Barnett Jewelers saying goodbye to Downtown after 100 years

[thelakelander]

I disagree with the building manager's statement. People eat out more now than they ever did. Restaurants are opening left and right in all parts of the urban core right now. They should listen to the longtime retailer owner who has decided to leave. The major problem with retail here is that it is only visible and accessible to the building's 1,500 workers and only open during office hours. Flip the space and allow the retailer to control their own hours of operation, while being visible and accessible to all of downtown's workers, residents and visitors. The enhancement of the pedestrian environment by better utilization of existing street level retail spaces is one of the easiest fixes for the Northbank, IMO. This is a perfect example of a problem with an affordable solution.

"The number of people in the building has really gone down," she said.

At its peak when the Independent Life & Accident Insurance Co. was the anchor tenant, about 2,500 people worked in the building, said Bill Barnett.

Barnett is the third generation of his family that started in the jewelry trade Downtown 100 years ago, when his father, O.F. Barnett, and W.G. Ferrell went into business.

Ricke said she understands the building is more than 80 percent leased, but "there just aren't as many people on the floors as there used to be" and the building is closed Saturday and Sunday to all but tenants' employees with an access card.

She also remembers when there was much more retail activity in the building.

In its glory days, in addition to Barnett Jewelers, there was a women's clothing and accessories store, a florist, a card and gift store, shoe repair, a car rental office, an alterations shop, a dry cleaner, Morrison's Cafeteria, radio and television stations and a couple of bank branch offices on the ground floor.

On the second floor, there was a pharmacist and a restaurant and bar that overlooked the atrium.

"At one time, it was like a little town," Ricke said.

Now, it's more of a retail ghost town.

There's a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office stop station, a hair salon, a restaurant, a copy center, a Wells Fargo retail office and Barnett Jewelers.

Michael Loftin, director of leasing for Banyan Street Capital, the building manager, said retail in an office tower Downtown can be challenging, particularly when there's as much space as is available at Wells Fargo Center.

'The ground floor was originally designed as a mall," he said.

Loftin also said there are about 1,500 people working in the building, but the trend in commercial interior design is to make employees content in their workspace with breakrooms and lounge areas.

That makes people not want to get out of the office, even for lunch, as much as they did in years past.

Full article: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=548750

[FlaBoy]

I disagree with the building manager's statement. People eat out more now than they ever did. Restaurants are opening left and right in all parts of the urban core right now. They should listen to the longtime retailer owner who has decided to leave. The major problem with retail here is that it is only visible and accessible to the building's 1,500 workers and only open during office hours. Flip the space and allow the retailer to control their own hours of operation, while being visible and accessible to all of downtown's workers, residents and visitors. The enhancement of the pedestrian environment by better utilization of existing street level retail spaces is one of the easiest fixes for the Northbank, IMO. This is a perfect example of a problem with an affordable solution.

"The number of people in the building has really gone down," she said.

At its peak when the Independent Life & Accident Insurance Co. was the anchor tenant, about 2,500 people worked in the building, said Bill Barnett.

Barnett is the third generation of his family that started in the jewelry trade Downtown 100 years ago, when his father, O.F. Barnett, and W.G. Ferrell went into business.

Ricke said she understands the building is more than 80 percent leased, but "there just aren't as many people on the floors as there used to be" and the building is closed Saturday and Sunday to all but tenants' employees with an access card.

She also remembers when there was much more retail activity in the building.

In its glory days, in addition to Barnett Jewelers, there was a women's clothing and accessories store, a florist, a card and gift store, shoe repair, a car rental office, an alterations shop, a dry cleaner, Morrison's Cafeteria, radio and television stations and a couple of bank branch offices on the ground floor.

On the second floor, there was a pharmacist and a restaurant and bar that overlooked the atrium.

"At one time, it was like a little town," Ricke said.

Now, it's more of a retail ghost town.

There's a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office stop station, a hair salon, a restaurant, a copy center, a Wells Fargo retail office and Barnett Jewelers.

Michael Loftin, director of leasing for Banyan Street Capital, the building manager, said retail in an office tower Downtown can be challenging, particularly when there's as much space as is available at Wells Fargo Center.

'The ground floor was originally designed as a mall," he said.

Loftin also said there are about 1,500 people working in the building, but the trend in commercial interior design is to make employees content in their workspace with breakrooms and lounge areas.

That makes people not want to get out of the office, even for lunch, as much as they did in years past.

Full article: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=548750

SO TRUE. The building has a lot of potential if opened to the street and retails was done well with street interaction especially on Laura.

[thelakelander]

I've been working downtown for years. My office is a block away in 121 West Forsyth now. Earlier this year, we were in Everbank. We all eat out nearly every day for lunch. We have break spaces/kitchens, etc. and even then, we'd get take out. The restaurants at lunch are typically packed and more places have been opening up recently. The variety of dining spots is one of the assets of working downtown to me.  At my Ormond Beach office, all we have to select from is a McDonald's, Pig BBQ and an Irish Pub. Despite eating at a variety of restaurants and food trucks in downtown, I don't think any of us head to Wells Fargo for lunch. If there was something in there that we'd recognize from the street, I'm sure we'd add it to the rotation.