Metro Jacksonville

Jacksonville by Neighborhood => Downtown => Topic started by: thelakelander on June 29, 2022, 07:53:20 PM

Title: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: thelakelander on June 29, 2022, 07:53:20 PM
QuoteJWB Real Estate Capital bought two First Baptist Church of Jacksonville properties in Downtown's North Core for $8.39 million.

Property records show JWB subsidiaries bought two city blocks from First Baptist on June 24 — a church auditorium at 119 W. Beaver St. for $2.3 million and a parking garage at 712 N. Hogan St. for $6.09 million.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/jwb-buys-two-city-blocks-downtown-from-first-baptist-church
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: marcuscnelson on June 29, 2022, 08:15:27 PM
Woah. Wonder what they're gonna do with all this. Two garages, a warehouse and now a 10,000 seat arena.
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: heights unknown on June 29, 2022, 09:14:12 PM
Raze and bulldoze them and build 2 899 foot twin towers, one an office building, the other residential with a multi-story parking garage.......just kidding guys, just kidding. Don't get all excited.
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: BridgeTroll on June 30, 2022, 06:24:58 AM
Probably the much needed dog park...
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: Jagsdrew on June 30, 2022, 08:47:27 AM
I think this may be the last remaining properties FBC was trying to sell. Not sure if they are selling the children's building/school and the adjacent garage but I would think that would be on the table for someone to buy to consolidate their footprint into two city blocks.
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: jcjohnpaint on June 30, 2022, 09:42:16 AM
Had there been any renderings of The Den project? Never heard of it.
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: thelakelander on June 30, 2022, 10:47:21 AM
Renderings of The Den:

(https://photos.moderncities.com/Cities/Jacksonville/Development/The-Den-/i-2W34drF/0/a5f2cf43/L/20220512_%20DDRB%20AGENDA%20PACKET_Page_124-L.jpg)

(https://photos.moderncities.com/Cities/Jacksonville/Development/The-Den-/i-ZXgzVtS/0/67bd6b55/L/20220512_%20DDRB%20AGENDA%20PACKET_Page_126-L.jpg)

More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/seven-major-projects-seeking-ddrb-review-and-approval/
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: thelakelander on June 30, 2022, 10:49:03 AM
Quote from: Jagsdrew on June 30, 2022, 08:47:27 AM
I think this may be the last remaining properties FBC was trying to sell. Not sure if they are selling the children's building/school and the adjacent garage but I would think that would be on the table for someone to buy to consolidate their footprint into two city blocks.

Would love for them to sell both the school block and Sunday School building they tried to tear down a few years back.
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: Jagsdrew on June 30, 2022, 11:20:19 AM
Would love for them to sell both the school block and Sunday School building they tried to tear down a few years back.
[/quote]

I don't think they will sell it (SS Block) as they probably prefer to own the whole block and not slice it up but I'll come back to that in a second.

My opinion, they'll most likely not maintain it, it will deteriorate over time and the only option is to tear it down.  Wouldn't be surprised if an "electrical" fire happened to expedite that, jokingly. 

The initial plans were to build a welcome center in place of that Independent Life contributing structure but that is completely gone as they moved to renovate the LMA. You never know, they have sold their property faster than they thought even amidst a pandemic so they might want to strike while the iron is hot and offload another asset.

If I were in leadership, I would redirect some of the funds through the sale of the properties, renovate that building into apartments and lease them out. Reserve some for their out of town guests/missionaries and have a stream of income. Just a random thought to make it purposeful.  Long term, if you don't want to deal with leasing, sell the building for alot more than before renovating. 
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: jaxjaguar on June 30, 2022, 11:29:57 AM
Quote from: heights unknown on June 29, 2022, 09:14:12 PM
Raze and bulldoze them. Don't get all excited.

Fixed that for you haha
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: Charles Hunter on June 30, 2022, 01:00:53 PM
Taking a quick look at the Property Appraiser's website shows that JWB's recent purchases from First Baptist put more than $16 million in assessed value back on the property tax rolls.
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: MusicMan on June 30, 2022, 07:47:00 PM
Very excited that JWB is buying up so much of downtown's "stuff." 

Can someone put up a timeline of when these finished products will hit the market, please?

Lots of "renderings" floating around out there. Finished, leased/sold products, not so much.  Just my opinion.
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: Captain Zissou on July 01, 2022, 10:19:42 AM
Quote from: MusicMan on June 30, 2022, 07:47:00 PM
Lots of "renderings" floating around out there. Finished, leased/sold products, not so much.  Just my opinion.
Why is renderings in quotes?  Are they not actually renderings?
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: MusicMan on July 03, 2022, 10:19:33 AM
How often do finished products resemble renderings? 

If renderings equaled finished products we'd have the most amazing skyline in North America.
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: thelakelander on July 03, 2022, 01:21:04 PM
The First Baptist Church Convention and Old Federal Reserve buildings seem to be coming along fine. I'm looking forward to seeing them completed with the central courtyard linking them together with the Seminole Club. I'd also like to see more development groups get projects underway in downtown. JWB can't do it all by themselves.
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: jaxlongtimer on July 03, 2022, 02:55:47 PM
Quote from: marcuscnelson on June 29, 2022, 08:15:27 PM
Woah. Wonder what they're gonna do with all this. Two garages, a warehouse and now a 10,000 seat arena.

A FBC church member told me they understand the plans are to raze the auditorium and build condos or apartments on that block.  Maybe the same for other parcels.  Given the absence of significant demand for office and maybe more downtown hotels, post covid, this seems to be a reasonable option.  Guess we will see.
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: thelakelander on July 03, 2022, 03:20:11 PM
I've heard that there is a possibility that they keep the auditorium as well and use it for special events.
Title: Re: JWB buys two city blocks Downtown from First Baptist Church
Post by: sandyshoes on July 13, 2022, 06:33:18 AM
Or they could build The Mother of All Publix' right there.