The Cove at Goodby's Creek Finally Sells

[JayBird]

Some more good news, this has been an eyesore of the Baymeadows/San Jose area for some time. Great to see something happening.

The half-finished, long-abandoned condominiums on Goodbys Creek have been sold to a developer who intends to finish them. Prospect Property Group of Orlando paid $2.5 million for Cove at St. Johns property at the intersection of Baymeadows Road and San Jose Boulevard, said Brian Moulder who brokered the deal for CBRE.

Prospect Property Group has not yet returned the Times-Union's phone calls, but Moulder said his understanding is that the company intends to complete the condominiums.

It should have construction crews there within 60 days, he said.

"There's nothing structurally wrong with it," Moulder said. "But the problem is the cost to complete it. That's what's been tough for people to quantify, but it will be tens of millions."

The original project was to have 76 units.

Construction began on the condominium project began in 2005 with completion expected in two years. But first its original contractor, Auchter Co., went out of business. Then Silverton Bank, which held the primary note on the project, failed.

That put the property in the hands of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. And the property sat unfinished and unchanging.

Moulder said there had been a few contracts on the property over the past few years, but each one fizzled.

"Several banks had to be worked out, a lot of players had to be consolidated," he said. "But we had plenty of interest. It just took a lot of time."

Moulder said he had put the property out for one final offering recently and it drew several interested buyers who were bidding for it.

"It got highly competitive at the end," he said.

"The good thing about this deal," Moulder said, "is that it's ready to go. It's already entitled for boat slips."

He said he thought the condominium market has been improving lately, with new projects planned here and there around town.

Prospect Property Group intends to upgraded the originally planned amenities, he said.

"With Old San Jose on the River taking off like it has, that's what they're going to mirror."

http://m.jacksonville.com/business/2013-09-04/story/unfinished-condo-project-goodbys-creek-sells

[JayBird]

And from the biz journal:

The sale of a half-built condominium project is yet another sign of that market's return.

The Cove at St. Johns, near the intersection of Baymeadows Road and San Jose Boulevard, has been sold to Prospect Property Group of Orlando for $2.6 million, the Florida Times-Union reports.

An executive from Prospect, which specializes in condominiums and finishing partially done projects, has not yet returned the Business Journal's requests for comment, but the Times-Union reports the company intends to finish the building.

The structure has sat abandoned for years since the recession put plans on hold and the original developer, The Devlin Group, lost the project to foreclosure. It ended up in the hands of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which in 2010 was marketing it for $8.8 million.

Originally proposed in 2005, the project was to consist of 76 luxury condos with 13 boat slips.

The idea that a developer thinks The Cove could now take off says good things about the Jacksonville market.

"It means further strengthening of the for-sale condominium market," said Batey McGraw, a broker with Walchle Lear Multifamily Advisors in Jacksonville Beach. "Obviously, the Hallmark deal was the first sprout of growth in that sector, and although this deal is at a more compelling basis — the fact that they're buying a partially completed building at a discount — it just shows further strength."

Hallmark Partners Inc. paid $2.1 million for the riverfront land where it intends to build Beacon Riverside, a 16-story luxury condominium tower.

"The inventory of existing, distressed condos is waning," McGraw said. "It's becoming more of a traditional market in regards to buyers and sellers."

And that dynamic means more banks are willing to loan to would-be condo buyers. McGraw said there are several parcels of land in Northeast Florida under contract for condominium deals.

"There absolutely are folks that still desire condo living," he said. "The issue first and foremost was the lending side. The [Federal Housing Administration] won't make loans to a condo buyer in a complex that has too many renters or too much distress, whereas, in single-family homes, the neighborhood doesn't have any impact on your ability to get a mortgage."

Mike Balanky, president of Chase Properties Inc. and the developer of San Marco Place, a condo tower on Downtown's Southbank, said the condo lifestyle is "catching on big time in Jacksonville," and that the return of that market will take the shape of smaller projects.

"If you have the right location, I think you'll do well right now with a smaller project like that one and like Hallmark's," Balanky said. "You will not see 260-unit high rises happening any time soon."

http://m.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2013/09/04/half-built-goodbys-creek-condo-deal.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2013-09-04&u=TRw0oGj+1To03lfSCUuPGg02a8ea14&t=1378322383&r=full

[CityLife]

Makes me wonder if there's a possibility that Berkman 2 is also structurally sound. Any structural engineers out there?

[JayBird]

^ after the garage collapse I'm not sure you'd find buyer confidence, though I believe one of the industry people before here said that in terms of structure, that can sit for another 20+ years and still be fine. The only exception being that any exposed rebar will need to be cut and replaced. That and a new publicity campaign to get over the collapse stigma and the horrid structure issues that Berkman I is experiencing

[CityLife]

Good points. I imagine that IF a new developer were to take it on, they would want to change the architectural style as well...as Berkman 1 is...umm aesthetically challenged.