Downtown Duval Building Will Be Right Across from New Ford on Bay
In about two years, not only will we have the Hyatt, Florida Theatre, and numerous restaurants as our neighbors, but also the Ford on Bay! If you haven’t heard yet, it’s the latest multimillion dollar project happening in Downtown Jacksonville. The greatest part is, it’s being built less than 50 feet from us. We will get to see it be built first hand and be some of the first people to enjoy its’ amenities.
We are only a few seconds from the latest and greatest thing happening in Jacksonville. Come watch the magic happen while you still can! Call us at 904.479.6202 to schedule a walkthrough. In the meantime, here is a little information about the “Ford on Bay”.
The Top Bidders for Ford on Bay
Spandrel:
First to present for the Ford on Bay project was Spandrel. Spandrel presented a mixed-use project they would like to build. It included two buildings on the available 8.4 acres that totaled 594,000 sqft.
A grocer and other amenities were to fill the space, but it seems a grocer would not be a viable option for space anytime soon (Read more in the Jacksonville Business Journal article). In addition, Spandrel plans to wrap residential, retail and office space around an internal parking garage. There was even mention of a rooftop pool overlooking the riverfront restaurant. This would create what Spandrel referred to as the eastern building.
On the opposite side, the western building would be primarily residential space. Having two buildings led to the creation of the pedestrian bridge linking them to each other. A big seller on their project plan was that the company proposed a generous amount of public space to integrate other big, potential city developments.
In the end, Spandrel was only asking for two parcels, not all three, saving the third space for the Hyatt to potentially buy.
The Related Group (TRG):
Later in the day, TRG presented a mixed-use project as well. Similarly, they presented a plan with residential space, a parking garage, riverfront pool, and retail space (including plazas). But, their plan differed in a few ways, one being the potential plans for a marina although nothing was designed or presented at the time.
TRG planned to host events in the retail plazas and include “high-end amenities”. For example, wine lockers, massage rooms and cigar lounges. A grocer was important to the community, but TRG said they had no plans for one, but were open to the idea. Although, a grocer, as discussed above, is not a viable option at this time.
In the end, TRG’s final project included all three parcels available leaving no space for the Hyatt to execute their right of buying the parcel to the north of their location.
For more details on each project pitched, check out JBJ’s article.
The Unanimous Favor
After presentations, the three scorers unanimously favored Spandrel’s project over TRG. Spandrel’s beat TRG in the following features/categories:
- Multifamily Units (519 to 350)
- Retail Space (74,000 sqft to 10,000 sqft)
- Development Size (494,605 sqft to 317,100 sqft)
- Budget ($136 million to $80 million)
- Potential Profit per Sqft. ($66 to $46)
[Statistics from Jacksonville Business Journal, Feb 6]
Each project was scored based on a scoresheet highlighting important features. Overall, Spandrel averaged 86.67 points between the three judges, while TRG averaged 69.33. It also didn’t help that TRG had three lawsuits against them since 2017 while Spandrel had none.
Decisions on who the winner is will be discussed today on Feb. 21st in a DIA board meeting. We can’t wait to see who the DIA chooses!