What Khan We Expect for the Laura Street Trio?

[Anti redneck]

Sleiman has a few suburban shopping centers in development, including one at the Atlantic & Kernan interchange.  The Landing situation isn't simply about throwing money at an aging retail center.  It's turned into a political minefield with the dedicated parking and city owning the land underneath the buildings issue.

So we should persuade the city to sell the land to him?

[thelakelander]

Personally, I would have when he purchased it before the Super Bowl was hosted here.  Now, I think its an ideal worth packaging into a larger plan to refurbish the center and better integrate it with the rest of downtown.

[heights unknown]

LOL...that's funny. But you're right!!!

Heights Unknown

Kahn seems more like a Miami type of personality than a Jacksonville one. I often wonder if Jacksonville is "sexy" enough for someone like Kahn to hang around for decades. He doesnt seem like a country boy at all. Time will tell.

Yup, Miami is definitely more suitable for him, because all of us simple folk in Jax are just a buncha bacca spittin', pick-up truck drivin', gun rack havin' hillbillies; Hell, we barely can count to twelve at times. Country boys and Jax definitely goes hand and hand. 

[heights unknown]

I just voted, and also couldn't believe people vored to tear them down, but at least it is a small percentage.

Tear them down and build them with what? If you (or they) tear them down, they'd better quickly have a plan in place to put something very viable and useful there, hopefully a 60 story skyscraper (which downtown economy cannot justify at present).

Heights Unknown

[Timkin]

I just voted, and also couldn't believe people vored to tear them down, but at least it is a small percentage.

Tear them down and build them with what? If you (or they) tear them down, they'd better quickly have a plan in place to put something very viable and useful there, hopefully a 60 story skyscraper (which downtown economy cannot justify at present).

Heights Unknown

I would think with the Trio presently gutted , that it would be much less expensive to refurbish them than to raze it all and start over. 

[blizz01]

I posted this story in another thread, but especially liked this quote on the heels of a $100 million dollar development "hypothetical" statement:

Wymann Duggan, a shareholder from Roger Towers, PA in Jacksonville, asked Brown in front of the crowd if Khan were considering any other projects.

"I heard he's looking at other projects."

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/2012/03/mayor-brown-doesnt-want-yates-y-to.html

[jcjohnpaint]

I do hope Khan moves fast on the trio.  I was walking by the other day and those buildings are looking ruff.  I don't think they have much time left. 

[Bativac]

I do hope Khan moves fast on the trio.  I was walking by the other day and those buildings are looking ruff.  I don't think they have much time left.

I was out walking yesterday and took a look at this group of buildings. Whatever happened to that plan a couple years back to refurbish the buildings? Is that totally dead in the water? I remember a big deal being made of it at the time and like lots of other lofty plans for the Trio, it seems to have just disappeared.

[ChriswUfGator]

Stephen and I had quite the debate over that proposal. I'd taken one look at it and said there was no way it was ever going to work out, I think he was a little frustrated with my lack of hope-for-the-best attitude, he didn't have anything to do with them, he'd just interviewed them about the project.

Those people were nuts, they were trying to use grant money combined with treating historic tax credits on an accrual basis (the fly in that ointment being that tax credits aren't what make checks clear the bank) to qualify for financing on the project. Which as we all know has been so easy to get post-2008. As I said back then, there was no way that thing would ever get off the ground. Basically, they were claiming they had the cash to finance the project, but it was really their accrual treatment of anticipated tax credits. Obviously it turned out the only way it could.

But Khan's a different story. Cash buyer, doesn't need to finance. May very well work out nicely with him. And whatever he decides to do (other than tear them down) will be better than a bunch of empty buildings, so no matter what it's a plus.

[Tacachale]

^Khan isn't looking to buy, he's looking to provide "lending assistance" to a developer - potentially the same guys from the 2010 proposal.

[downtownjag]

I loved the plan for the trio as a whole, but I'm beginning to think our best bet is the Barnett and a new apt building with parking deck, which was part of the original plan.  I'm assuming the construction number inefficiencies and cost are coming from "the other side of the road"

[ChriswUfGator]

^Khan isn't looking to buy, he's looking to provide "lending assistance" to a developer - potentially the same guys from the 2010 proposal.

He'll wind up owning them anyway, if he finances that deal. Even beyond the finances, their business plan had other problems that were too obvious to miss. They were significantly understating their construction costs, and even if you move past that, then the hotel portion wouldn't last a year, there is no demand for that down there as it sits, and no reasonable prospect of there being any before one of that size would incur enough in operating losses to make the whole project uneconomic.

And you can't get enough residential units out of the Laura Trio to make the cost of their renovation plus the construction of a 4-story parking garage and the companion tower viable. Probably $50mm for what, a hundred units? 200? Price that out per unit, those will be impossible to move at cost, let alone leave any profit for the developer. Real estate market isn't exactly on fire these days. The condo market in particular sucks. The penthouse in the Park Lane just went for $300k and change.

Khan's self-made, I'm going to make a leap of faith and guess he's probably business-savvy. I doubt he'll fund that deal, it's got too many issues. My guess is is that he will wind up buying them, or control the entity that buys them, whichever way you want to slice and dice it. What he does with them, we'll have to wait and see.

[vicupstate]

Can't you sell Historic Tax Credits for cash?  Obviously that would be less than the credits themselves, but still.

[Timkin]

Chris.. If not renovated into apartments or lofts, what would you /everyone envision working in the Trio Space?

just curious.

[Bill Hoff]

At this time, instead of going for broke with the Laura Street Trio, I think a more reasonable approach would be focusing on a few smaller projects.

Ie, The (old) Library needs a fraction of the dollars and could be a big hub of activity. It's already in a semi established location too, in the midst of the Adams Street establishments.

I've been told the Mayor's office has blinders on for the Laura Street Trio though. Perhaps the Mayor sees it as his potential "signature" Downtown project.