Laura Street Trio in Trouble? Updated status of six key Downtown projects

[For_F-L-O-R-I-D-A]

The fact this project is not underway is one of the blackest eyes our city has.

[spuwho]

Perhaps they are waiting for Lori Boyer to finish looking under all the budget rocks to see how much money we really have.

Then again look inside the Barnett Bank cornerstone. Didnt old man Barnett put 100 gold coins in the time capsule? 

[InnerCityPressure]

I thought Brown was holding up as a pawn.  Surely he will do everything in his power to push it through before the runoff.  Momentum and timing is key.

[MusicMan]

It would be nice to see CSX take a role in helping to finance this project. A long term low interest bond to get the ball rolling. If downtown Jax ever does get going CSX will benefit mightily.

[coredumped]

If it is lost as a result of the pension, then I'll say what I've said many times on this forum: the whole city must suffer, but the police and others collect obscene pensions will make no sacrifice.

What is going to be embarrassing is the 200k visitors next week for OneSpark, that saw the announcement for the Barnett building last year and there's been no progress.

[For_F-L-O-R-I-D-A]

I would vote for Brown if he would just get this done alone. Right now I am completely undecided. I feel like this city remains in neutral while everyone else is moving.

[tufsu1]

I would vote for Brown if he would just get this done alone. Right now I am completely undecided. I feel like this city remains in neutral while everyone else is moving.

not to turn this into a political thread, but has Curry intimated in any way that he could/would get it done?

[menace1069]

That would be a real shame if this project didn't come to fruition.  I was really excited when I saw the plans of mixing new and old  together into something that would start adding to the downtown landscape.

I am an avid reader of MJ, although I rarely comment on the stories, and I just don't understand why Jax can't get things going.  I have read about multiple projects and ideas that people have that would be great for Jax, but then it fizzles out as if Jacksonville is destined to stay mediocre at best.

What needs to happen to start the ball rolling? Talk is cheap...let's see some action.

[jaxjaguar]

As many wise users have said on here many, many times before... don't believe any of the projects slated for downtown will actually happen until they are 100% complete and open. Otherwise, you'll just constantly set yourself up for disappointment from failed projects and indefinite delays.

[PeeJayEss]

It would be nice to see CSX take a role in helping to finance this project. A long term low interest bond to get the ball rolling. If downtown Jax ever does get going CSX will benefit mightily.

How so? Downtown takes off, their property value rises, and they get to pay higher taxes? I don't see how a bustling downtown helps an international transportation company. Hell, maybe they'll relocate.

[InnerCityPressure]

I would vote for Brown if he would just get this done alone. Right now I am completely undecided. I feel like this city remains in neutral while everyone else is moving.

not to turn this into a political thread, but has Curry intimated in any way that he could/would get it done?

Curry hasn't intimated anything about this or any project, issue, or philosophy that concerns the City of Jacksonville, FL.

[simms3]

Jax property taxes are a drop in the bucket for a company like CSX.  Somehow companies manage to survive with much larger offices in New York and San Francisco!

Totally get your point though.  Not sure that CSX "needs" to be downtown.  Their "campus"/buildings there are hideous anyway.  In an active market with redevelopment potential and demand by new users, I'd say get them the hell out, demolish their shit, and start fresh with something decent.  But that will NEVER happen.

In fact, since they own at least one of those buildings, the whole thing has probably been retrofitted for CSX's exclusive use.  If they were to leave, not only would a *huge* chunk of the already small downtown population of workers (and restaurant/shop customers) leave, it would be difficult to backfill their space.  That building just doesn't look efficient or nice at all.

[simms3]

^^^can you remind me what financing we are talking about?

In my world, stuff happens when financing is in place.  Sometimes stuff happens when financing isn't in place.  We went spec on an office tower in Denver without financing in place, and then we secured financing, but it was structured such that proceeds wouldn't be available until certain hurdles were met along the way.  Why isn't anything happening here?  What kind of financing is it, and for what?

Is Stashe/Khan providing what is essentially a subscription line to help the project get started without traditional c-loan in place?  If that's the case, it's hard to call that "financing" if it's only a limited option to start the project and nothing more (and there are probably hurdles in place for that...and it's probably not the cheapest money).

Based on my experience, and obviously I'm not sitting in the Edgewood Bakery with all of the partners hashing things out like you are, but if this thing could get done today and someone was motivated enough to do it and that person or another involved person had the money, this thing would be underway.

Someone, or some people, are not pulling the trigger, for years now.  For a project this small (and it is small...maybe not for Jax, which is probably part of it, but in terms of dollars and cents it is small), this project is really dragging.

I don't think anyone is saying that they know for sure this isn't happening sometime in the next 100 years, but really, when IS this going to get going?

Wasn't Marriott lined up as an operator/flag for the hotel component?  Isn't the parking component easy enough to get done?  Even in Jax?  Certainly we're not waiting on a restaurant here?  An un-leased restaurant space of this magnitude has the same risk profile of a leased restaurant space of this magnitude.  This deal cannot possibly hinge on the restaurant - that in and of itself is almost like a separate investment, especially when compared in size to the rest of the project (it's a heft component).

Can't they move forward with the hotel piece?  Or is that contingent on signing up an operator that Marriott agrees with?  Thought it was only going to be a Courtyard or some similar limited service concept?

Rambling, but come on, Stephen, remind us all what's going on here.

Thanks,

yours truly

[fieldafm]

He had all the liquidity in the world

Cameron Kuhn had very little liquidity. Once his twice-convicted money laundering buddy (currently encarcerated) cut him off, all of his middle market lenders filed foreclosures against his real estate holdings and he then got into the food truck game. After selling his little food cart, he then tried to unscrupulously backdoor his way back into an ownership interest of his once-most-prized possession, The Plaza in Orlando (during a time when the various condo associations within the complex were facing their own foreclosure suits).  Luckily, the legal community was able to pry Kuhn's hands off of the complex (for a second time).

Let's set the record straight on Kuhn, he's already been extended far too much 'credit'.

[Lunican]

Jax property taxes are a drop in the bucket for a company like CSX.  Somehow companies manage to survive with much larger offices in New York and San Francisco!

CSX doesn't pay property taxes to COJ anyway.

Assessed Value: $23,177,200.00
Railroad Oper Property (926)- $23,061,314.00
Taxable Value: $115,886.00

http://apps.coj.net/pao_propertySearch/Basic/Detail.aspx?RE=0889580010