A new office tower for JEA coming soon?

[UNFurbanist]

JEA should definitely build a new tower somewhere in LaVilla and sell the current building for cheap. It would be great to see the retail space actually being used maybe even for that DT grocery store everyone wants or something  else thats needed. Also, having a restaurant or maybe night club up at that rotating deck would be awesome!

[urbanlibertarian]

That last photo in the article gave me an idea.  The Federal Reserve Bank on Water St has space to lease and they are surely secure enough for JEA's security sensitive operations.  They could build a structure across the street from the FRB for customer service and office space.

[thelakelander]

Mike Hightower will return to JEA as its top lobbyist

Mike Hightower, the former top lobbyist for health-insurance giant Florida Blue and a prolific Jacksonville Republican fundraiser, is JEA's new chief public affairs officer, CEO Paul McElroy told the Times-Union on Thursday.
Hightower had been a long-time fixture at JEA as a board member, having recently served two years in a row as chairman. Now, JEA officials are hoping Hightower's fat Rolodex of City Hall and Tallahassee contacts will help the agency navigate many high-stakes issues that could drastically affect its financial spreadsheets and ratepayers' bank accounts.

He'll be paid $199,000 a year.

Full article: http://jacksonville.com/news/2015-08-20/story/mike-hightower-will-return-jea-its-top-lobbyist

[Lunican]

Maybe they can renovate the old JEA tower and move into that. Then in 20 years move back again.

[jaxjaguar]

Isn't the old tower smaller than their current one / lacking a parking garage? I thought that's why they moved in the first place?

[Charles Hunter]

I see where  Mike HIGHTOWER has signed on as their lobbyist.

[Kerry]

I like the idea of a Jefferson St station adjacent tower and converting the current building to residential/retail/dining.

[tufsu1]

I see where  Mike HIGHTOWER has signed on as their lobbyist.

oh I see what you did there

[mtraininjax]

I see where  Mike HIGHTOWER has signed on as their lobbyist.

Because this is critically important to the thread of JEA finding a new building in a downtown full of empty buildings....

[acme54321]

Does Putnam county know about this?
Still have a surplus JEA house on the River next to a FIND project to sell you.
What a community.
Great work Ennis.

Are you drunk?  What does Putnam county have anything to do with this?

[FlaBoy]

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-06-20/say-goodbye-jea-tower-utility-will-build-new-headquarters


Now that this is official. We need to make sure these buildings are saved. What a shame it would be to lose this whole block so it can match the surface lot next door on Main St.

[KenFSU]

Random things that I'm curious about:

1) We know that JEA and the city will be executing a land swap for the property that JEA's new tower will sit on. Where will the garage be located? Will the JEA pay fair market value for said land? Hopefully any new garage would include ground level retail.

2) How long will JEA have to sell the existing building and property before the city forces them to demolish it and transfer it over to COJ?

3) We all want to see the old building preserved, but is there a realistic market for it? I have no clue, that's why I'm asking. It looks rather oppressive from the outside, and I'd imagine that you'd have to completely redesign the windows. Throw in the existing issues with the building that the JEA considers cost-prohibitive to fix, and I'm not super optimistic that this building will be sold. That said, if cost of demolition is say, $500k, wouldn't it technically make more sense for JEA to pay someone $499k to take the property than it would be to hold onto it and be forced to demolish?

[thelakelander]

Random things that I'm curious about:

1) We know that JEA and the city will be executing a land swap for the property that JEA's new tower will sit on. Where will the garage be located? Will the JEA pay fair market value for said land? Hopefully any new garage would include ground level retail.

The lot is big enough for a building and a garage.  They'll just both have to be vertical.  Hopefully, they'll follow the guidelines already in place for street level infill. Especially along Adams Street.

2) How long will JEA have to sell the existing building and property before the city forces them to demolish it and transfer it over to COJ?

I'm not sure but this is the scary part, if you're in favor of preserving the existing structure.  What happens if the desired sales price does not match the market?

3) We all want to see the old building preserved, but is there a realistic market for it? I have no clue, that's why I'm asking. It looks rather oppressive from the outside, and I'd imagine that you'd have to completely redesign the windows. Throw in the existing issues with the building that the JEA considers cost-prohibitive to fix, and I'm not super optimistic that this building will be sold. That said, if cost of demolition is say, $500k, wouldn't it technically make more sense for JEA to pay someone $499k to take the property than it would be to hold onto it and be forced to demolish?

Why not give the building away or sell it at a reduced price to work within the market?  You'll recoup your financial incentive (land/building acquisition costs) through the use of an existing high density block (currently not paying property taxes), generating new tax revenue.  There's countless examples of other cities with more vibrant downtowns doing things like this to kick off revitalization.  You tear it down and you'll never see something built on that site, with the amount of tax revenue generating potential that the existing structure contains.

[FlaBoy]

Random things that I'm curious about:

1) We know that JEA and the city will be executing a land swap for the property that JEA's new tower will sit on. Where will the garage be located? Will the JEA pay fair market value for said land? Hopefully any new garage would include ground level retail.

The lot is big enough for a building and a garage.  They'll just both have to be vertical.  Hopefully, they'll follow the guidelines already in place for street level infill. Especially along Adams Street.

2) How long will JEA have to sell the existing building and property before the city forces them to demolish it and transfer it over to COJ?

I'm not sure but this is the scary part, if you're in favor of preserving the existing structure.  What happens if the desired sales price does not match the market?

3) We all want to see the old building preserved, but is there a realistic market for it? I have no clue, that's why I'm asking. It looks rather oppressive from the outside, and I'd imagine that you'd have to completely redesign the windows. Throw in the existing issues with the building that the JEA considers cost-prohibitive to fix, and I'm not super optimistic that this building will be sold. That said, if cost of demolition is say, $500k, wouldn't it technically make more sense for JEA to pay someone $499k to take the property than it would be to hold onto it and be forced to demolish?

Why not give the building away or sell it at a reduced price to work within the market?  You'll recoup your financial incentive (land/building acquisition costs) through the use of an existing high density block (currently not paying property taxes), generating new tax revenue.  There's countless examples of other cities with more vibrant downtowns doing things like this to kick off revitalization.  You tear it down and you'll never see something built on that site, with the amount of tax revenue generating potential that the existing structure contains.

If you demolish both of these buildings, we won't see something built on them for a generation with all of the more desirable parcels closer to the river. I keep thinking maybe the Customer Center may be a good fit for DCPS to move downtown and sell their riverfront property. We had also mentioned maybe a tourist welcome center especially in the old revolving restaurant upstairs. The building may not be in great shape but it is still in working shape unlike some of the other buildings needed for adaptive reuse. The building may not be the most beautiful, but is definitely a contributing structure to the historic development of DT as the previous tallest building on the Northbank. COJ needs to learn the lessons of the past.

[vicupstate]

I could see a lot more potential buyers wanting the Customer Service Center than the tower. I hope there is the flexibility to sell one or the other separately if that is what the market desires.

Putting the School Board in the Customer Center sounds like an idea that should be explored extensively. 

I generally support preservation, but I have always thought the Tower building was pretty ugly. I get that if it goes down, it wouldn't be replaced with something as big, but I personally wouldn't miss it much.  The honeycomb windows are just weird and I hate the way it turns it's back on Springfield.