Investing in the Eastside of Jacksonville

[camarocane]

If not Springfield, I second Murray Hill. There are still some deals in MH, you just have to look east of Edgewood Ave.

[FlaBoy]

^ What Tacachale said.

You are looking at $120 to get a nice property in any of those areas.

Southern portions of Lackawanna or what I have heard some beginning to call "North Riverside" already has some desirable locations near, especially King St. where there is already Bold City Brewery and the nearby commercial district. It is probably less than a 10 minute walk to Bold City and 15 minutes to Kickbacks. For the same amount of house, you are paying three or four times more to be 5 or 6 blocks south.

Also, the land owners on the southern portions of East Jax currently prefer to use that land for parking for football games and big events so I doubt much will happen around there for awhile but it is also malleable into the future.

[Adam White]

^ What Tacachale said.

You are looking at $120 to get a nice property in any of those areas.

Southern portions of Lackawanna or what I have heard some beginning to call "North Riverside" already has some desirable locations near, especially King St. where there is already Bold City Brewery and the nearby commercial district. It is probably less than a 10 minute walk to Bold City and 15 minutes to Kickbacks. For the same amount of house, you are paying three or four times more to be 5 or 6 blocks south.

Also, the land owners on the southern portions of East Jax currently prefer to use that land for parking for football games and big events so I doubt much will happen around there for awhile but it is also malleable into the future.

I believe North Riverside is east of Lackawanna, centred on Edison Avenue. I think the boundary is McDuff.

[Steve]

^ What Tacachale said.

You are looking at $120 to get a nice property in any of those areas.

Southern portions of Lackawanna or what I have heard some beginning to call "North Riverside" already has some desirable locations near, especially King St. where there is already Bold City Brewery and the nearby commercial district. It is probably less than a 10 minute walk to Bold City and 15 minutes to Kickbacks. For the same amount of house, you are paying three or four times more to be 5 or 6 blocks south.

Also, the land owners on the southern portions of East Jax currently prefer to use that land for parking for football games and big events so I doubt much will happen around there for awhile but it is also malleable into the future.

I believe North Riverside is east of Lackawanna, centred on Edison Avenue. I think the boundary is McDuff.

You would be correct.

[Steve]

In terms of investment near downtown, this is likely the next neighborhood after San Marco/Riverside/Brooklyn/Springfield.....mainly because it's the only remaining neighborhood that isn't separated from downtown by a body of water or an interstate. The only other one I'd consider is Mixon Town/North Riverside like has been mentioned.

The one challenge I have with the Eastside is the Port. It definitely doesn't help the neighborhood and it isn't going anywhere.

[vicupstate]

Springfield is still short of recovering from the housing bust. There are still bargains there and I would look there.

Could you point out these bargins, please? I guess that's subjective, but ask the local Realtors that specialize in Springfield - bargins are an endangered species.

Newly renovated space with higher finishes for under $100 a SF would be a bargain in my book. In 5 minutes I saw 1210 Walnut, 1333 Silver St., 1639 Hubbard all that fit that bill. 1424 N. Pearl is $105 a SF at full price.       

[Tacachale]

Springfield is still short of recovering from the housing bust. There are still bargains there and I would look there.

Could you point out these bargins, please? I guess that's subjective, but ask the local Realtors that specialize in Springfield - bargins are an endangered species.

Newly renovated space with higher finishes for under $100 a SF would be a bargain in my book. In 5 minutes I saw 1210 Walnut, 1333 Silver St., 1639 Hubbard all that fit that bill. 1424 N. Pearl is $105 a SF at full price.     

And how big are those houses? If they're 2-3k square feet, which is common in Springfield, you're looking at $200-300k to buy the place, plus whatever work it needs.

[Bill Hoff]

Springfield is still short of recovering from the housing bust. There are still bargains there and I would look there.

Could you point out these bargins, please? I guess that's subjective, but ask the local Realtors that specialize in Springfield - bargins are an endangered species.

Newly renovated space with higher finishes for under $100 a SF would be a bargain in my book. In 5 minutes I saw 1210 Walnut, 1333 Silver St., 1639 Hubbard all that fit that bill. 1424 N. Pearl is $105 a SF at full price.     

You Googled incorrectly.

1210 Walnut is not under $100/sq ft. It's a 3032 sq foot house for $339k .

1333 Silver Street is not under $100/sq ft. It's a 3720 sq foot house for  $389k.

1639 Hubbard Street is under $100/ sq ft, but is a flip, and doesn't have higher end finishes. It's also in an awkward location, which impacts price.

1424 N. Pearl Street is not under $100/sq ft, its a 3308 sq ft house for $350k.

You may not be aware, but typically the $ per square foot ROI decreases if a home is larger than X size (around 2500 sq feet). So, a 1200 sq foot bungalow may get $150/sq foot, while a 3600 sq foot house may get $100/sq foot.

Again, talk with the local Realtors. And do better Googling.

[vicupstate]

Springfield is still short of recovering from the housing bust. There are still bargains there and I would look there.

Could you point out these bargins, please? I guess that's subjective, but ask the local Realtors that specialize in Springfield - bargins are an endangered species.

Newly renovated space with higher finishes for under $100 a SF would be a bargain in my book. In 5 minutes I saw 1210 Walnut, 1333 Silver St., 1639 Hubbard all that fit that bill. 1424 N. Pearl is $105 a SF at full price.     

You Googled incorrectly.

1210 Walnut is not under $100/sq ft. It's a 3032 sq foot house for $339k .

1333 Silver Street is not under $100/sq ft. It's a 3720 sq foot house for  $389k.

1639 Hubbard Street is under $100/ sq ft, but is a flip, and doesn't have higher end finishes. It's also in an awkward location, which impacts price.

1424 N. Pearl Street is not $105/sq ft, its $115/sq ft. A 3038 sq ft house for $350k.

You may not be aware, but typically the $ per square foot ROI decreases if a home is larger than X size (around 2500 sq feet). So, a 1200 sq foot bungalow may get $150/sq foot, while a 3600 sq foot house may get $100/sq foot.

Again, talk with the local Realtors. And do better Googling.

I used Realtor.com

I'll give you 1210 Walnut St.

1333 Silver is $104 Sf. I wasn't off that much

1424 Pearl is listed as 3308 SF, so it is $105.

45 W. 4th St is under $100

1520 Silver is $76 a SF

2121 N. Pearl St is $94 a SF

[InterestedInJacksonville]

I didn't think I'd get so many replies, but I can't complain 

Also, wait until at least late September to visit lol. It is never a good idea for a Cali guy to come to the South during July. 

Haha, that's a something I have considered. I was in central/south Florida in May and it was already really hot. Definitely a different level/type of heat than the west coast. It's mid-80's, low 90's here during the day right now, but our nights drop into the low 60s.

In terms of investment near downtown, this is likely the next neighborhood after San Marco/Riverside/Brooklyn/Springfield.....mainly because it's the only remaining neighborhood that isn't separated from downtown by a body of water or an interstate. The only other one I'd consider is Mixon Town/North Riverside like has been mentioned.

The one challenge I have with the Eastside is the Port. It definitely doesn't help the neighborhood and it isn't going anywhere.

Excellent point! It's amazing to see the difference in home prices all over the country (And maybe world?) when looking at opposite sides of an interstate or major road. That was one of my bigger concerns about Brentwood and Lackawanna. They are so close to "happening areas" but that division is often a big deal.

Looks like the most promising part of the Eastside would be either as far south as possible (Close to the stadiums) or as close to Springfield as possible - western portion. The further north, the less potential and east is probably the worst - combination of the port and a major road cutting through. Bad news for sure.

I'll keep an open mind about these though along with Mixon Town/north Riverside/Murray Hill.

---

Also good discussion about not getting the same returns after exceeding a certain square footage. For rental properties I use a similar line of thinking.

If you can get a $50-60K home and rent it out for $700-750 a month that's pretty good in my opinion. To get that type of return on a $250K home, you'd need to charge $3500-3750 per month. Much harder to find people capable/willing to pay that amount. Of course there are a million variables, and cheaper priced homes and neighborhoods have their own unique set of challenges.

Springfield should have good appreciation though barring any major economic issues/downturns. For me , as a few others have said, it may be a bit too late to enter the market at this point. There are a few fixer-uppers there for under $100K on Realtor.com, but I don't have any experience with the level of restoration that would be required.

[InterestedInJacksonville]

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/421-N-Washington-St_Jacksonville_FL_32202_M61730-09042

Wondering what people's thoughts are on the reasons as to why this property has not sold. Looks like it's been on the market for quite some time.

It is zoned Commercial, Residental, Office (CRO) and has a total of 8, 1 bed/1 bath units. Located within the downtown area. Needs renovations but I'm thinking that if somebody put in $150-200K (Less would be better, but maybe it needs more) they would do pretty good by renting it out. Of course somebody could use it for different purposes rather than apartments if they wanted.

Too big of a project for me at this point in time, so I'm just curious as to why it hasn't sold (Outside of major structural issues). Not familiar with the area, perhaps it is in a bad area of downtown? Looking at Google Street Maps, the surrounding homes look pretty nice and well maintained.

[camarocane]

I believe that is in the Cathedral District, not Eastside. In fact, that may be a great place to invest with the upcoming Shipyard project.

[vicupstate]

when looking at opposite sides of an interstate or major road.

In my experience a RR track can do the same thing as a interstate or major road in this regard, which is why the renewal of Springfield has not 'jumped the tracks' to the Eastside. 

The rental income per SF is a genuine phenomenon, but the money in RE to me is not so much rent income but appreciation, which I believe is more reliable and greater with larger homes.   

[Tacachale]

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/421-N-Washington-St_Jacksonville_FL_32202_M61730-09042

Wondering what people's thoughts are on the reasons as to why this property has not sold. Looks like it's been on the market for quite some time.

It is zoned Commercial, Residental, Office (CRO) and has a total of 8, 1 bed/1 bath units. Located within the downtown area. Needs renovations but I'm thinking that if somebody put in $150-200K (Less would be better, but maybe it needs more) they would do pretty good by renting it out. Of course somebody could use it for different purposes rather than apartments if they wanted.

Too big of a project for me at this point in time, so I'm just curious as to why it hasn't sold (Outside of major structural issues). Not familiar with the area, perhaps it is in a bad area of downtown? Looking at Google Street Maps, the surrounding homes look pretty nice and well maintained.

I believe that is in the Cathedral District, not Eastside. In fact, that may be a great place to invest with the upcoming Shipyard project.

Right, IIJ, this is a part of  town called the Cathedral District. It's part of the downtown CBD so zoning and whatnot are a bit different than in Eastside, Springfield, etc. While the houses were built as residences, and at least some are zoned that way (or CRO), few of them are used for that purpose. Sadly, they're mainly offices now, mostly used by lawyers, bondsmen, etc. because it's nearby the police complex and the old courthouse, and nonprofits because it's, well, near all the cathedrals. They're not as popular with lawyers now that the courthouse(s) have moved several blocks west, so that may be one reason. There also may be particular issues with that building.

The Cathedral District has seen fits and starts of momentum for the last 15 years, and one day will probably be a hot spot for residential again. There's currently a proposal for a mixed-use development. It's another spot looking for pioneers, but the bar of entry is going to be pretty high considering the size and value of the properties.

[ProjectMaximus]

Interesting you mentioned self-storage. I was in Miami a while back and noticed a fairly large multi-story building coming up on one of the main roads leading into downtown that is experiencing significant development (A portion of NE 2nd Ave, in the Little Haiti neighborhood for those who are familiar with Miami). The land alone is likely worth a couple million.

I looked it up when I got back home and found that it is going to be self-storage facility. Didn't make sense to me that such prime land would be used for that of all things, but perhaps there is indeed a demand for it these days. It would net great returns I'm sure.

One thing I noticed is that CCG-2 has hotel/motel zoning. I wonder if there would be a demand for that. From what I'm seeing there are only two downtown (Hyatt and the Omni) and then a couple across Main St. Bridge towards San Marco.

I'd love to have lunch and will definitely send you a message when I'm sure of my dates. Hoping for July but if not than in August. It's great to meet people that are passionate about their city and know what's going on.

Lol the self-storage over retail idea was from one I saw above a cuban restaurant in Doral last year.

We have a hotel planned for the Laura Trio in the heart of downtown, and then possibly something in the works over in the Stadium District.

Well you are in the right place to find people passionate and knowledgeable about the city!