Although indicators begin to point an economic downturn sooner than later, developers focused on downtown Jacksonville say they aren’t pressing pause just yet.
Downtown was spotlighted Thursday during a panel discussion at the Urban Land Institute Florida Summit, a gathering of real estate professionals whose schedule includes a bike tour of the Springfield neighborhood, a walking tour of downtown and golf at The Player’s Championship Stadium Course
The opening session gave downtown developers a chance to talk about their view of the area to an audience of hundreds.
Several on the panel noted that although costs of construction are steadily rising and interest rates are increasing, the amount of demand and level of rents are still present in Jacksonville to support continued development.
Greg Blais, president of multifamily developer RISE, noted that in general developments aren’t stopping, but the pace will begin to slow down.
“We’re still very bullish,” Blais said. RISE — which moved its headquarters to Jacksonville last year — is underway on The Doro apartment project in the Sports & Entertainment District and several others.
Several panelists noted Jacksonville is better positioned than other metros because of the amount of land it still has available for development, in addition to factors like job growth and low unemployment.
Mark Lamping of the Jacksonville Jaguars pointed out that overall infrastructure needs to keep up with the amount of development that will happen over the next few years as Jacksonville continues to grow.
Panelists pointed to Tampa as an example of a place that Jacksonville can emulate when it comes to transforming downtown into a destination.
Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer led the panel, which included Lamping, Lane Gardner of Hines, Blais, Marc Munago of VanTrust, and Heather Reynolds of Fuqua Development.
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