Portion of Riverside YMCA land is for sale

[thelakelander]

Much of the land where the Yates Family YMCA now sits on Riverside Avenue is for sale. Of course, the buyer will have to wait until the new Y is finished before he can do anything with it.

In early May, not long before construction began on that new YMCA on the river, Eric Mann, president and CEO of First Coast YMCA, talked about the parcel up on Riverside.

The initial plan was a parking lot, he said, but the board of directors would consider selling it for development. The board did and it's for sale.

Dave Auchter, executive vice president of NAI Hallmark Partners which has the listing, said the "for sale" sign will go up in front of the building this week and marketing begins in earnest.

The asking price: $1.9 million for 1.2 acres.

Full article: http://jacksonville.com/business/2015-07-06/story/riverside-ymca-land-sale-after-new-y-build

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

Would be a great place for a tower to look over the Y with a clear view of the river.

[thelakelander]

It's a great site for a hotel or multifamily housing...

[ProjectMaximus]

Sounds like it'll be the first downtown tower to go up in many years.

[jcjohnpaint]

It seems like the parcel just left of the Y closest to Riverside Ave is used for not much of anything.  I believe Haskell is parking equipment there now.   I wonder if that land is for sale. 

[acme54321]

Sounds like it'll be the first downtown tower to go up in many years.

What tower?

[CCMjax]

It's a great site for a hotel or multifamily housing...

The new plan looks good.  Please somebody buy it and put some street-front mixed use or hotel.  A surface lot on Riverside Ave. would be terrible.

[Captain Zissou]

I agree with everyone above that something with some height would maximize the use of the site and add to the feel of the area.  Based on the rendering, would the Y keep the land for the garage and lease it to the buyer of the street front lot?  In my opinion, it should be the opposite.  Let the developer buy the land and build the garage with a number of ground floor spaces dedicated to the Y.

[ProjectMaximus]

Sounds like it'll be the first downtown tower to go up in many years.

What tower?

Just guessing that it would be a tower. Looking at Lake's rendering it would be a tiny parcel for almost $2 million. Can't imagine not building up...

[vicupstate]

I don't see a tower going there unless you consider 5-7 stories to be a tower.

[thelakelander]

There's really no reason to build a tower in DT Jax. I wouldn't expect anything above 5 - 7 stories either.

[Bill Hoff]

Hello aquarium!

[brainstormer]

A mid-rise building with apartments or a hotel would compliment the area nicely. The development should ultimately add foot traffic for the numerous retail establishments opening up within walking distance.

[ProjectMaximus]

I don't know, I'm hoping for 10-15. It really depends on when this thing actually happens and how far along Brooklyn comes in that time span.

[jaxjaguar]

What's the projected height of the new y, 50-60 feet? I'd imagine if a mixed use residential / hotel went in it would be higher than 5-7 stories. People would pay for a good river view and 2 floors above the Y wouldn't give much to anyone other than the top floor.