The continued growth of Downtown residential and retail properties remain the top priority for the Downtown Investment Authority, CEO Lori Boyer said Nov. 10 at the Northeast Florida Builders Association’s Sales & Marketing Council meeting.
Residential growth remains the catalyst for retail businesses and other amenities, she said.
Downtown has a residential occupancy rate of 97.4%, with 7,695 people living in the city core.
She said there are 4,619 residential units, with 1,360 under construction and more than 3,000 units proposed or in review.
The target number of residents to create an influx of retail businesses Downtown had long been 10,000.
With rising building costs and other expenses, the target population now is 13,000 to 15,000 residents, Boyer said.
It may take three to four years to reach those numbers, she said.
Boyer said the One Riverside development is a model for growth. The property where The Florida Times-Union offices once stood will have residential and retail space along the St. Johns River, as well as a Whole Foods Market. It is also designed to include a restaurant.
The DIA has 69 projects that are in planning or have been recently completed.
Rental units comprise much of the residential property. That is what the market will support.
“I would love to have condos. I have people all over the place asking me about buying condos, but with the market the way it is and its costs and the various cancellation rights and everything else, it is next to impossible to get anybody to build a condo tower at this point,” she said.