J Magazine Winter 2018

est development climate. We were doing
business all over the rest of the state, Texas,
North Carolina, and that was where we
were focusing our efforts. Gradually, over
the last three to four years, there has been a
change. And what the Times-Union Editorial
Board is doing in bringing the discussion of
Downtown in the forefront is very important.
And the mayor has done a good job.
What we have always wanted since we
have done 11 E. Forsyth and the Carling is
that we want more people to come into the
community. People have asked, why don’t
you buy the old Barnett Bank building? I
said I have had as much fun as I can take
Downtown. I want somebody else to come
in and be an advocate and stand up and
be a voice for investment Downtown, for
activities, for beautification. Now we’ve got
numerous owners, led by Shad Khan, who
have become advocates. I really feel the
momentum building. As far as a grade, we’re
still not there.
The quality of our Downtown is not on
par with the rest of the state’s major cities.
They put more resources downtown and
they are ahead of us, but we’re on the move.
We visit all of them, look at properties. I’m
envious because they got a lead on us. They
were quicker to get out of the recession.
We left the recession without the financial
resources we once had because we have a
very low tax environment. But we’re on the
move, and every day is getting better. We’re
real excited about people’s interest in living
Downtown. We’re excited about businesses
that want to relocate Downtown or come to
Jacksonville and be Downtown. We need to
continue to build on this momentum and
have a great Downtown.
What’s your financing secret? How do you
make this work financially?
Vestcor does conventional housing
and affordable housing, which uses tax
credits, and it uses state housing dollars for
workforce housing and affordable housing.
We provide housing where the income of
the residents is limited and rents are capped.
That is our affordable area.
Our market rate developments include
condos, apartments, senior housing and
student housing. We’ve learned no matter
what you own, you need to manage it at
the same level and be proud of it. We use
financial tools and work with the city and
understand what the city is looking for. That’s
what most developers miss. They don’t
listen. By developing an application for what
the city wanted, we have been successful
on three projects now, and we hope to be
successful down the road.
“We’re real
excited about
people’s interest
in living
Downtown.
We’re excited
about businesses
that want
to relocate
Downtown
or come to
Jacksonville and
be Downtown.”
How many people live in your units?
Including the Lofts at Jefferson Station,
we will have 600 units Downtown. That is
about 900 people. 11 E. (Forsyth) and the
Carling are historic rehabs. They are full. The
Lofts at LaVilla is full. The Lofts at Monroe
will be done by year’s end and will be full
in 30 days. We’ve got a second phase near
the Lofts at LaVilla, the Lofts at Jefferson
Station, that brings in a higher income level.
Income of residents at the Lofts at LaVilla is
capped at 60 percent of median income. It’s
interesting to note that everyone in the Lofts
at LaVilla are working, and they’re working
at the businesses we know. The maximum
a single person can make is $30,000 a year,
which is hard to believe that people can live
on that, but people do. Income at the Lofts
at Jefferson Station will be capped at 120
percent of median income, bringing it up
to $60,000 a year. We try to offer housing to
a wide bandwidth of residents. So for 11 E.
and Carling there is no limit to income, so we
have the full range.
It seems that much of your housing is
affordable, workforce or senior housing.
Does that affect the success of Downtown
when many of those living Downtown will
be lower-income people?
Savannah is an example. Savannah has
boomed by providing housing for lowincome
people; now they happened to be
students. We’re providing for low-income,
but they’re entry-level, they’re working
people. They’re going to the bars, the grocery
stores. We all hear this 10,000 goal for people
living Downtown. It keeps getting better.
It’s not like we’re going to be bad until we
hit 10,000 and we’re going to be great. The
affordable component ultimately will be
less than 1,000 of the 10,000. Maybe the
seniors will be another 1,000 or 2,000. We
have a vision of a market-rate community
Downtown that we’re working on. I don’t
want to announce anything, but in six
months we hope to have the right level of
support so we can launch something that is
market rate. Regarding affordable housing,
our average stay is 2 1⁄2 years. People are
getting a start. They can stay there even when
their income goes up, but they do move out
because they want to move up in quality and
size. What’s unique about tax credit housing
vs. public housing is that public housing
becomes generational.
What are your rents?
$740 at Lofts at Lavilla. Market rate is
$1,100 on a one-bedroom.
What you’re saying is so exciting. How
does our crime rate and our education
system factor in this? I know the St. John’s
Cathedral is planning a K-8 charter school.
I love the fact that they’re doing a charter
school. They’ve got a great partner, and the
Rev. Kate Moorehead is a dear friend. Her
soft leadership to make a difference is great.
We’ve been selected as the developer of the
old Community Connections. We’re real
excited about that. We have several options
on financing it. We’re applying for credits,
and if that doesn’t work, we’ve got other
options. Education plagues this whole city.
I’m on the board of Black Knight and Fidelity
National Financial, and we have trouble
recruiting people to this city. They come here,
they love the job, and they’ve got to decide to
live close and convenient in a neighborhood
they love and have educational concerns or
travel 45 minutes to an hour and get where
they’re more comfortable with education.
We’ve had people say no many times. I have
always encouraged every elected official
here that even if they don’t own education,
they can impact education. They can speak
out. It is the one thing we need to get fixed
if Jacksonville is going to be a great city.
Downtown is a bit different because it isn’t
as education-dependent, but we want a great
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J MAGAZINE | WINTER 2018-19