by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Downtown’s residential market will take a leap forward Friday as The Carling, the area’s newest highrise apartment building, opens its doors. Under construction for more than 15 months, project developer The Vestcor Companies said approximately one-third of the building’s 100 units are already leased.
“We’re down to the final stretch, where we are addressing those last few punch items,” said Vestcor President Mark Farrell. “We’re pushing hard and it’s going to look absolutely beautiful.
“It’s taken some time but we’ve been, for the most part, lucky to have avoided any major obstacles in bringing it online.”
Farrell said Vestcor, who also helmed efforts to develop thriving apartment complex 11E, is “pleasantly surprised” to see the demand for downtown rising remains strong.
Rent at the Carling ranges from $525 for a lower level studio apartment to $1,680 for a two-bedroom penthouse loft.
“Not that we ever had any doubts, but it’s wonderful to see our projections become a reality,” he said. “We’ve worked very hard to make The Carling a complement to the rest of downtown while also maintaining the historical grandeur of the building. Everything is a go for Friday.”
Each of the Carling’s 12 floor plans feature hardwood floors, a remodeled kitchen and large windows. And, as with 11E, rent also includes free access to an in-house gym — it’s three times as large as 11E’s — an assigned space in a neighboring parking garage and an open-ended invitation to monthly socials that are held in a first floor common area.
The Carling, which at one time operated as The Carling and later the Roosevelt Hotels, opened in 1926 with a thriving business. However, a fire 40 years later ravaged the building, killing 22 people.
The hotel closed the following year, making way for the Jacksonville Regency House, a retirement community. That venture lasted only briefly before the building lay dormant until 2003 when Vestcor was selected by the City to convert it for mixed-residential use.