Fed government slashing downtown jobs and buildings. What's next?

[thelakelander]

Assume this plays out. What would you do with the Charles E. Bennett Building and property? Can they just deed it over to COJ? Would DCPS, UF or something else make sense there?

List of federal buildings slated for sale includes 11-floor Bennett Building in downtown

The federal government intends to put the 11-story Charles E. Bennett Federal Building in downtown Jacksonville up for sale because the General Service Administration says it's among a host of federal buildings nationwide that are "not core" for government operations.

Tenants of the building at 400 W. Bay St. include an Internal Revenue Service taxpayer assistance center, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development field office and a U.S. Department of Labor  Wage and Hour Division office.

Mayor Donna Deegan's administration is closely watching what happens with the Bennett Building and also the announcement the federal government will terminate its lease of office space for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Prudential Building in downtown.

Full article: https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2025/03/05/feds-plan-sale-of-charles-e-bennett-federal-building-in-jacksonville/81471242007/

[Joey Mackey]

I hope they just sell it to a private entity for whatever price they can get. The COJ owns to much land in downtown as it is. We don't need to add another block to its inventory for it to manage/develop.

https://dia.jacksonville.gov/getmedia/c8e8ef56-5f76-4bc0-8eb3-a88b3429191b/20221006_City-Owned-Parcel-Map_1.pdf

[Captain Zissou]

I'm curious how full that garage to the west gets on a daily basis.  If it has excess capacity, perhaps there's an opportunity to develop that surface lot and add some density to the area without the expense of structured parking.

[urban_]

I'm curious how full that garage to the west gets on a daily basis.  If it has excess capacity, perhaps there's an opportunity to develop that surface lot and add some density to the area without the expense of structured parking.

There're about 9 near-full blocks of parking lots/structures within like 2 blocks of that building, which is also adjacent to the monorail's central station. This desert is begging for some new development of basically any sort. Hopefully they develop some of the surface-level lots first, easy pickings.
Also, would someone mind explaining how to insert an image into a post? New here!

[Papa33]

It's an opportunity for someone.  I'd like to see it converted to apartments or hotel or combination of both.  It's in a pretty good location in the middle of both the proposed UF grad campus and Brooklyn (and the maligned Daily's Gas Station).  And as was mentioned earlier, those surface lots are screaming for development.

[Skybox111]

If it did scream for development from developers we would've seen proposals a long time ago  but those big lots scream for big skyscrapers that would show off the skyline to across the almost to near in places half mile wide river on the southbank. But right now offices single family homes and apartments in florida are on a slow especially in Jacksonville in market problems. Sales across in florida fell 18 percent  in January lot of cancellations. Orlando had the second highest share of cancellations in the country after Atlanta, Georgia, with 18.2 percent of pending home sales falling through, up from 16.8 percent a year earlier.

Jacksonville had the fifth-highest share, with 17.8 percent of home sales being canceled, up from 16.4 percent a year earlier.

[fsu813]

It's an opportunity for someone.

Hear me out: we could use a good storage facility around here.

[acme54321]

If it did scream for development from developers we would've seen proposals a long time ago  but those big lots scream for big skyscrapers that would show off the skyline to across the almost to near in places half mile wide river on the southbank. But right now offices single family homes and apartments in florida are on a slow especially in Jacksonville in market problems. Sales across in florida fell 18 percent  in January lot of cancellations. Orlando had the second highest share of cancellations in the country after Atlanta, Georgia, with 18.2 percent of pending home sales falling through, up from 16.8 percent a year earlier.

Jacksonville had the fifth-highest share, with 17.8 percent of home sales being canceled, up from 16.4 percent a year earlier.

It's owned by the federal government, they aren't going to play redevelopment games so developers probably haven't bothered.

Personally I think that building, and especially the lot, are an eyesore.  Hopefully someone does something worthwhile with it.

[Jones518]

I definitely disagree with your sentiments.... This building is less than a block away from the river, the Jacksonville center for performing arts/Jacksonville Symphony, corkscrew park, the Marriott Jacksonville downtown, CSX headquarters, 2 blocks away from Duval county courthouse, JEA headquarters, and more...

A mixed use building with residential units and some form of commercial space developed on one of those parking lots would do well.... It's amazing that there aren't many restaurants in walking distance from the Jax center of performing arts/Jax symphony with the many shows they host year-round.

Its screams for development, but city policy has encouraged development outside of the core for a long time. Market shifts also make a difference. It seems like soon as downtown Jax starts picking up momentum, the national real estate market starts to shift.

If it did scream for development from developers we would've seen proposals a long time ago  but those big lots scream for big skyscrapers that would show off the skyline to across the almost to near in places half mile wide river on the southbank. But right now offices single family homes and apartments in florida are on a slow especially in Jacksonville in market problems. Sales across in florida fell 18 percent  in January lot of cancellations. Orlando had the second highest share of cancellations in the country after Atlanta, Georgia, with 18.2 percent of pending home sales falling through, up from 16.8 percent a year earlier.

Jacksonville had the fifth-highest share, with 17.8 percent of home sales being canceled, up from 16.4 percent a year earlier.

[Jrz Jax]

Just spitballing here....

There is no reason for DCPS to occupy such a valuable piece of waterfront real estate and create unusable Riverwalk frontage. I know they looked into the feasibility of selling the property, but then could not justify the cost of new headquarters and moving expenses.

Could this be the district's new headquarters? This seems to have a relatively similar footprint, maybe a little more space.

Or a more radical plan: I was even thinking they could sell the DCPS property for the cost of refurbishing and moving to the old JEA headquarters, keeping it tax free and with other incentives for the new owner until the district moves out. But I don't think JEA would go for turning that over to the school district, and there's the huge wild card of finding some unforeseen costly repairs needed on a decades-vacant building.

[jaxlongtimer]

Let's see if GSA actually sells the property.  Like the tariffs and firings, this administration lurches one way today and the opposite way tomorrow.

Federal buildings likely feature lots of special security and access features along with fortified construction.  Not sure Federal agencies can just move to any ordinary office building somewhere else.  There is a reason the buildings look like fortresses at times.

Do you think IRS employees want to be openly exposed to the tax hating public? (Maybe the FBI building off Gate Parkway would take them.  LOL.)

Even the state office buildings on Davis street are in a gated park.

Then there is likely the need for secure and fortified communication and power linkages which Downtown may excel at vs. other locations in the suburbs.

Some national articles are also pointing out the cost of moving thousands of employees, outfitting new locations to government specs, and buying new furniture and equipment given much of what is there is aging and not worth salvaging in a move.

I also wonder, for leased spaces like that used by the Army Corps, how the government can arbitrarily break long term leases without paying significant penalties/damages.

Finally, the savings announced are a tiny decimal point to the Federal budget... I read maybe a net savings of $450 million across the whole country.

In the end, there are a lot of unanswered questions and, knowing the Musk gang, probably little to no thought was put into another knee-jerk decision.  lf so, I wouldn't be surprised if this whole process is paused or cancelled.

[Charles Hunter]

fsu813 Hear me out: we could use a good storage facility around here.

Only if it has a ground-floor Fudruckers.

Jrz Jax There is no reason for DCPS to occupy such a valuable piece of waterfront real estate and create unusable Riverwalk frontage. I know they looked into the feasibility of selling the property, but then could not justify the cost of new headquarters and moving expenses.

Could this be the district's new headquarters? This seems to have a relatively similar footprint, maybe a little more space.

To my eye, the Bennett Federal Building looks considerably bigger than the current DCPS Building.

jaxlongtimer
Let's see if GSA actually sells the property.  Like the tariffs and firings, this administration lurches one way today and the opposite way tomorrow.

[lots of smart stuff]

In the end, there are a lot of unanswered questions and, knowing the Musk gang, probably little to no thought was put into another knee-jerk decision.  lf so, I wouldn't be surprised if this whole process is paused or cancelled.

The DOGE is largely theater for the base. Theater that is having tragic consequences, but already several of their big firings have been reversed (oops! we need trained people to monitor our nukes?), and their reported savings shown to be vaporware. I will also be surprised if they actually sell the Bennett Office Building.

[Charles Hunter]

... and the list is gone

First Coast News


WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Tuesday published a list of more than 440 federal properties it had identified to potentially offload, including the FBI headquarters and the main Department of Justice building, after deeming them "not core to government operations."

Hours later, however, the administration issued a revised list with only 320 entries that excluded every previously listed building in Washington, D.C. And by Wednesday morning, the list was gone entirely. "Non-core property list (Coming soon)" read the web page where the list had previously been posted.

https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/nation-world/federal-buildings-for-sale-doge/507-a0c02191-b600-4c8a-b5cd-e96d2452512d

I sure am glad the Stable Genius hired this other Genius to revamp the gummint.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ That's the fastest any prediction I made came true  !

For a generous fee, I will next share my predictions for the stock market

[Jrz Jax]

Yikes! The quiet part is now ear-bleedingly loud

The administration also said it was seeking to offload federal buildings bearing the names of civil rights icons Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta and Rosa Parks in Detroit, and the Montgomery, Alabama, bus station that was pivotal in the civil rights movement and now serves as the Freedom Rides Museum.