Berkman II developer is mum on its future

[Lunican]

I think it's going to sit in its current state for at least 10 years.

[thelakelander]

I would not endorse spending taxpayer money to demolish that structure.  That would cost millions.  I prefer to let it sit, them work out their issues and spend our money on things that actually improve the community.

[904Scars]

I think it's going to sit in its current state for at least 10 years.

In ten years it will be all rust, haha.

I would not endorse spending taxpayer money to demolish that structure.  That would cost millions.  I prefer to let it sit, them work out their issues and spend our money on things that actually improve the community.

Agreed! Maybe somebody should plant some vines and other plants and make it into a large artificial habitat for all of downtowns wildlife.

[KenFSU]

This point does however lead me to wonder if any other larger citys are in this same boat with unfinished development issues? And what are they doing, if anything?

The building that immediately comes to mind is the Majesty Building off of I-4 in Altamonte Springs. You've probably seen it a million times when driving between Jacksonville and Orlando. It's the huge building right on I-4 that has seemingly been under construction for ten years before grinding to an (unfinished) halt. From what I understand, the owners of the building were a religious group who had planned to construct the entire building from donated money. When the money dried up, so did the construction. The building has since become a real embarrassment for the city, and has earned the nickname "The eyesore on I-4." Like a previous poster mentioned though, there really isn't much that can be done about it.

[Basstacular]

I would not endorse spending taxpayer money to demolish that structure.  That would cost millions.  I prefer to let it sit, them work out their issues and spend our money on things that actually improve the community.

+1
It is my understanding that the lawsuit entering into arbitration is a very large sum of money (36 million) that the developer is trying to recoup from the GC and one of the sub contractors (SPS) who were found to be at fault by OSHA for the accident.  

Why should taxpayers foot the bill demolish a structure that could be completely salvagable (Remeber the garage and tower were separate structures).  I am no engineer, but I have talked to numerous professionals who have said the building will be fine for someone to continue on.  Everyone on this forum complains about the City and what they have done with Downtown, so why would we want them to force this developers hand to demolish, then have the City take back that property to do absolutely nothing with it?

I'm not sure what the current developer will ultimately do, but I know they have complete 2/3rds (The Plaza and Berkman Town
Homes) of what they said they were going to do when they first came on the scene in 2000.  I would assume like any accident of this magnitude that nothing is going to be completed until this pending litigation is handled.

I am with Lake, let the developer handle the litigation and have the opportunity to resume.  If you demolish it, then the taxpayers may very well foot the bill and does anyone think there is a developer willing to come in and build a luxury high-rise on the river soon in its place?

[Overstreet]

Sure some rust on parts of it but the concrete structure will be sound unlike some wood structures left in semi open state.

Big lawsuit on the garage and a stalled bottomed out real estate market I don't expect to see any progress for a while. They are "mum" cause they don't know.

[Lunican]

I don't think there are any buyers at the prices they would need to make any money.

Here is a 1/1 in Berkman 1 for $65k.
http://www.realestate.com/FL/Jacksonville/35878762-400-E-BAY-Jacksonville-FL-32202-538351-home-for-sale.aspx

2/2 for $114k
http://www.realestate.com/FL/Jacksonville/33603180-400-E-Bay-ST-Jacksonville-FL-32202-484459-home-for-sale.aspx

[Basstacular]

Those are two very cheap condos and there have been many more in The Plaza that have sold at low prices.  The Plaza fell victim to people buying these during the boom at the height of condo prices as investment properties then getting hit with two special assessments on top of that.  It has been a perfect storm, but most of the distress property inventory has been sold out of The Plaza.

The Peninsula however continues hold value and re-sales have been selling in there in the $260-$300/ sq. ft. range.  I am not comparing The Peninsula to Berkman II, but I feel with the remaining distress inventory being bought up in The Plaza over the next 6-12 months, that Berkman II would have demand if priced between the "comps at The Plaza and The Peninsula.  It would depend on that meeting the developers profit need.

On a side note, I can speak very confident on The Plaza and Peninsula prices because I am a RE Broker who focuses on selling the Downtown area.

[Ocklawaha]

Having returned from years in South America (home of cutting edge European modern furniture and decor manufacturing), I found Berkman the LEAST likely to attract my dollars for a residence. The faux "art nouveau" decor howls tasteless redneck deep into the night. After my visit and tour, I drank a whole fifth of Rebel Yell trying to kill the butterfly's in my stomach. While the Rebel Yell didn't cure a thing, you could hear the little bastards crying out in pain all night long.  

OCKLAWAHA

[CS Foltz]

Leave it as is and convert it to an "Urban Outdoorsman Center"?

[JeffreyS]

We could use it as a base to make "St. Louis city Museum" style structure.

[Ethylene]

Having returned from years in South America (home of cutting edge European modern furniture and decor manufacturing), I found Berkman the LEAST likely to attract my dollars for a residence. The faux "art nouveau" decor howls tasteless redneck deep into the night. After my visit and tour, I drank a whole fifth of Rebel Yell trying to kill the butterfly's in my stomach. While the Rebel Yell didn't cure a thing, you could hear the little bastards crying out in pain all night long.  

OCKLAWAHA

Nice visual! I wish sometimes you were more specific. Having lived there a year in it's heyday as an apartment building, I understand your emotion and tend to agree but it might just be as good as it gets in Jacksonville! What do you think of the Penisula?

[Ocklawaha]

Having returned from years in South America (home of cutting edge European modern furniture and decor manufacturing), I found Berkman the LEAST likely to attract my dollars for a residence. The faux "art nouveau" decor howls tasteless redneck deep into the night. After my visit and tour, I drank a whole fifth of Rebel Yell trying to kill the butterfly's in my stomach. While the Rebel Yell didn't cure a thing, you could hear the little bastards crying out in pain all night long.  

OCKLAWAHA

Nice visual! I wish sometimes you were more specific. Having lived there a year in it's heyday as an apartment building, I understand your emotion and tend to agree but it might just be as good as it gets in Jacksonville! What do you think of the Penisula?

CAN YOU GUESS WHICH ONE IS IN THE "3RD WORLD?" IE: Colombia?

The Peninsula is a giant step in the right direction, as is the ground floors of the Strand, very light and international in design. The apartments themselves were something of a disappointment, carpet everywhere, standard fixtures... YAWN. 11E, Carling, and best of show, METROPOLITAN LOFTS are the closest thing to the international flair I grew so fond of in the Andes.

The inquisitive Colombian attitude is sort of  like, "So you built a new home? Cool, what features did your architect pioneer in it?"

OCKLAWAHA

[Charles Hunter]

When (if) they eventually restart construction at B-II, will they have to replace all that sheet rock that has been exposed to the elements for so many years?  In other words, strip the walls down to the framing?

[fieldafm]

When (if) they eventually restart construction at B-II, will they have to replace all that sheet rock that has been exposed to the elements for so many years?  In other words, strip the walls down to the framing?

I was poking around the site Sunday morning on my weekly trip to the potential 680' public pier... and from the naked eye, it looks like they would need to be replaced.  I imagine the elements are taking effect on the exposed steel as well.  There is also a lot of exposed rebar in the lower portion of the concrete columns, don't know if that was from the collapse or not.