I agree. Since we are not going to shell out anything until we see the finish product, Im good with it.

[JaxNative68]

I'll believe it when I see it.  We have been promised many deals/projects/developments of these three buildings for decades... and there they still sit waiting and waiting and waiting...

[duvaldude08]

Well Kuhn went bankrupt in the midst of renovating the buldings, the other developers were asking for 12 million dollars of assistance and he politely told them no. So I dont think the past of the trio is as grim as it seems. IMO, this is a very fesiable project. It is not a "pie in the sky" projet as weve seen in the past. Thats just my opinon of course. Dont shot the messager. 

[jcjohnpaint]

yeah and time is running out.  These buildings do not have a lot of time. 

[MusicMan]

What is the projected budget to rehab the 4 buildings, $75 million?  That is $325 million less then the new courthouse, and if they are completed "as drawn,"  they will have a bigger impact on downtown '24/7'  than the new courthouse ever will.

[Ajax]

What is the projected budget to rehab the 4 buildings, $75 million?  That is $325 million less then the new courthouse, and if they are completed "as drawn,"  they will have a bigger impact on downtown '24/7'  than the new courthouse ever will.

I believe the $75 million included building the new building in the empty lot next to Florida Life, but I could be mistaken.  I agree with your point.