Jacksonville is a 'Market to Watch'

Jacksonville is a "small market to watch," according to a report on trends in urban real estate.

The report, Emerging Trends in Real Estate, is produced annually by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers and is based on surveys of 600 real estate experts across the country.

The surveyed experts indicated there will be a great deal of uncertainty in 2008 in the commercial real estate market, but the expected downturn in the market will be much less severe than the one in the residential market.

"Overall, a correction could be good for the industry, keeping supply and demand in balance, curbing overdevelopment and flushing out low-quality investors," said Tim Conlon, partner and U.S. real estate practice leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "By the same token, there are still investment opportunities and there is still a good deal of demand from investors.

The top-rated commercial real estate markets were New York; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Boston; San Diego; and Denver.

The report notes the top markets are 24-hour cities with a path to international markets, and all have a major international airport and/or shipping port, an educated workforce and a vital Downtown.

Jacksonville, along with Tampa, Orlando and 11 other cities, were among the small markets to watch, despite the fact that "investors typically back away from smaller markets during a correction."

Source: Jacksonville Business Journal

Selva Marina Unveils Redevelopment Plans

Selva Marina Country Club is planning a nearly $17 million project that includes a clubhouse and golf course restructuring in order to increase memberships and be a more competitive player in the marketplace.

The 49-year-old country club will build a new clubhouse, expand its golf course and build a residential community as soon as it can confirm a buyer for the 30 acres of residential-intended land. The country club has already hired architects to design all the properties, and renderings were released at the announcement Thursday. Selva Marina's directors are hoping that the land sale will compensate for renovation expenses.

The City of Atlantic Beach has approved entitlement for the property designated for sale. A portion of that land is also waiting for approval by the City of Jacksonville. There has been a lot of interest in the land but the downturn in the real estate market is effecting potential buyers, said the country club's board president, Alan Ennis, who is also senior vice president at Florida Capital Bank.

In the meantime, Ennis said the board will go through a nine-to 12-month process in getting the permitting and completing environmental studies for its developments. Once Selva Marina receives funding for the entire project -- which could include a loan and an increase in membership initiation fees -- construction could take 12 to 15 months to complete.

The residential segment will have about 100 homes with five different lot sizes. Price estimates range from $250,000 for a bungalow lot to $700,000 for an estate lot, Ennis said. The designer, Clifford Duch, is partner and director of architecture for Cronk Duch.

The 20,000-square-foot clubhouse will be demolished to build an 18,000-square-foot clubhouse with more amenities, including a child care center and fitness center. The existing clubhouse is not ADA-compliant, and it would have cost almost as much to renovate as to rebuild, Ennis said.

The golf course has been redesigned by golf architect Bobby Weed, founder of Weed Golf Course Design. The new course will be a par 71 and will include new and existing holes, and a new irrigation and fertilization system. Weed said the course will have a similar orientation as the existing one but will be more open, as some trees will be taken down.

The course is expected to close for eight months for renovations.

Ennis hopes the project will help Selva Marina become a more competitive player in the area and increase memberships. There are about 610 Selva Marina members. The board's goal is to reach 875 members, he said.

Souce: Jacksonville Business Journal