The Vision is getting clearer every year.
Downtown Vision Inc., the nonprofit charged with promoting Downtown Jacksonville, revealed in its annual State of Downtown Report that its mission of enticing businesses and people to invest or make the area their new home is working.
The 36-page report, released Wednesday, is packed full of statistics, graphs, photographs and content that outlines how far the city and its affiliates have come in improving the Downtown corridor.
In addition to DVI's efforts, the report emphasizes the $35 million in investments made by the Downtown Investment Authority over the past four years in commercial, residential and retail projects.
For example, DIA's retail enhancement grant program has provided more than $690,000 to Downtown-based restaurants, resulting in 127 new jobs and activating 41,000 square feet of underutilized retail space.
The report also highlights that dozens of new businesses are moving into the area, either demolishing and constructing new buildings or renovating historic structures, such as the Barnett and the Laura Street Trio buildings as well as stated plans for The District and The Shipyards.
All of those, if developed, will bring in hundreds of hotel rooms, residential units and retail space, the report says, adding that office vacancy rates have fallen, lease rates have increased and apartments are snapped up as soon as they're available.
“This report offers great news for everyone who lives in Duval County,” said Jake Gordon, Downtown Vision's CEO. “We're seeing Downtown transform before our eyes thanks to support from our mayor, City Council and agencies like DIA, and because of numerous Downtown stakeholders, such as small businesses, private developers and concerned nonprofits.”
Other facts that were provided in the report include:
• Of the estimated 55,000 employees who work Downtown, the report says that 78 percent of them like or love it, nearly 71 percent are college educated, 43 percent are under the age of 45 and 57 percent have an annual household income of $80,000 or higher.
• Supporting the fact that very few Downtown employees live in the same place they work, the report also states that 70 percent of them have a commute time of 30 minutes or less.
• Of the 4,842 people living Downtown, a 2017 resident survey by DVI reports that 86 percent are satisfied with the area and that the demand is high with residential units being 96 percent occupied.
• Dining venues and coffee shops take up the most retail space Downtown at 38 percent, with banks coming in second at 10 percent.
Data compiled for the report was pooled from various sources, the report says, including Downtown property owners and facility managers, along with directly from organizations such as the JAX Chamber and Visit Jacksonville and government entities like the City of Jacksonville and the Duval County Property Appraiser.