JEA hunt for headquarters site is silent on evacuation risk

[edjax]

David Cawton has included on his Twitter account a statement from Iguana.  I'd post it but techno dummie and have no idea how to do it. General statement saying they were disappointed burn happy to see other excellent proposals for downtown and that it would not impact their desire to furthering their desires to develop downtown.

Good for them. I hope they can pull in a major tenant from outside the area. I still would like that to be some Flex-N-Gate related operation! Was also disappointed with Cawton's twitter updates. They were overwhelmingly focused on Lot J, so during times when I couldn't live stream, it was hard to follow how the other options compared.

While watching I also followed Stephanie Brown with WOKV.

[thelakelander]

Thanks, I'll be switching to her!

[Tacachale]

Thanks, I'll be switching to her!

A good policy in general.

[Kerry]

I'm shocked.  I think this effectively kills Lot J.

[thelakelander]

I doubt that. JEA wasn't going to make or break their plans for that site.

[KenFSU]

^Long-term, JEA's decision is ultimately a blessing in disguise for Cordish.

If anyone has spent any significant time over at JEA, it's incredibly obvious that JEA's conservative pension crowd isn't a great fit for what Cordish is looking to do with Lot J. Plus, Cordish is going to get a much healthier subsidy from the city on an office component that doesn't involve a public entity. Members of the city council quietly made it clear that REV grants weren't going to be handed out liberally for a JEA headquarters - even if landlord operated - and actively discouraged Morris from responding to the RFP for this very reason.

The office component might be delayed, but Lot J will be fine.

The idea was hatched before JEA - a $60-million mid-rise office building for the local utlity isn't going to make or break Lot J-  and a lot of large local companies beyond JEA have leases coming up in the next 1-3 years.

Ideally, Cordish is able to bring in an outside company, which would make the subsidy a little easier to swallow.

To me, the most revealing thing about today's board meeting was Paul Harden's comments about just how far along the plans for Lot J are. They've got a remediation partner in play, and a timeline for cleanup. And, according to Harden, the economic development agreement between Cordish and the city has been passed back and forth several dozen times, was ready in principle but waiting to see what happened with JEA, and could be signed in less than a week if need be.

Interesting also that Paul Harden referenced Jacksonville Live! as a seven-story complex. 

[heights unknown]

THIS is the lot I was also hoping for as well. A little more denseness (teenie weenie) and infill on the west side of downtown. Hopefully they won't demolish the old JEA building. Sell it for re-use or if it is demolished, ensure that another great development or useful building is built on that property. Poor Lot J, but they will be alright. Just hope that this kind of sets a trend for city government relative to new construction downtown. Northbank really needs several shots in the arm.

[Kerry]

^Long-term, JEA's decision is ultimately a blessing in disguise for Cordish.

If anyone has spent any significant time over at JEA, it's incredibly obvious that JEA's conservative pension crowd isn't a great fit for what Cordish is looking to do with Lot J. Plus, Cordish is going to get a much healthier subsidy from the city on an office component that doesn't involve a public entity. Members of the city council quietly made it clear that REV grants weren't going to be handed out liberally for a JEA headquarters - even if landlord operated - and actively discouraged Morris from responding to the RFP for this very reason.

The office component might be delayed, but Lot J will be fine.

The idea was hatched before JEA - a $60-million mid-rise office building for the local utlity isn't going to make or break Lot J-  and a lot of large local companies beyond JEA have leases coming up in the next 1-3 years.

Ideally, Cordish is able to bring in an outside company, which would make the subsidy a little easier to swallow.

To me, the most revealing thing about today's board meeting was Paul Harden's comments about just how far along the plans for Lot J are. They've got a remediation partner in play, and a timeline for cleanup. And, according to Harden, the economic development agreement between Cordish and the city has been passed back and forth several dozen times, was ready in principle but waiting to see what happened with JEA, and could be signed in less than a week if need be.

Interesting also that Paul Harden referenced Jacksonville Live! as a seven-story complex.

No one at Iguana is saying, "Whew, we dodged a bullet on that one."

[Captain Zissou]

No one at Iguana is saying, "Whew, we dodged a bullet on that one."

Ken seems a bit more in the know on this one.  Also, he said it is a blessing "long term".  A commitment for 200k sqft would have maybe helped turn dirt faster, but I do think that JEA would have been a bad fit for the site.  My pick is Fanatics with a campus similar to what Under Armour has in Baltimore but denser with some public-ish activity spaces that fit with the vibe of the area.

[Steve]

^Long-term, JEA's decision is ultimately a blessing in disguise for Cordish.

If anyone has spent any significant time over at JEA, it's incredibly obvious that JEA's conservative pension crowd isn't a great fit for what Cordish is looking to do with Lot J. Plus, Cordish is going to get a much healthier subsidy from the city on an office component that doesn't involve a public entity. Members of the city council quietly made it clear that REV grants weren't going to be handed out liberally for a JEA headquarters - even if landlord operated - and actively discouraged Morris from responding to the RFP for this very reason.

The office component might be delayed, but Lot J will be fine.

The idea was hatched before JEA - a $60-million mid-rise office building for the local utlity isn't going to make or break Lot J-  and a lot of large local companies beyond JEA have leases coming up in the next 1-3 years.

Ideally, Cordish is able to bring in an outside company, which would make the subsidy a little easier to swallow.

To me, the most revealing thing about today's board meeting was Paul Harden's comments about just how far along the plans for Lot J are. They've got a remediation partner in play, and a timeline for cleanup. And, according to Harden, the economic development agreement between Cordish and the city has been passed back and forth several dozen times, was ready in principle but waiting to see what happened with JEA, and could be signed in less than a week if need be.

Interesting also that Paul Harden referenced Jacksonville Live! as a seven-story complex. 

I agree with these points, and I feel like Cordish was trying to put the left shoe on the right foot with JEA. If they do Lot J right, then the buildings may have offices, but will have extensive restaurants on the ground floor and such. JEA on the other hand specifically didn't want that. So it was an odd mix from the start.

Fanatics hasn't been in their building now and I haven't worked there since 2015, but I see the potential tie-in

[Kerry]

Anyone know how many office workers does Fanatics have in Jacksonville?  Surely they wouldn't move warehouse and manufacturing activities to Lot J.

[thelakelander]

Is it too soon for everyone to start complaining about no retail being included in the large garage? 

The garage should have some form of ground floor leasable space. The concepts show space in the middle of the property on West Adams and at the SW corner of Julia and Monroe streets. As the design is refined, it would make sense to push all of that retail to front West Adams. Julia and Monroe are more service oriented so putting retail on Adams strengthens the pedestrian connection between LaVilla and the heart of the Northbank. Ryan's best and final offer also suggests that....

1. If sufficient food service is available within ¼ mile of the Building's main entrance(s) to meet half the seating requirement of the employee cafeteria. The Building cafeteria may be reduced by one-third of its seating capacity. The cafeteria should have access to an outside seating area.

2. The Building may be part of a mixed-use development; however the Building itself will be a Building or Buildings occupied solely by JEA
functions.

The garage is a completely separate structure, so there appears to be some flexibility in what it can become.

[thelakelander]

Here's a link to the details and final offers for all three proposals:

https://www.jea.com/About/Corporate_Headquarters/

[Downtown Osprey]

No one at Iguana is saying, "Whew, we dodged a bullet on that one."

Ken seems a bit more in the know on this one.  Also, he said it is a blessing "long term".  A commitment for 200k sqft would have maybe helped turn dirt faster, but I do think that JEA would have been a bad fit for the site.  My pick is Fanatics with a campus similar to what Under Armour has in Baltimore but denser with some public-ish activity spaces that fit with the vibe of the area.

I wouldn't bank on that. Fanatics is opening up a new office space across the street from the main headquarters.

[KenFSU]

I agree with these points, and I feel like Cordish was trying to put the left shoe on the right foot with JEA. If they do Lot J right, then the buildings may have offices, but will have extensive restaurants on the ground floor and such. JEA on the other hand specifically didn't want that. So it was an odd mix from the start.

Fanatics hasn't been in their building now and I haven't worked there since 2015, but I see the potential tie-in

Exactly, first available isn't always best available.

JEA's security concerns would have essentially turned the office component into a walled garden.

Going with another tenant would give Cordish the option of adding ground floor retail, like they're doing with their office facilities in St. Louis and Philadelphia.





There's also a desire to add a coworking component as well, though I'm not sure if it would be in the office building.

Fanatics would be a great fit, and even though they're investing around $2 million in their existing office space this year, I woudn't rule them out. They've run out of room where they're at (the new space is overflow/satellite), and it just makes so much sense for them from a marketing, exposure, and talent aquisition perspective to be located in the sports complex. $2 million is a drop in the bucket compared to having sports fans see your name on the building every time they go the stadium or turn on the game. Throw an apparel shop in on the ground floor, layer on the public subsidy, how can they say no?

I don't know what their existing lease situation is, but Crowley Maritime is another name I've heard tossed around as well. Same scenario. Out of space. Office employees in multiple locations. Natural tie-in with the Shipyards brand.