Downtown residential occupancy on the rise

[JFman00]

http://jacksonville.com/business/2012-06-24/story/sunday-notebook-occupancy-residents-rise-downtown

As of the end of 2011, 91 percent of downtown’s 651 residential rentals were occupied. That’s the highest figure since 2004 when 99 percent of the 139 units were full.

Downtown Vision’s 2012 report said that 89 percent of the 890 condos have been sold by their original developer. And that figure will be higher given sales so far this year.

[JeffreyS]

Well that's nice to hear.

[Noone]

^+1

[brainstormer]

I'm finding more people who are interested in moving downtown.  I recently had a conversation with an Everbank employee who wants to move downtown when his lease is up.  He actually said there aren't very many options, which I guess makes sense considering 91 percent of the rentals are occupied.  I know I miss living downtown, and have considered moving back.

[coredumped]

Hopefully Mr Khan is reading this - there might be demand for the old barnett building to be condos/rentals after all!

[JFman00]

A condo I wanted sold before I could move on it. Went for well below list though. From what I see almost all vacancies are at the Berkman, and the association fees are just way too high there accordingly.

[simms3]

Those numbers may sound good, but dig a little deeper and there's nothing truly positive about them.  91% occupancy with no construction on the horizon and no new deliveries, especially nowadays, is not spectacular and is hardly considered "stabilized".  If you want to see new starts, you're going to need to show 95% occupancy, rent growth in the range of 3-5+% a year minimum, job growth, etc.  Sorry to break it to you.  And then for the cost of downtown living, not only rent growth, but a base line effective rent that's most likely a good bit higher than effective rental rates in DT Jax now (which are ultra low and don't seem to be on the up...conversely down from a few years ago).

Then on the condo front, that's not going to start back up until rentals are exhausted, and rentals in DT Jax are far from exhausted.  11% of developer condos remain...5-6-7+ years later (and the number, 890 units constructed, is not a big number at all).

Sorry to be a debbie downer, but the numbers just aren't there yet, otherwise you would see the same trend as has been occurring for 2 years now in other southern cities like Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Charleston, etc with multifamily construction in the core.

[JeffreyS]

Well we have the new starts in Brooklyn and are working on the Barnett condo portion of the Laura Street trio. Your point is well taken that it is a very small number but our rate is fine when you consider one property is really lowering the rate %.

[Bill Hoff]

http://jacksonville.com/business/2012-06-24/story/sunday-notebook-occupancy-residents-rise-downtown

As of the end of 2011, 91 percent of downtown’s 651 residential rentals were occupied. That’s the highest figure since 2004 when 99 percent of the 139 units were full.

Downtown Vision’s 2012 report said that 89 percent of the 890 condos have been sold by their original developer. And that figure will be higher given sales so far this year.

I think this can expanded beyond the Downtown boundaries to the greater urban core.

Riverside, San Marco & Springfield haven't been this popular in 40 years. Good rentals typcally don't last long.

[justinthered]

Well we have the new starts in Brooklyn and are working on the Barnett condo portion of the Laura Street trio. Your point is well taken that it is a very small number but our rate is fine when you consider one property is really lowering the rate %.

So when you say they are working on the Barnett building, do you mean its actually happening or that they are trying to make it happen? I haven't seen anything about that in a while

[thelakelander]

At least one of the Brooklyn projects (220 Riverside) should break ground this Summer and the other possibly by the end of the year.  The Laura Trio project isn't dead.  I ran into the developer over the weekend.  An update should be out in the upcoming weeks.

[jcjohnpaint]

Lake I look forward to the update. 

[justinthered]

So is it still the project with the bank hotel? Or is this brand new?

[thelakelander]

^The same one.

[simms3]

All I have to say is that I'll keep my fingers crossed.  If anyone can make a development in DT Jax pencil out, they should have their own statue!