220 Riverside Breaks Ground: A New Day For Brooklyn?

[Scrub Palmetto]

Seems a bit like posting about an airliner crash and saying you hope it doesn't happen to any similar planes in Jax. It is a rational concern, of course, but the question of likelihood or rate of incidence is still up in the air, no pun intended. I'm sure I'm asking the wrong folks, but what are the chances of a fire like this in a completed project with all its fire protection features in place?

[edjax]

Or two 5 story brick buildings could explode due to a gas leak. 

[simms3]

^^^Yes.  Not relevant to 220 Riverside, though, especially since those apartments won't likely be serviced with gas.

I was blown away how quickly a wooden frame new construction building could burn down (the whole thing went down in about half an hour!).  I'm sticking to concrete construction when I can.

[edjax]

So any news on the hotel that was mentioned?

[ProjectMaximus]

So any news on the hotel that was mentioned?

the only insights I have that are peripherally applicable are that:

1) The piece of undeveloped land to the east of the condos is still transitioning from multiple ownership. Once the negotiations are complete then we can expect to see plans for development on it.

2) I don't think the land north of Unity Plaza (where it's mentioned on this thread that the hotel would be) belongs to the developers. I could be wrong, but I've heard they are trying to acquire patches of land north of the plaza to turn into  a larger greenspace adjacent to the plaza.

[jaxjaguar]

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2014/04/07/hotel-in-the-works-for-220-riverside-site.html

[edjax]

And another article just posted showing Coley signing the first lease.  It states have 20 others ready for signing. It did state the rates are in $1.45-$1.50 per sqft range with some up to $1.65. Article also has info on the commercial aspect and what is lined up for it. Exciting.

[CityLife]

I know another group is exploring the possibility of a hotel in that vicinity as well. Exciting times.

[duvaldude08]

Exciting times indeed. In between this and the trio movement, looks like we may FINALLY have something going on here

[Stephen]

I was shocked at how high the rent are in 220 .I visited the office and they were every nice but the rents are just too high for a relatively small space..

[simms3]

^^^Consider that a steal relative to other cities in the SE.

Keep in mind that most SS apartments are absolute shit construction (so shitty they wouldn't even be able to be constructed in several metro areas in this country).  It's very inexpensive for a developer to throw one of those up, put up some cheap crown moulding, install cabinets that "look" expensive but are horribly crafted, and throw in "stainless steel" GE appliance, spending relatively little money on granite countertops, and bingo you have an apartment that appears extremely nice and luxurious, certainly spacious.

This construction required the rental of a tower crane ($5-20K per day depending on city), concrete for first 1-2 floors, and better wood frame construction for upper 5 (reaches upper limit allowed and able to be engineered using wood).  The land was a lot more expensive (relative to Jacksonville as a whole).  The permitting process was probably lengthy, and there were probably a lot more hurdles to jump through given the area.  Not only that, area contractors aren't super experienced in this type of multifamily construction.  I'm sure that presented obstacles and didn't help construction pricing.  No contractors have large orders for subs, and subsequently materials for this kind of apartment, because it's the only one of its kind going up.  So therefore, fewer discounts on hard costs.

All in all, $1.40-$1.70psf rents for this Type III construction infill this close to downtown in a 1.5 million person metro is about as low as it gets in the country.  The fact that you think it's super expensive is indicative of the high perception "market" hurdle these developers must cross over to make their projects a financial success.

[mtraininjax]

I was shocked at how high the rent are in 220 .I visited the office and they were every nice but the rents are just too high for a relatively small space..

It takes them 10 years to get the product to market, they add 200+ events to the Unity Plaza, add a kick-ass grocery store and what do they people say about the product......."the rents are just too high for.....the space".

Nice

[Steve]

The rents are at market for that type of building, and around what Bell Riverside is. People should pay a little premium for an awesome location.

[ProjectMaximus]

I was shocked at how high the rent are in 220 .I visited the office and they were every nice but the rents are just too high for a relatively small space..

It takes them 10 years to get the product to market, they add 200+ events to the Unity Plaza, add a kick-ass grocery store and what do they people say about the product......."the rents are just too high for.....the space".

Nice

The grocery store is a separate project, but I agree...awesome location. This area should be killing it in the next couple years.