St. John's Town Center (Jacksonville, Mayo: condo, hotel, buying)

[riveree]

Originally Posted by bale002

Excuse my ignorance, but is there a town called St. John's in St. John's County?

If not, in what town exactly is this town center? Or maybe it's in Duval?

Thanks

There is a St. John's county, this is where the city of St. Augustine is. No town or city called "St. John's" anywhere around here that I know of.

I believe the name "Saint John's Town Center" is named for the Saint Johns River - which, I agree, is a bit confusing since we have a county right next door with the name and the river itself runs through many counties, but oh well !

The Saint Johns Town Center is in Duval county, which is Jacksonville, and it's in the Southside region of the city.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by gradco2004

They are planning two 1-million square feet plus town centers for the International Golf Pkwy intersection.

Esplanade at St.Johns:
http://www.bencarterproperties.com/pdf/Esplanade_Leasing_Sheet_2006.pdf (broken link)
Developed by Ben Carter Properties (owner or St.Johns Town Center)

and

Lion's Gate at World Commerce Center:
http://www.weingarten.com/retail/property/8034-999/8034-999_mkt_pkg.pdf (broken link)
Developed by Weingarten Realty Investors

They are both scheduled to be completed and open before summer of 2009.

.......and The Avenues is expanding to across the street......malls, malls, malls will be everywhere soon !

Awesome pics Gradco! So glad you posted them!

[riveree]

Originally Posted by cricketfan

It's been rumored that there is a Macys coming into this area as well. Has anyone else heard this?

No confirmation of it, but the anchor possibilities were to have been either:

1) Nordstroms
2) Neiman Marcus
3) Macy's

Of the three, the only one running ads locally is Macy's and they seem to be ramping up on the ads, so the theory would be that we are getting a Macy's at The Saint John's Town Center as one of the Phase III anchors.

I'm psyched that we have a MAC Cosmetics, that was the last thing I still had to go to the Avenues for .

[gradco2004]

Originally Posted by riveree

.......and The Avenues is expanding to across the street......malls, malls, malls will be everywhere soon !

Awesome pics Gradco! So glad you posted them!

Just to expand further on this idea. The development across the street is actually not affiliated with the Avenues Mall (a Simon Malls Property, which is also part owner of the Town Center). The development across the street is Avenues Walk (owned by Kimco Developers, Inc). Here are some stats:

LocationI-95 & US 1 (Phillips Hwy)
Jacksonville , FL

Features600,000 sq. ft. retail center
3,500 feet of frontage on I-95.
Across from top performing regional mall in the market (Avenues).
Mixed use project containing retail, residential, hotel, and office.
Construction of a flyover with direct access from US 1.
High income population.
Largest retail trade area in Jacksonville.


The site clearing has been happening for a few months now, and appears to be almost if not already complete. They have began to tear down that gas station and other building that is where the new overpass will be. There will be a grand flyover at that entrance to cross over the railroad tracks that are behind those buildings. This is scheduled to be open summer of 2008.


Property Brochure:
http://www.kimcorealty.com/PDF/allpa...ropertyID=1189

Property Website:
Property Profile - Saturday, October 27, 2007 (http://www.kimcodevelopers.com/project_print.asp?proid=1189 - broken link)

Promotional Photos:

[gradco2004]

Originally Posted by riveree

No confirmation of it, but the anchor possibilities were to have been either:

1) Nordstroms
2) Neiman Marcus
3) Macy's

Of the three, the only one running ads locally is Macy's and they seem to be ramping up on the ads, so the theory would be that we are getting a Macy's at The Saint John's Town Center as one of the Phase III anchors.

I'm psyched that we have a MAC Cosmetics, that was the last thing I still had to go to the Avenues for .

Ben Carter held a meeting earlier this year, in which he stated that he hoped to have all three of the stores you named confirmed by the end of the year. Hopefully this will come to fruition. As far as the Macy's ads, when contacted by the Times Union earlier this year, they stated that the commericals were part of a national advertising campaign. We have a Macy's about 1 hour from us in Gainsville, and they say that the advertisement is to ramp up sales there and online. I, personally, don't buy that. They were previously quoted saying that they are eager to enter the Jacksonville area, but would not do so until they are able to secure multiple locations within our metro (sort of like what Kohl's did. Ran commercials for about 1 year, then opened like 10 stores within 3 months). I assume Macy's is getting ready to do the same thing. Although, I am not really excited about them. Being that I am from a city with a Macy's, and have shopped there my whole life, I know that Belk is the same as Macy's as far a selection. But I guess people here just want the name? I guess there is no harm in that!

[gradco2004]

"Morris said this weekend represents the second phase's soft opening. The official grand opening is set for 5-7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10 and will include fireworks, a tree-lighting ceremony and music by American Idol alumnus George Huff."

Jacksonville.com

[FLPL75]

I would love to have a Macy's in the Towne center. but heard they wanted to build a parking garage and the Towne center said no. The rumor(and we all know how they work) is they are looking at the new shopping mall near Oakleaf.

[David in JAX]

We had a similar thread a few months ago.

I read in either the TU or the JBJ that Macy's wanted multiple locations in Jacksonville, that Jacksonville is the largers market in the country that doesn't have a Macy's, and that they would be the next anchor at the Towne Center. The towne center's developers were courting Macy's, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, but the latter two were not interested in this market. My personal thought is that Nordstrom may change their mind if the newer shops do well at SJTC.

[he's so hott]

Originally Posted by David in JAX

We had a similar thread a few months ago.

I read in either the TU or the JBJ that Macy's wanted multiple locations in Jacksonville, that Jacksonville is the largers market in the country that doesn't have a Macy's, and that they would be the next anchor at the Towne Center. The towne center's developers were courting Macy's, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, but the latter two were not interested in this market. My personal thought is that Nordstrom may change their mind if the newer shops do well at SJTC.

Well, like Gradco said, Ben Carter confirmed earlier this year that he was/is in talks with all 3 to anchor phase 3 and that he hoped to announce something later this year. Typical retail lease negotiations take anywhere from 9 to 12 months so a announcement later this year would make since. Carter hasn't mentioned one word about how negotiations are going and I would suspect that he wouldn't. Nordstrom has been on the record when asked about expanding in the Jax market that they don't comment on future openings but Jax is a market that they're interested in. That comment is on the record and you can find it in if you search. Prior to Neimans being taken over by a buyout firm, the CEO of Neimans back in 03 said that the Jax market was one the company was interested in.

From the looks of it according to what has been said by the folks involved in the development, the sentitment from Nordstrom nor Neimans had changed if they were/are in talks/negotiations. What does change is the economy and retailers not locked into a contract may hold off on opening in the time frame that the developer would like versus the time frame that the department store would feel more comfortable with. We just have to wait and see what unfolds over the next 6 months b/c the developer also has to make deals with the speciality retailers so Ben Carter's plate is full.

[gradco2004]

Originally Posted by he's so hott

Well, like Gradco said, Ben Carter confirmed earlier this year that he was/is in talks with all 3 to anchor phase 3 and that he hoped to announce something later this year. Typical retail lease negotiations take anywhere from 9 to 12 months so a announcement later this year would make since. Carter hasn't mentioned one word about how negotiations are going and I would suspect that he wouldn't. Nordstrom has been on the record when asked about expanding in the Jax market that they don't comment on future openings but Jax is a market that they're interested in. That comment is on the record and you can find it in if you search. Prior to Neimans being taken over by a buyout firm, the CEO of Neimans back in 03 said that the Jax market was one the company was interested in.

From the looks of it according to what has been said by the folks involved in the development, the sentitment from Nordstrom nor Neimans had changed if they were/are in talks/negotiations. What does change is the economy and retailers not locked into a contract may hold off on opening in the time frame that the developer would like versus the time frame that the department store would feel more comfortable with. We just have to wait and see what unfolds over the next 6 months b/c the developer also has to make deals with the speciality retailers so Ben Carter's plate is full.

I have no doubts that these stores will end up here, regardless of the economy or housing market. People who shop at high-end stores are usually wealthy ($100,000+/yr) and are insullated from the ups and downs of the market. That is why stores like Saks can end up in Birmingham,AL even though they are not as large of a city as us. They have wealthy people in the oil and telecommunications, and shipping businesses there. The only thing that would prevent these stores from coming are a break-down in demands (we want to pay this amount of rent, we want this many parking spaces, etc...). These companies would be wise to jump on the bandwagon and get in early. Jacksonville will become the 2nd largest port on the east coast once Mitsui lines opens for business. That mean tons of CEOs, foreign business travelers, and "trickle-off jobs" such as engineering firms, computer software and support. The port is the one savior we have in boosting Jacksonville's bottom line. I really hope that Macy's does not end up in phase III though. It is not upscale or high end. It would propably be a better fit at Avenues Walk, Orange Park, or Rivercity Marketplace IMHO.

Oh... and check out this article:

[SIZE=3]Forbes[/SIZE] has announced the 10 Best Cities for Jobs and Jacksonville is number 4. "Mouse-town" will always be on the list due to low-paying, high volume tourism jobs. So they don't really count.

Forbes Announces Best Cities For Jobs - Small Business News Story - KNBC | Los Angeles