Urban Construction Update - July 2015

[Lunican]

I've noticed that Riverside/Avondale has a lot of pretty run down houses considering the prices people are asking. I guess that's why some houses are on the market for years.

[jcjohnpaint]

We visited some that were falling down/ bad termite problems/ etc and they were asking 300,000 easy.  Not much in a great city, but here??

[simms3]

It's one of the things I notice most when I come to Jax.  Relativity is hard for me in terms of pricing because a 250 sf studio with no window/view, where I live, could sell for $400K+.  Butttt, maybe it's just the fact that there is too much vegetation to maintain, but overall the city looks extremely unkempt, everywhere, all the time.

Something about yards...everyone seems to think they want one, especially a big one, but nobody fucking maintains them at all.  Most people don't have the time, and they don't have the money for law/gardening services.

Wealthier areas in Jax with overgrown yards, paint peeling on otherwise really nice homes that could be mansions in some cities, and cars parked on lawns and sidewalks that haven't been maintained in 70+ years makes otherwise affluent/nice areas look more "ghetto" and gross to me than seedy, dense urban areas in our more urban centers.

My opinion of yards is akin to "eyes bigger than stomach" in food buffets.  How about we double or triple density, start eliminating these massive yards, repairing sidewalks, and putting people on the streets (walking terms), and our play areas can be a park system that benefits from use, watchful eyes, and neighborly conviction, rather than the abandoned plots of mulch and unkempt grass/trees they are now.

[Lunican]

^ Yeah, returning from Chicago after a few years, Riverside looked like some kind of weird rural ghetto (https://goo.gl/maps/mfr4e) where people haphazardly park on their front lawns and three bars make the biggest nightlife district in the city. But now I'm used to it again...

[Tacachale]

Lol, I'm sure y'all would be the experts on what qualifies as "rural", "ghetto", and "seedy".

[Lunican]

Sorry if that was your house!

[Tacachale]

So all us seedy rural ghetto folks all look the same to you? 

[Lunican]

Riverside definitely isn't the worst area in town. The point is that it's supposed to be Jax's premiere urban neighborhood but the prices don't reflect the reality. At least that is my complaint. I don't mind seedy rural ghetto as long as it's priced right.

[Tacachale]

So what would the right price point be for you for "seedy rural ghetto"? Honestly, I've found most prices in Riverside reflect "reality" more than any Bay Area community that I've ever been too.

[jcjohnpaint]

I don't think the prices are competitive with the suburbs for the space, but the neighborhoods are wonderful. 

[thelakelander]

I don't know about pricing, but neighborhoods like Riverside look pretty comparable to their siblings in other southern cities (ex. Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, Birmingham, Norfolk, New Orleans, etc.), in terms of lawn care and maintenance.


Seminole Heights - Tampa, FL

I may be wrong but from what I can tell visually (no data backing me up), in denser cities in other climates, the yards (if they have them) are smaller in lot size and don't grow as fast during the summer months (easier to maintain).


Much easier to maintain your front yard when it doesn't exist! - San Francisco, CA


Or when it's limited in size. - Alexandria, VA

Also, there's more of a willingness in the local population (where there's decent walkability and reliable transit) to have less automobiles (a family may have 1 instead of +2) and to sacrifice number of street lanes for on-street parking.

See the images below. I believe if one proposed to one-way streets in local neighborhoods, in order to increase on-street parking and reduce vehicles in yards, you'd have a fight on your hands.


Lakeview - Chicago, IL


South Street - Philadelphia, PA

[acme54321]

Just drove by the new Daily's site in San Marco and it looks like they are out there setting sheet piling.  I'm presuming it's prep for tank installation.  Looks like they are about to get moving on this thing. 

[thelakelander]

^Yes, the permit was recently pulled:

1916 Atlantic Blvd., new Daily's convenience store and gas station, $1.15 million, 5,000 square feet, plus a $250,000 car wash, C&R General Contractors. Car wash, $250,000. Daily's paid $1.6 million for a little more than an acre between Atlantic, Kings Avenue, Farragut Place and Olevia Street.

http://jacksonville.com/business/2015-08-01/story/sunday-business-notebook-dealerships-overhauling-cassat-avenue

[johnnyliar]

Are you sure a bowling alley is going into 1012 King Street?  Doesn't it seem a little small for a restaurant/bar and a bowling alley?

I did a little research and it seems as though Scott McAllister bought the old Phoenix Lanes on Blanding Blvd.

Might there be a mix up in some of the details?

Seriously, that building seems WAY too small for a 99 seat restaurant and bowling!

[PeeJayEss]

Riverside definitely isn't the worst area in town. The point is that it's supposed to be Jax's premiere urban neighborhood but the prices don't reflect the reality. At least that is my complaint. I don't mind seedy rural ghetto as long as it's priced right.

What does that mean and when was it supposed to be true of Riverside? Riverside may be the up and coming "hip" neighborhood, but I don't think the word premiere would apply (and urban is a stretch as well). Southbank would be the closest thing to premiere or urban, but Riverside is pretty typical for a neighborhood in the middle throes of gentrification.

And while the 3 bars thing was obviously a throw-away comment, I'll address that as well. 5 Points is not qualitatively different than commercial areas in similarly-sized neighborhoods in cities around the country. The real estate might be cheaper, but the business makeup and activity levels aren't a whole lot different. Same goes for the 1.5 blocks of King Street that are conducive to development. Compare that to any nightlife block in any other city, and its not exactly night and day. It's just that King Street only has a block or two of it.