Sometimes in business, plans pivot. Bryan Weber describes the adjustments to Beacon Riverside as more of an intentional pause.
Since closing last summer on property for the high-rise condominium tower in Riverside, developers have tweaked the design from 56 units to 45.
That threw the project’s timeline off from initial projections, which had construction beginning in January.
Initial site work has begun, but Weber anticipates it will take the balance of this year to put half of the units under contract — the number needed to obtain construction financing.
NAI Hallmark Partners Inc. is developing Beacon Riverside through its affiliate HP 500 LLC.
Located on the St. Johns River between Lomax Street and Bishopgate Lane, the $55 million project will be the first luxury high-rise condominium built in Northeast Florida in nearly a decade.
Feedback from focus groups showed buyers were interested in the largest floor plans, not the smallest 1,700-square-foot ones, said Weber, a principal at Hallmark. Those units were removed in the updated design.
“People will be selling big homes. They didn’t want to drop down to 1,700 square feet,” Weber said.
The development’s floor plans now range from 2,400 to 5,000 square feet. Prices begin in the upper $700,000s, with penthouse plans topping $2 million.
Each unit will have front-to-back views that show off both the river and the city. The tower’s dual-elevator design means residents will share an elevator with only one neighbor on all floors. Amenities include full-time concierge service and an efficiency suite for overnight guests.
The project targets wealthy empty-nesters who want a lifestyle similar to the one they had as homeowners, but without the hassles of property maintenance.
Ten years ago, as the head of Flagship Communities LLC, Weber led the development of Jacksonville’s last luxury condo high-rise, Villa Riva. The turnover rate of those units has been very low, he said.
A condo complex sounds risky, given the market cliff condos fell from six years ago. Today, Jacksonville struggles to build more than 100 new condo units a year, compared to 1,000 and 2,000 during the early 2000s housing boom.
But since 2010, the number of condo sales has recovered at the same rate as overall housing. Moreover, condo prices have rebounded at twice the rate of other types of construction. That bodes well for Beacon Riverside.
The price point of luxury construction could be a problem, though.
Statistics from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors show that during the recovery in Jacksonville increases in the number of homes sales have been strongest in the $200,000-$500,000 price range. The weakest category has been $1 million and above.
Nicole Dana, Realtor for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty, the project’s sales agent, said the luxury buyers are there, but the kind of home they want hasn’t been on the market.
For years, Dana represented condo properties at other high-rise towers before coming to Beacon Riverside.
“The buyers would come in looking for, and having no issue with, a $775,000 to $2 million home. But what they were finding was the product out there was just not up to par for that price point,” she said.
Berkshire Hathaway was brought on in July because the company understands the project’s vision, Weber said. Also, Hallmark can utilize the real estate agency’s large network to get Beacon Riverside’s message out on a more efficient timeline.
So far, three of the six penthouses have been put under contract.
Based on inquiries and reservations, the team expects to have 12 units under contract by the end of September.
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