This isn't a deal
for bargain-hunters, coupon-clippers or Kmart shoppers.
This is a deal for people with money. And a lot of it.
The developers of the Shipyards, a pocket of homes, offices and a
park on 45 acres of riverfront property across from Alltel Stadium
in downtown Jacksonville, are about to put the first condominiums
from the project up for sale. The homes, 100 in total, will be built
in a trio of six-story buildings, and each condo will have a view of
the St. Johns River, a gourmet-style kitchen and a personal
concierge in the lobby.
And the price for each of six of these soon-to-built condos?
One million dollars.
Welcome to the new downtown Jacksonville. This is the area
Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney dubbed the billon dollar-mile. And
at the Shipyards, the prices for the condos -- none will be less
than $395,000, and the majority will be about $700,000 -- are, so
far, the most expensive over all of any residences planned for the
entire downtown redevelopment effort. The biggest condos, at a
little more than $1 million each, will have 2,500 square feet of
space.
The prices threaten to tip the First Coast real estate market
into unchartered waters. While there are several million dollar
homes throughout Northeast Florida, the average price for a new
house in the area is about $150,000; it's about $115,000 for an
existing home. That fits snugly into the average household income in
the area, which is about $55,000 a year, according to recent U.S.
census figures.
But million dollar homes downtown can only be a realistic option
for a tiny minority of First Coast residents, some local real estate
experts said. The high prices also work against what has long been a
selling point of Jacksonville -- a low cost of living that makes the
area the antithesis of South Florida's pricey housing market.
"My guess is that there isn't a very deep market for million
dollar homes downtown," said Paul Krutko, executive director of the
Downtown Development Authority, a Jacksonville agency that oversees
downtown development. "But maybe there are 50 or 100 people that fit
the profile."
The people behind the Shipyards condos remain undaunted, though.
Ham Traylor, a spokesman for the development company, TriLegacy,
said a lottery has been set up to award the first 65 homes because
of high demand. A drawing has been scheduled for next month.
"The prices are high, but we are offering the only project like
this on the river," Traylor said. "We are not asking for anything
out of line with what people ask for in Amelia Island or at the
Beaches."
'A special city'
Downtown Jacksonville, though, is far removed from Amelia Island
or the Beaches, both in mileage and image. Some homes and condos
along the Atlantic Ocean are commonly sold for prices reaching seven
figures. Ritzy homes have attracted stores and restaurants to cater
to those residents.
In contrast, a converted industrial zone where hundreds of
welders once assembled massive ships used in both World Wars will be
the site of the Shipyards condos. The Maxwell House Coffee Co.
factory, the old Ford assembly plant and the Duval County jail are
long-standing institutions that have defined the area. With the
exception of the Jacksonville Landing, which is just down the
street, the area is void of retail stores.
Ray Rodriguez, who studies the First Coast housing market through
the Jacksonville based Real Estate Strategy Center of North Florida,
Inc. said million dollar condos downtown are a stretch. Most cities
that have downtown houses priced in excess of $1 million are
political, social and business hubs, Rodriguez said.
"We are good in other things, but we are not good in warranting
that type of clientele," Rodriguez said. "If you look at cities like
Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York City these are metropolitan
cities known for having famous people living in them. What famous
people do we have that the whole country knows about? The answer is
none."
Rodriguez also said million dollar condos downtown will be a
tough sell over a long-term basis because there aren't enough buyers
to go around. The list of millionaires in Jacksonville is much
smaller than other places, such as New York or San Francisco. Also,
the city isn't a home base for any Fortune 500 companies.
"We have a good climate and a good tax base, but that does not
motivate people to buy million dollar condos," he said. "You better
be a special type of city and Jacksonville is not."
Traylor and a team of TriLegacy executives visited two other
downtowns as part of their research into setting the prices for the
condos. In San Francisco, they looked at a building of loft-style
apartments in the booming area near Pac Bell Park, the new baseball
stadium for the Giants. In Boston, they saw smaller units in a
highly populated part of town that hugs the Charles River.
Prices for those units approached the million dollar range,
although Traylor said those homes were roughly 1,000 square feet
smaller than the ones in Jacksonville.
