Chamber conference sneak peek: Tallahassee housing, commercial, retail developments to watch

From Tallahassee Democrat

AMELIA ISLAND — Major developments are reshaping Tallahassee’s skyline and poised to inject more housing, retail and commercial offerings for capital city residents and visitors.

The last day of the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce focused on growth and development. NAI TALCOR President Ed Murray, a commercial real estate expert, led the discussion and shared what’s coming and under construction.

“The market is still strong. It’s not as strong as it was,” Murray told the crowd of business leaders. “It’s starting to cool off a little bit. But, the projects that are already in the pipeline are continuing to close and move forward. So, we’re encouraged by that.”

The next major redevelopment for downtown Tallahassee is 4Forty North, where a $69 million redevelopment of the Envision Credit Union’s former flagship location is building roughly 250 apartments and 13,690 square feet of commercial space.

It will be the second largest new stock of luxury apartments following the debut of Millstream at Cascades last year. The 4Forty North development is slated to open by May or June, said Murray, adding an 800 square foot apartment is priced at about $2,500 to $2,600 per month.

“That’s going after the market of the 25- to 45-year-old, generally professional, working downtown,” Murray said.

Expect to see dirt moving all over the city, particularly at Florida State University where $1 billion in construction projects are planned in the next three years.

Northeast Tallahassee is a development hotspot. Roughly 1,000 acres called the “heel” of the Welaunee property is slated for massive growth in the coming years and the vision for the property will soon surface.

“It’s early in the process right now, so I don’t have a lot of details on it,” Murray said. “I think you’ll start seeing that once it gets further. That intersection is going to look different. Amazon is about to open. You have an apartment project that’s moving forward. You’re going to see convenient store activity. Playing into that, you’re going to see that 1,000-acre development down the line in a couple of years.”

In the meantime, there are numerous projects on the radar that includes student housing, hotels and commercial developments.

The ebb and flow of restaurant openings and closings continue. Some shuttered restaurants include SōDOUGHLindy’s Chicken on South Monroe, All Saints, La FiestaCabo’sBarnaby’sJim and Milts and VooDoo Dog.

New faces on the food scene include a mix of chains and home grown restaurants, such as The Huntsman in the former Cypress Restaurant on the East Tennessee Street. Other foodie newbies include Hot Birdie’s ChickenTakko, a Korean taqueria, Slim ChickensIsland Fin Poke and First Watch.

Here are some other developments in the spotlight.

Amazon Robotics Fulfillment Center

It’s the largest private sector project in Tallahassee’s history and is slated to generate roughly 1,000 new jobs. A drone shot of the six-story robotics center off I-10 shows the rapid buildout.

“When you go out there, it changes every week,” Murray said. He also showed a slide where Amazon’s 123,000 square-foot last mile warehouse slated to be built off Capital Circle Northwest and the southside of Northwest Passage.

Locker and Bar at the refurbbed Governors Inn

Located at 209 S. Adams St., the Locker and Bar will be an upscale bar inside the Governors Inn, which is undergoing major renovations. It’s located roughly two blocks from the Capitol.

Once complete, the Governors Inn will be an upscale boutique hotel. The Governors Inn opened to the public in 1983, just two blocks from the Capitol. In May, operations were temporarily suspended for the multi-million dollar renovation project.

SoMo Walls

Located on South Monroe Street, this is one of the largest redevelopments taking place on Tallahassee’s south side.

It sits on a 2.3-acre city block between Oakland Avenue and Harrison Street. The vision calls for retail and commercial space that includes 10-foot walls for artwork and large sidewalks to create a walkable space.

It will include several businesses, including a Burn Boot Camp, a pizza restaurant and a distillery.

“It’s going to be exciting. That area needs it,” Murphy said.

Mormon Temple

Those driving Thomasville Road in north Tallahassee have a new landmark. The 29,000 square foot structure will be one of only a few in the state, Murray said.

The temples are considered the holiest sites of the church where permitted members make covenants and perform sacred ceremonies and ordinances. They are considered places to commune with God, seek his aid, understand his will and receive personal revelation.

Once it’s complete, it will be open for the public to see for about a week. After that, access to the property will be restricted to special events for the public at large.

From Kohl’s to storage in Bradfordville

The former Kohl’s store in the Bradfordville area has been closed for years and will get a new use.

The property was purchased and will become a self-storage facility, Murray said, adding that’s the right use for that property.

“And, it’s needed in that area,” he added.

Landon Hills

This is one of several residential developments under construction by Premier Homes, the city’s largest residential developer.

It’s to be a mixed-use development of 150 single family homes, along with commercial and retail space and apartments. Premier Fine Homes Vice President Jason Ghazvini said the company hopes to have permits issued by the fall.

In addition, he said the property will include 30 inclusionary homes, which are designed to incorporate more affordable housing in major developments.

A boom in Crawfordville

There were 834 residential units completed or under construction in Crawfordville last year and the number surged to 1,370 units so far this year, according to NAI TALCOR.

On the commercial side, there was 129,341 square feet of commercial property completed or under construction compared to 174,488 square feet this year.