Plan to lure 1,000 Everbank jobs downtown

[Tacachale]

Hmm... it does sound like both sides are hardballing each other to try and leverage more out of the deal. What sucks is that if this doesn't go through, the city loses too.

[urbaknight]

Sorry to be a doubting thomas but as I said earlier on this thread, they're going to stay suburban when all is said and done. No move will take place. Typical Jacksonville furfur, if the city doesn't screw something up, those working with it surely will.

[dougskiles]

Also, don't forget that one of their senior vice-presidents, Greg Anderson, is a City councilman representing Ortega.

While Anderson is from Ortega, he is an at-large councilman.  Just trying to clarify...

[JeffreyS]

Sorry to be a doubting thomas but as I said earlier on this thread, they're going to stay suburban when all is said and done. No move will take place. Typical Jacksonville furfur, if the city doesn't screw something up, those working with it surely will.

I can promise you Everbank is very serious about the move.  I do not doubt they are playing hardball but they want it to work out.

[JaxNative68]

I would like to believe the move is serious as well.  You don't hire an architect to design nine floors of built-out and draw up a full set construction documents just to get a better deal in the suburbs.  But then again, stranger things have been done before when DT Jax is involved.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

A&W (not the root beer) is the proposed CM for the job. 

Eagerly awaiting docs to bid.

[fsujax]

Auld and White? well, i hope Everbank does it. It could be a major pendulum swing for Downtown.

[Wacca Pilatka]

A&W ... is the proposed CM for the job. 

I expect negotiations to come to a head immediately.

[Dog Walker]

Also, don't forget that one of their senior vice-presidents, Greg Anderson, is a City councilman representing Ortega.

While Anderson is from Ortega, he is an at-large councilman.  Just trying to clarify...

(faceslap!)  Of course!  He is just so interested in historic preservation and downtown development that I automatically think of him as "one of ours".

[JaxNative68]

A&W (not the root beer) is the proposed CM for the job. 

Eagerly awaiting docs to bid.

A&W has only been contracted to do the demolition of the existing space, not construct the new space.  The new work is to hit the street to start the bid process this week.  Still don't know a lease has been signed.

[JaxNative68]

the new work is being bid by three contractors A&W, Brasfield and Gorre, and Conlan.  two are based out of atlanta with a small office here and the other is local.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

the new work is being bid by three contractors A&W, Brasfield and Gorre, and Conlan.  two are based out of atlanta with a small office here and the other is local.

Riddle me this JaxNative - as we appear to be on the opposite side of process - Why in the hell is everyone pursuing an 'aggresive schedule' all of a sudden?  How long have these plans been under wraps and now it's go, go, go, go.  I just recently finished a job with over 40 ASIs.  FORTY!  And with my part coming in the finishes, we tend to catch all the flak when it's not correct, complete, on time - from both GCs (who have the papertrail showing what was late and when) & Arch/Owner (who get the majority of their info from the GC).  I know I'm venting a little, but there's a reason I was excited to bid the job, and have concluded that it will be a waste of time.  I can't bid the overtime that will be required at the end of the job to meet the schedule and be competitve.  I'll let another company lose money on this one.

[JeffreyS]

NRW the answer is a political one. The Tea Party has made noise when this has been in the media before and this conservative bank is looking for good press not political grumbling so they want the actual public process to be as short as possible.

I am not making any claims about the ideology of any of the players in this they just would like the move to be out of the spotlight asap.  Once the move is over they will be happy with being a big billboard on a big building in downtown with the spotlight.

[JaxNative68]

I'm not directly related to this particular project, so I can't answer your riddle as to why they are still pursuing an aggressive schedule. It seems that they have an established lease agreement ending in their current location and they most likely have strict penalties for lease extensions if they can't move out because their new space isn't finish.  It also seems that they are not willing to let the delay in signing the new lease agreement impact their originally established move in date. To me, rushing the bid process on this job is going to create the following:

1) Inflated pricing by the general contractor to cover his rear end for items missed in the bid or presumed overtime required, or

2) Intentional low bids to get the job, assuming they can get their pound of flesh down the road in the form of change orders for omitions they have seen in the drawings during bid and haven't broought to the attention of the architect or owner.

In the end, this can make both the designers and contractor look bad.  There is also the possibility that they realize all this and have estimated the increased construction costs are cheaper than what they would have to pay in an extended lease in their current space.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

NRW the answer is a political one. The Tea Party has made noise when this has been in the media before and this conservative bank is looking for good press not political grumbling so they want the actual public process to be as short as possible.

I am not making any claims about the ideology of any of the players in this they just would like the move to be out of the spotlight asap.  Once the move is over they will be happy with being a big billboard on a big building in downtown with the spotlight.

I would tend to agree, Jeffery, but it's not just banks.  It seems to be modis operandi for all construction going on over the past 4-5 months.   The 6 month build-outs are now expected to be complete in 4;  For less money!  And that's fine for the guys on the front end of the jobs.  If they run a few days or a week behind, there's still 2 months left to complete the project, but for those of us bidding areas on the backend - that 2 or 3 weeks lost on the front becomes a major issue for us - especially when t you start figuring in liquidated damages (basically fines for being late).

Construction has always been a deadline oriented process, and no matter how on-time things are, they're always late, it's the nature of the beast, but the schedules that are now being proposed are almost comical.  And it's gotten to a point that I look at the 'proposed' schedule before I even bother with checking out the scope.  It's a bothersome trend, and talking with some of my competitors, we're really being selective on what we bid anymore because of it.

The whole thing (recession) has been happening in stages and I was really thinking that the end was near, but this seems to be another trend that we're going to have to weather.