by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
According to the latest data by Downtown Vision Inc. and published in its 2009 State of Downtown Progress Report, 2,704 people live in 2,365 condominiums, apartments and senior living facilities Downtown. That’s up from 1,815 residents in 1,572 units in 2005.
One of Downtown’s residents is Ali Loftin, who’s a community relations specialist at the Main Library. Her husband, Kyle, is what’s known as a “reverse commuter” since he lives Downtown and is the assistant general manager at the Aloft Hotel near Jacksonville International Airport.
The couple owns two condominiums at Residences at City Place, one they occupy and the other they lease to patients being treated at the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute in Springfield.
“We don’t just live here. We see the opportunity and we’ve invested in it,” she said.
Living Downtown allows Loftin to be close to work and walk to dining, entertainment and shopping, she said.
“It takes me five minutes to walk to work, six if I’m wearing heels. We can walk to dinner at Chew or Cafe Nola and sometimes I go grocery shopping at Winn-Dixie on my lunch hour,” she said.
“I only use my car on weekends, so I have to buy gas about once a month,” she said.
It didn’t take long for the Loftins to embrace the urban lifestyle. He’s from New Orleans and came to Jacksonville to attend Edward Waters College on a golf scholarship. She’s from Winfield, Kan., (population 11,000), and likes the neighborhood atmosphere.
“It’s urban living with small- town convenience. Everything we need is within walking distance,” said Loftin.
Loftin said she sometimes finds it hard to understand other perceptions of Downtown, particularly when it comes to homeless people.
“Homeless people are everywhere. We have homeless people back home and there are only six traffic lights,” she said.
“Every place you can live has its ups and downs,” said Loftin. She’d like to have more retail outlets, particularly boutiques, in the neighborhood and more restaurants, since she’s a vegetarian. “A Whole Foods would be nice,” she said, but overall, the Loftins wouldn’t live anywhere else.
“Sometimes I think I want to move, but then I look at the traffic on I-95 and I remember why I’m so thankful I live Downtown,” she said.
“For a young professional couple with no children so far, it’s easy living,” said Loftin.
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