Living rooms have overtaken cubicles as the driving force shaping downtown Jacksonville.
Downtown is gaining more residents and visitors, but office buildings are experiencing higher vacancy rates and the No. 1 concern voiced by residents and workers alike is encountering panhandlers while walking through downtown.
That’s the latest take on the State of Downtown in a report released by Downtown Vision, the nonprofit that represents property-owners in the 3.9 square mile area that falls within the downtown boundaries.
Here are some key takeaways of the interactive report.
Sipping and strolling:Want to drink a wine while on downtown riverwalk? A change could allow that.
Apartment tower:Iconic ‘wave’ design approved for 24-story building on downtown Jacksonville’s Southbank
Mega-development:Design shown for 22-floor building in downtown
Downtown is headed toward nearly 12,000 residents
Residential development has drawn 7,965 people to live in downtown, double what it was in 2013. When eight projects currently under construction get completed, the downtown population will swell to 11,908 residents.
“The residential community is booming,” Downtown Vision CEO Jake Gordon said.
The average occupancy rate for residential buildings is 97.4% in downtown. The coming years will show whether residential demand will keep up with new housing that’s rising up in locations across the expanse of downtown.
The eight projects under construction are Artea at Southbank, Independent Life tower, Johnson Commons, Lofts at the Cathedral, 1 Riverside Avenue, RISE: Doro, Four Seasons Residences, and Union Terminal Warehouse.
Gordon said as more people move downtown, they will support the growth of retail and restaurants that will make it more attractive for others to head downtown for dining and nightlife.
“I tell people who are outside Jacksonville, ‘Hey, we’re building a Whole Foods right now,'” he said of the grocery store that will be part of the 1 Riverside Avenue development in the Brooklyn…
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