FIS to build $145 million headquarters in Riverside, create 500 jobs

[Steve]

Photos and Videos courtesy of the Daily Record:

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-take-a-look-at-the-plans-for-the-new-fis-headquarters-on-riverside-avenue

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/video/video-take-a-birds-eye-view-of-the-new-fis-headquarters

[Steve]

Large parking deck on along Riverside Avenue?

Yes.

Too bad.  That's the "accepted" "design standard" there unfortunately.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) you can blame the river for that.

True. I will say....the layout there doesn't help as each block is a "superblock" to the river. Now, had we planned this better and taken the first half of each block as a long, block wide park spanning Riverside Avenue from downtown to the Fuller Warren it would actually create some awesome density. I think we missed that opportunity about 70 years ago if not longer.

[I-10east]

Excellent news!

[jaxlongtimer]

Style looks to be "fintech modern"  .  Not sure how distinctive it is for what may now be the world's largest fintech company but for Jax I guess it will grab some eyeballs.  Unfortunately, buildings today like this are addressing potential security threats and thus taking on fortress-style attributes that make them far less friendly to the abutting public areas.  The riverfront elevations also look to be taking into account the rising sea/river levels inevitably on the way during the lifespan of this building adding to the "walled off" effect.

I can't tell if the garage has retail on Riverside Avenue but given the renderings don't show any retail signage on the building, doesn't look good for that.

I think the only space that will truly be vacant and for lease Downtown will be in the Prudential building.

The Prudential building may yet fill that space quickly.  I have heard that Interline/Home Depot Pro, a major tenant in that building, is looking at more space in the future so if this opens up they could be a candidate for filling it.  They recently pulled permits for significant renovations in their existing space so maybe they plan to stay awhile there vs. move.

[JaGoaT]

Nice looking building I hope it truly looks like that.

[Captain Zissou]

Inquiring minds want to know if HU thinks this is tall enough?  I would have loved to see 15 floors, but if HU is ok with it then I am ok with it too.  Would also like to know what retailers Glenn would like to see fronting Riverside Ave.

[BridgeTroll]

https://www.youtube.com/v/XwsylpVjEB8

[Captain Zissou]

Permits Issued! This thing has been on rails!  https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/permits-issued-for-dollar145-million-fidelity-national-information-services-jacksonville-hq

Fidelity National Information Services Inc.'s headquarters project is good to go along Riverside Avenue in Brooklyn.

The city issued permits June 24 for Gilbane Building Co. of Jacksonville to start construction on the FIS riverfront headquarters and parking garage at 347 Riverside Ave.

Watching this and the Vystar project just fly through the approvals, permitting, and construction process makes me think the city needs to triple down on efforts to bring large companies downtown.  The average timeline for residential construction (other than vestcor) downtown seems to be about 8+ years from concept to completion.  Office and owner occupied construction seems to be 2-3 years for the same process.  We certainly need more concentrated residential and retail, but quickly executed office buildouts can accelerate the demand for retail and housing in order to shorten the timeline on those residential projects.

[thelakelander]

They can move fast when there is a need that positively impacts the core operation of their business. I've seen some cities get really aggressive and literally give vacant buildings away to local companies to get them filled with high paying jobs overnight.

[Steve]

There's some truth to that for sure. Companies need certainty so they can't wait around - they need to move fast.

Now, this pandemic may have ben the proverbial wrench in the bicycle spokes in that philosophy however.

[thelakelander]

^Yeah, that's true. We'll likely end up with a good chunk of existing office space that needs to be repurposed into other uses.