Retail-less parking garage proposed for Downtown

[thelakelander]

fsujax, I agree. I don't think the retail ever gets built if we're supposed to wait until that tower is 65% leased.  Personally, I don't see the direct relationship between the viability of street level retail and leasing office space in the Suntrust Tower.  I also believe the retail depth of 38' isn't great if you wanted to really lease those spaces.  At a minimum, they should be striving to 65' - 70' deep bays.  That can be accomplished by pushing the garage east, closer to the Suntrust Tower.  So what if the space between the tower and garage becomes essentially an alley.  Right now, with no street level uses opening up to it, the courtyard there is a waste of land.  Shrink it and give yourself some real retail flexibility to work with instead of repeating the Everbank retail bay situation on Riverside Avenue.

[JeffreyS]

So did they ever hold the public workshop.

[thelakelander]

Yes, I believe so.

[dougskiles]

DENY.

Let's remind them that they are getting a $3.5 million subsidy to build public parking spaces that we don't need downtown (we are overparked with public spaces).  I understand that privately owned office buildings want to provide dedicated parking for their tenants (and am fine with that).  However, the public subsidy changes the conversation.

The ONLY way we should agree to the phasing concept is if the subsidy is removed from the project - along with the public parking spaces.  And then pull the garage back even more so that a true multi-level mixed use building can be constructed along the perimeter.

I hope that new DIA member Melody Bishop attends the meeting tomorrow.  At the previous meeting, she was very vocal in her objection to a parking garage without retail on the ground floor.

[tufsu1]

I'm pretty sure this is already teed-up for approval....the Mayor (and the new DIA) want to show that there is movement downtown....and I'm guessing that in their minds, a poorly designed urban garage is better than a grass/dirt lot.

The only bright side here....the plaza along Hogan Street could be a good spot for festival tents and/or food trucks

[Jax_Spartan]

The developer doesn't want to build the retail component until the Suntrust Tower is 65% leased. Right now, Suntrust is 20% leased.

Haha. It will take several years to triple its occupancy rate. By the time they reach it (if they do), haskel will just find a way to not go through with building the retail bays and the plan will fall apart. Thats going to be fun trying to hold them accountable for building the retail bays 7 years later. I would personally rather just have an empty lot and pray some other group in the future agrees to construct a garage with retail than work with these people that obviously have no intention of including retail ever and have another dead space.

[JeffreyS]

I'm pretty sure this is already teed-up for approval....the Mayor (and the new DIA) want to show that there is movement downtown....and I'm guessing that in their minds, a poorly designed urban garage is better than a grass/dirt lot.

The only bright side here....the plaza along Hogan Street could be a good spot for festival tents and/or food trucks

How blind are they this is getting built no matter what. They can hold them to the retail requirements with no concerns at all of this stalling the project. I was at the first approval meeting the developer needs this garage and the 3.5 mil. This is a no brainer show a little backbone.

[thelakelander]

How blind are they this is getting built no matter what. They can hold them to the retail requirements with no concerns at all of this stalling the project. I was at the first approval meeting the developer needs this garage and the 3.5 mil. This is a no brainer show a little backbone.

Jax and backbone to the development community go together like gasoline and bleach.

[tufsu1]

as long as it makes horrible sense and smacks of guzzling at the public teat, Im sure you think there is a bright side, TUFSU.

well now, that's productive