All Forum Posts by: Patrick Capriola

Thank you Maxwell Lee for your comments. It great to get your feedback and perspective. Your insight into the sweet spot downtown and the facts related to building quality even if there was a sweet spot are well taken. It seems that would require very patient capital to accomplish. If a project like this were to get done that could help attract some of the patient capital you speak of. 

I hope Khan does have an ace or two up his sleeve. This project does seem very aspirational and after living in Jax for 8 years I certainly understand how things can get cynical when the large scale downtown development conversation comes up. It seems we always hear about great intentions while seeing very little action. Khan just strikes me as someone who is different and combined with the city will work to get things done. A journalist in the Jacksonville Business Journal referred to the project as "Dubai on the St. John's River". It's that kind of aspiration that gets me excited. I have now lived in the middle east for 2 years and have spent a lot of time in Dubai - I have seen what high expectations combined with the will to succeed can do and it is truly amazing. If we had just some of that aspiration and vision turned into action in Jacksonville it could reach its potential to become a bustling city center. 

In terms of the mayors role I am sure we could debate debate his leadership - I was simply referring to his ability to open up the city to business development since he took over. The influence of the FBC in the community is well documented as is their opposition to  downtown development. Since he came onboard other constituencies, like the business community, can be heard and have more influence than they did in the past. Hopefully this leads to Jax becoming more like Charlotte like was stated in the JBJ article. 

Thank you Tim Czarkowski for your comments. It's great to get the feedback of others in the community. Good point about Jacksonville continuing to grow either way. I have faith in the revitalized business community to get things moving more than they have in the past - but its good to never count chickens before they hatch. I will look into the developments going on in Riverside - Riverside/Avondale is one of the areas that I could see gaining the most from a project like this and downtown development in general. Murray Hill could also continue to move in the right direction. Springfield on the other hand would probably be a longer term buy - with great potential and historical significance but with a longer way to go for revitalization. 

There is significant debate in Jacksonville about the benefit that the recently proposed Shipyards could bring to the city and surrounding areas. I want to solicit the feedback of the bigger pockets community to see what your thoughts are regarding downtown development, infrastructure spending, and their possible impact on real estate and real estate investors. For those of you not familiar with the Jacksonville market these two links highlight the proposal recently brought to the city by Shad Khan - owner of the Jaguars and someone who has been keen on investment there since our new mayor opened the city up for investment and development. 

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2015/...

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2015/...

The plan includes commercial space, residential space, retail space, hundreds of boat slips, public parks, an amphitheater, and dock space for the USS Adams to become a museum. Additionally, another developer has proposed a large aquarium near this development. We currently have a few SFR's in the suburbs and wonder what a project like this means for the future of the local market.

- Since these are currently just proposals, is the significant upside potential of growth in the city worth buying SFR's in the suburbs now with the hopes that the city will draw new interest for those looking to relocate to FL?

- As a small investor would you attempt to invest on the ground floor (or as close to the ground floor as is allowed) in some of the new residential space being proposed in the Shipyards?

- What are the potential negative effects of a project of this scale on a small city like Jacksonville? What are the potential risks for small investors?

- For those of you who are investors in Jacksonville - what are your thoughts regarding the project and its relationship to your local business?

I understand that there are some obvious answers to these questions - but my experience with the BP community it that there are always robust conversations around those answers and many contributions that were not so obvious at first glance. Thanks everybody. 

Thanks everybody for your replies! We are going to begin to explore establishing a team in the area to evaluate its potential. 

Thank you both so much for your replies. We are beginning to explore the idea of investing there and are ready to start to put an expedition team together. We are mostly concerned with putting a high quality team together from the start so that we can minimize the prospect of running into challenges later. In my experience the realtor/property manager role has been critical as they are a liaison for many other team members and someone the investor speaks to frequently. We want to begin to search for this person now so that we may get to know them and build a relationship with them first before buying. Would either of you be willing to to point me in the direction of one?

For those of you who are familiar with the Atlanta market, what is your opinion of 30066 as a potential neighborhood for an investor who wants to buy in an area with great schools and a relatively easy commute to good jobs?