by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
The face of The Shipyards is starting to change . . . today.
Demolition of the main shipyard buildings is expected to start this morning as the billion-dollar project along the Northbank riverfront swings into a higher gear.
“It’s exciting because now we’ll see things happening,” said Jeff Spence, a partner in the TriLegacy Group, which is part owner of the 44-acre project. “Until now, only the demolition of the sheds has been a visible sign.”
Speaking to about 75 members of the Chamber’s Downtown Council at the River City Brewing Company Friday, Spence also said that “Mount Shipyard,” the massive pile of dirt in the middle of the project, would start disappearing in about six weeks.
“The demolition will take that long,” he said, “and then we can start spreading the dirt. Actually, it can’t come too soon. It can be a problem with the wind blowing dirt around, and with rain washing it away.”
The dirt — which came from the digging of retention ponds for the new baseball park — will be used to landscape the public areas of The Shipyards project.
“It will have a golf course feel, a sculptured feel,” said Spence. “We wanted to get away from a flat piece of property.”
The Shipyards is a 10-year project and Spence confirmed that the initial phase is on schedule: the condominium buildings which will be on the site of the old sheds, just about at the foot of A. Philip Randolph Boulevard. Construction will start late this year with occupancy expected in mid-2003.
And, he said, the high-end buyers are still calling. The project initially had six units priced at $950,000 and above. Now, there are 18.
“The interest from up north has been amazing,” said Spence. “These are people with big yachts that have gone to Palm Beach in the past; now, they have found a place which can accommodate their tastes and which has a marina that can handle 70-foot yachts.”
He said the main interest came from ads in the Wall Street Journal.
“People look at Jacksonville as part of Florida,” he said. “What that tells me is that Jacksonville needs to start looking at itself as what Jacksonville really is.”
In other comments, Spence said:
• He’d like to see the planned 350-room hotel ready for the 2005 Super Bowl, “but that may be a reach. The hotel industry, after the events of Sept. 11, is not very interested in new construction. We need to have a deal done no later than the last quarter of 2003 for it to be a reality.”
• Of the 44 acres, 27 will be devoted to public use. The Northbank Riverwalk will run through the property but it won’t be like the present Riverwalk. “Compare the look to what you’d see at [Riverside’s] Memorial Park or the Cummer Museum. It’s not going to be a sidewalk on a bulkhead.”
• And, there won’t be bulkheads except when needed for boats. “We want to have a natural feel of the land going down to the water.”