If you subscribe to our newsletter, you may have read a recent article about the Hillwood Development deal going on in Jacksonville. The proposed master development contract between the City of Jacksonville and Hillwood at the Cecil Field DRI (Development of Regional Impact) has been the “talk of the town” of late, as local developers and followers of the local commercial marketplace debate the merits of this lucrative deal. Many believe it is a great thing and will be very beneficial for the city. On the other hand, there are many local interests that feel “robbed” and believe it will be detrimental to the city and, in effect, create a development monopoly for Hillwood. At this time, I am not sure what the best move is. Cecil Field has been aggressively marketed by the City for several years with little to no success, and a change is needed to kick start new possibilities.
Updated Jacksonville market statistics reflect more outside interest from investors, and there are some off-market deals floating around town that will benefit those who have the cash to pull them off. The leasing market is starting to pick up a little steam, and I am personally involved in several deals at the moment. This activity is still on the smaller side (20,000 SF and under), but more business owners seem to be ready to take advantage of the cheap rents and other concessions landlords are offering to get a deal completed. Lately, I have even come across Landlords who are so eager to do a deal that as soon as they get wind of one, they are ready to submit a proposal whether the tenant has any interest or not! As you can see, it’s a great market in which to be a buyer or tenant shopping for new space. In 2010, our typical client is upgrading their space and location and paying similar or cheaper rents than they are paying at their current location. As for owner/user sales, the bid-ask gap is still too wide and completed deals are few and far between. There appears to be some buyer interest, but sellers are just not ready to accept today’s depressed values. However, I believe it won’t be too much longer before this gap starts to narrow and sellers in this market start to make some deals. Personally, I think later this year - in Q4 2010 and definitely by Q2 2011 - you will see several owner/user sales completed and the sales market, in general, picking up steam.
The past weekend’s weather wasn’t ideal, but I still managed to get sunburned at the beach on Sunday. The Players Championship is coming up in the next couple weeks, and locally, we are all looking forward to getting out and enjoying the tourney. I hope Tiger decides to make the trip, because if you haven’t seen him play in person, it’s a real treat regardless of how many mistresses he has following him around. I’m going to call it a day after that politically incorrect comment…and until next time, thanks for reading!
Jacob Horsley
NAI Commercial Jacksonville
Industrial Group
