by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Downtown Jacksonville residential developers got a chance to show off before some real estate agents and Duval County Sheriff John Rutherford last month.
The Northeast Florida Builders Association’s Sales and Marketing Council held a SAM Tram Builders Showcase Tour to view neighborhoods throughout downtown including 1661 Riverside, Villa Riva, SRG Homes and Neighborhoods, The Plaza, San Marco Place Luxury Condominiums and The Peninsula.
Sheriff Rutherford accompanied the Realtors on the tour because he wanted to learn more about projects and to ease Realtors’ minds concerning the safety of downtown for the future residents of the projects.
“We are committed to making these downtown neighborhoods safe,” said Rutherford. “I know one thing for sure. If they are not safe, people wouldn’t be moving down here. We are going to do our part in making sure you all are successful in bringing people to downtown Jacksonville.”
Realtors questioned Rutherford about the perception that downtown is not safe.
“The perception that downtown is not safe really is lagging behind the actual numbers,” he said. “In the past, when the numbers went down we would move manpower out. We don’t do that now. We have to leave that manpower there so they can be visible and eventually people will begin to feel safe.
“It truly is safe downtown. If you look at the numbers, it is one of the safest areas we have, particularly down around the [Jacksonville] Landing. The perception is always going to lag behind the reality and we know that. That is why we are committed to keeping that visibility down there.”
Rutherford explained to the Realtors projects they are working on, including a repeat misdemeanor statute to keep prisoners locked up rather than allowing them to continue committing crimes. The statute will also give help to the mentally ill and the severely addicted. Rutherford said he also putting more officers out on the street to increase safety all over Jacksonville.
Rutherford said he learned a lot during the tour.
“I learned that there are a lot of nice properties in Jacksonville and that we really need to pay attention to downtown,” he said “Honestly, I think we are really on the cusp of downtown really taking off into urban living. What that is going to require is good law enforcement services.”
The first property visited was 1661 Riverside, which will offer one, two and three bedroom residences including 69 contemporary lofts and 21 more traditionally styled town homes. Part of the community will be designed as an urban village with ground-floor retail shops to give a true live-work-play environment. Construction should begin on this project in September and should be complete in 2006. Currently 42 units have been reserved.
Next, the group visited Villa Riva, a luxury condominium home community on Riverside Avenue near St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Villa Riva’s 66 condominium units are now under construction with 60 percent sold. The homes have either two or three bedrooms, all with a riverfront view. Completion date is June 2005 and price ranges are from $790,000 to $1.25 million.
Heading over to the Springfield area, the Realtors visited a model home by SRG Homes and Neighborhoods at 139 W. 3rd Street. SRG is modeling the older homes in the Springfield and recreating the old look in a new home with all the upgraded qualities of today’s products.
Currently, they have 160 home sites with 17 homes available now and are building them along Market Street, East 9th Street, Silver Street and Liberty Street in Springfield. Price ranges for the homes are from the high $100,000’s to the mid $300,000’s. Each of the 160 homes will take about five months to complete.
Next the tour visited The Plaza at Berkman, previously called Berkman Plaza, on East Bay St. Realtors were escorted to two units to get a feel for the size of the units and the views available. Unlike the other projects on the tour, one, two or three bedroom and penthouse homes are currently available for immediate move-in. Of the 206 units available, 119 have been sold. Prices range from $200,000 to $500,000.
The next stop was at the San Marco Luxury Condominiums office at 1300 Riverplace Blvd. There will be one, two and three bedroom units that range in price from $190,000 to over $1 million. They will have a total of 141 units and only have 17 left to purchase. There will also be eight townhouses and six penthouses in the project. There will also be 6,200 square feet of retail space for services the residents will use. Construction should start in November and be complete by 2006.
The last stop was The Peninsula, a luxury condominium tower planned for the riverfront space between The Chart House restaurant and the Riverplace Tower, where the Realtors had lunch and received information on the upcoming project. The Peninsula, a 36-story 234-unit project, will have prices ranging from the high $200,000’s to over a $1 million. Construction should start early next year and completion is expected to be in January 2007. So far this project is 70 percent sold.
Laura Smith, vice president and regional builder manager of Countrywide Home Loans was the chair of the event and was very pleased with the turnout: “We had a great group and we had a nice variety of properties to look at priced anywhere from the $180,000’s to over a $1 million,” said Smith. “There is a lot of excitement, it was an eye-opening experience. We had a lot of people saying ‘Wow, I didn’t even know we had these types of properties available in the downtown.’ And having Sheriff Rutherford join us really cleared up some perceptions that people have of the downtown area.”