Esplanade Condos at St. John's Town Center (Jacksonville: for sale, houses)

[jcs2000]

Any personal feedback on this development?
Location seems great and currently closing out existing inventory.
Any positive or negative comments from established residents about this development would be appreciated.

[cellson]

I heard someone say offhand that these condos have had some mold issues...bear in mind that I did not see the mold, nor do I know anyone who lives in or owns one of those units. I'd ask though before I made an offer, if it's true the sellers must disclose this info. Good luck

[riveree]

Originally Posted by cellson

I heard someone say offhand that these condos have had some mold issues...bear in mind that I did not see the mold, nor do I know anyone who lives in or owns one of those units. I'd ask though before I made an offer, if it's true the sellers must disclose this info. Good luck

I remember seeing that in the news a while back, here's an article about Esplanade and they mention it here as well, sounds like it's been addressed:

Jacksonville.com

It's a hard image to shake though, remember when the homes in James Island were found to have mold? Something about the windows being improperly installed. The houses might be fine now, but people remember those things .

[rtt]

I thought the auction was last weekend? Maybe its this weekend. Went over to take a look about 3 weeks ago and they were VERY nice, I thought. If I had some extra cash and a student at UNF I'd buy one for them to live in. Nice pool, rec area, great location. I think there are older people living there for the most part which would make it quiet, too. The price sure is right. There's one with a stellar view of the back green area, just seeing the tops of pine trees. I think its the fourth floor unit. There's another nice one overlooking the pool which may be noisy, and the largest unit for sale who's drawback is that it looks over the parking garage.

[apvbguy]

am I the only one who thinks that living adjacent to a major regional shopping center is not really a good location?

[HIF]

I think it would be cool if one liked to shop and dine close to home. Mizner Park in Boca is like that and has been very successful.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by HIF

I think it would be cool if one liked to shop and dine close to home. Mizner Park in Boca is like that and has been very successful.

I guess if you can put up with all the people, traffic, noise and pollution it is convienient, If I wanted that I would've moved to NYC, it's got all that but the weather

[riveree]

Originally Posted by apvbguy

am I the only one who thinks that living adjacent to a major regional shopping center is not really a good location?

I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's not for me personally, but I bet it's desirable to buyers in a lot of ways.

For one, it's a destination. It may not be everyone's top choice for a destination, but a destination nonetheless. If you say "at the SJTC", everyone will know where that is, and that's worth something.

For another, unless something goes drastically wrong, the surrounds should continue to be well-manicured and maintained. So there will be some stability in the appearance of what surrounds the condos.

Right now, it's early on, but there are plans to have some events at the SJTC. I'd have to check the details again, but I believe there are plans for an art show this year. So, once things are fully up and running, the SJTC could have art shows, car shows, etc., going on throughout the year which again reinforces that "destination" benefit.

So, I can see the appeal for some people.

[rtt]

Yes, especially nice for retirees who don't just want to either sit in their house or drive somewhere. Here they can walk over to Starbucks or whatever. Kind of like people who retire and move to a city to be able to WALK.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by rtt

Yes, especially nice for retirees who don't just want to either sit in their house or drive somewhere. Here they can walk over to Starbucks or whatever. Kind of like people who retire and move to a city to be able to WALK.

yeah, ya gotta dig those beautiful parking lots, what a nice place to stroll.
I'm sorry but I just can't see living how living next to a huge shopping center with it's acres of pavement, the prison style floodlights, the masses of people and the traffic and garbage they bring, the smells from the various restaurants can seem to be attractive, as for walks, the beach suits me fine.