MONDAY October 26, 2020
Public
jaxdailyrecord.com • 35 cents
legal notices begin on page 3
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
DEVELOPMENT
A preview of shipping container living Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Half of the Ashley Street Container Lofts that JWB Real Estate Capital is developing in the Downtown Cathedral District will be shortterm rentals.
Daily Record Daily Record
JACKSONVILLE Bacon Self Storage owner Jim Bacon
says he was inspired by the Treehouse Villas at Walt Disney World’s Saratoga Springs resort.
Treehouse hotel project JACKSONVILLE planned for St. Augustine
BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
JWB Real Estate Capital President Alex Sifakis said nine of the 18 apartments in the company’s Ashley Street Container Lofts project will be short-term rentals. During a tour of the 412 E. Ashley St. construction site Oct. 20, Sifakis said JWB will reserve half of the retrofitted shipping containers as Airbnbs based on market demand. A search of the Airbnb.com website shows no available units in the Downtown urban core. JWB and project contractor ShayCore Enterprises Inc. delivered a second set of partially built-out container apartments Oct. 21. The first container shipment arrived Sept. 18 and a third is planned later this fall. Units in the three-story, $1.7 million project in Downtown’s Cathedral District will be completed by the end of 2020, Sifakis said. JWB has moved up the completion timeline from the first quarter of 2021. Construction costs for each container apartment is about $90,000, Sifakis told the Daily Record in August. Rent will be $700-$800 a month and JWB plans to start leasing in November. A fully furnished 320-squarefoot model unit on the site features a full washer and dryer, a galley kitchen with granite countertops, a full bathroom with a SEE ASHLEY, PAGE 2
Photo by Katie Garwood
Jim Bacon wants to open the Air Tree Inn behind his self-storage facility.
Photos by Mike Mendenhall
A decorated model of the Ashley Street Container Lofts at 412 E. Ashley St. in the Downtown Cathedral District. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The bedroom in the 320-square-foot unit.
JWB Real Estate Capital President Alex Sifakis shows off the granite countertops in the laundry/kitchen area of the Ashley Street Container Lofts model.
BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
Two months after completing Bacon Self Storage in St. Johns County, owner Jim Bacon wants to add to the project with a short-term rental community among the trees. Bacon owns the 9.7-acre parcel at 1700 Wildwood Drive off of Florida 207 in St. Augustine where Bacon Self Storage was developed. In the wooded area behind the facility, Bacon wants to open the Air Tree Inn, which would comprise 30 treehouse rentals of up to 400 square feet each connected by an elevated boardwalk. Bacon also plans to add a 5,700-square-foot bar and restaurant and a swimming pool. Units will cost $180 a night, with a three-night minimum stay. Moultrie Creek runs through the property. The treehouses and boardwalk will be constructed on pilings to reduce the impact on the wetlands, according to its preapplication with the St. Johns County Growth Management Department. The bar and restaurant would be
The model includes a full bathroom.
SEE TREEHOUSE, PAGE 2
Armory redevelopment to full Council REVA Development Corp.’s proposal for a $23 million arts-focused complex at the historic Armory Building and adjacent 3-acre site was advanced by four City Council committees last week. The full Council likely will take a final vote Oct. 27 on Ordinance 2020-591 that contains a redevelopment agreement and 40-year, $1-per-year lease for the armory at 851 N. Market St. REVA plans to brand the redevelopment “Made at the Armory” with art studios and galleries and retail, restaurant, performance and event spaces. Apartments also are part of the plan.
VOLUME 107, NO. 241 • ONE SECTION