Downtown Comes Alive as Condos Fill With Young Renters

[KenFSU]

And techinically, downtown is the only place you can walk to go grocery shopping, unless you count walking down southside blvd.

I lived in the Registry off Hodges and JTB for three years when I first moved to Jacksonville. Publix was a 90 second walk

If the condos downtown are priced close to what condos on Biscayne Bay are, there is a major problem.

[Bativac]

No one is going to live downtown solely because of rental rates.  It's an environment that people have to want to embrace.  And this "you can rent on the southside for half" stuff isn't completely true, WA Knight, on Adams, is very inexpensive, and its very nice inside.  I rent a two bedroom in the Carling, on the side overlooking Adams, for $1200 a month.  It's very comparable, not "inflated" by any stretch of the term.  And techinically, downtown is the only place you can walk to go grocery shopping, unless you count walking down southside blvd.  The bigger lesson is that we need more apts; with which we will get more people after hours, and eventually more people that will committ to investing 200k plus on a residence downtown.

I guess people have different definition of "inflated."

I lived in the Lakewood area, right near San Jose and University, for 3 years. We had a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home that was $1,200 - same as you are paying in the Carling. Winn-Dixie was a 20 minute walk from us, as was San Marco (well, maybe 30 minutes). To pay comparable for a smaller space downtown is something most young people in Jacksonville would scoff at.

Other examples. I have a friend who is sub-leasing a condo for $900. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms. In the Timberland Parc area. Grocery shopping is a 5 minute drive down Southside. My sister is in an apartment near the Town Center. She pays around $800 for a two bedroom one bath. She does all her shopping in that area. Both of these complexes have fitness centers, pools, ample parking, etc.

I think this is what downtown is competing with. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't think downtown Jacksonville is attractive to either the average Jacksonville resident (who apparently would rather live in the suburbs) or the college grad looking for the urban experience (I'd think they'd head for San Francisco or Chicago or someplace with a happening downtown).

Is there a way to "fix it" other than just hoping more people will move into the condos?

[Fallen Buckeye]

In denser cities such as NYC, rents can be higher because the people there usually pay less for transportation. In Jax, it is harder to go car free in downtown because development isn't as dense and and your sole transit options are bus and Skyway which don't always make that great of headways. Not to mention that people are just as likely or even more likely to work in the suburbs as in the core. If all this is true, why would I pay more to live downtown in what is likely to be less space? In Riverside, I've got a 10 minute drive to work. Rents at a wide range of price points. Access to amenities and entertainment within walking distance. Lots of park space for my kids.

I wonder if construction costs for these high-rises are so high that they can't turn a profit unless they charge a higher rent or is it just location. What are the residential vacancy rates like for DT?

[Jaxson]

I agree that downtown living should come at a higher price.  Almost anywhere else, however, downtown living would be worth the higher rent.  Yes, there is a grocery store within walking distance, but what else is there for those who are enterprising enough to be urban pioneers?  And, even if a grocery store is within walking distance, does this mean that downtown is actually walkable?  I don't mind walking around downtown, but there are still perceptions about downtown that will not die.  People assume that to walk there is a invitation to a mugging.
I agree with Bativac (above ^) because:
1. The suburbs still hold the advantage when it comes to meeting our daily needs.  Not only is the rent cheaper, it's cheaper to go shopping around the corner from home. 
2. I know many young people who leave for Portland, Seattle, Philadelphia and other cities because they want to have a real urban experience.  Many of them move into the kinds of lofts that are helping those cities, but we are overlooking in favor of building fancy condos that are sitting half-empty.
I agree with FallenBuckeye (above ^) because:
Paying a bit more on rent in mass transit-oriented cities is no big deal because New Yorkers and their like often don't have a car note, insurance and gas to worry about.  Yes, they still have to get their MetroCard, but it is generally worth paying the extra $$$ to live in the city.  In downtown Jacksonville, people are paying extra to live downtown and still have to keep a car for running errands in the 'burbs.