Downtown investor JWB Real Estate Capital bought the Federal Reserve Bank Building at 424 N Hogan St.
Through 218 W. Church LLC, JWB paid $1.75 million for the historic Federal Reserve Bank structure Aug. 3. It was built in 1922.
The bank is next to the historic Seminole Building, anchored by Sweet Pete's candy shop, that JWB bought in January.
https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/sifakis-group-buys-historic-federal-reserve-bank-building-downtown
Sounds like a lot of great possibilities here. However the quote:
"Sifakis said he wanted to thank Mayor Lenny Curry and Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes "on the commitment they have shown to Downtown." ......
.......Caught my eye. What exactly is he talking about? Not the rampant demolition we've all witnessed in the last year, correct?
He could certainly thank VyStar, that would make sense.
Since he included Brian Hughes my guess is that either he's being sarcastic or they hooked him up with something, so hes falling in line.
Quote from: Captain Zissou on August 07, 2020, 09:19:56 AM
Since he included Brian Hughes my guess is that either he's being sarcastic or they hooked him up with something, so hes falling in line.
that makes sense
Sometimes it's better to play nice for a mutually beneficial arrangement.
I hope this building gets turned into something great. It's one of my favorite buildings downtown.
It's an awesome building inside! I worked a long-term assignment as a temp in the mid-1980s. I remember a lot of marble floors and walls, even in the ladies' room the stalls were white and gray marble; there was a full cafeteria on another floor, and they cooked from scratch meals; the floor there was bright red linoleum; they still had old-fashioned telephone booths that you could sit in and close the half-round door and the light and fan came on; the floor where I actually worked was just a run of the mill carpeted office. Myself and another lady were in a smaller glassed in office, typing for the whole bank. And armed security guards EVERYWHERE. Can't imagine how much more I did not get to see. It's a fortress, and rightly so. I think it would have been a very nice little theatre or concert venue. I do hope they will preserve as much as possible.
Are there any recent photos of the interior? If so please post.
Sifakas now owns this entire block except the old Independent Life Building:
QuoteJWB Real Estate Capital added another property Downtown to its portfolio Aug. 26 by acquiring the 218 W. Church St. building for $675,000.
The five-story, 26,500-square-foot vacant office building was developed in 1924 and is landmarked as historic. JWB bought it from investor Atrium Properties 1 LLC.
"We are planning on doing a mixed-project with commercial on the first floor and 24 residential rental units on floors two to five," said JWB Real Estate Capital President Alex Sifakis on Aug. 28.
https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/jwb-real-estate-buys-218-w-church-st-downtown
Imagine what people like these guys could have done with adaptive reuse in places like City Hall. What a damn shame.
Nice! I can't wait to see this particular area of the Northbank within the next few years. We talk a lot about the river, but this excites me more just because of the unique collection of historic spaces clustered together and how an authentic experience can come from it.
Quote from: sandyshoes on August 07, 2020, 05:12:15 PM
It's an awesome building inside! I worked a long-term assignment as a temp in the mid-1980s. I remember a lot of marble floors and walls, even in the ladies' room the stalls were white and gray marble; there was a full cafeteria on another floor, and they cooked from scratch meals; the floor there was bright red linoleum; they still had old-fashioned telephone booths that you could sit in and close the half-round door and the light and fan came on; the floor where I actually worked was just a run of the mill carpeted office. Myself and another lady were in a smaller glassed in office, typing for the whole bank. And armed security guards EVERYWHERE. Can't imagine how much more I did not get to see. It's a fortress, and rightly so. I think it would have been a very nice little theatre or concert venue. I do hope they will preserve as much as possible.
Sandy, I believe your are referring to the 1952 Federal Reserve Building, not the older 1922 one featured here. I, too, was in the 1952 one when it was operational. There were guards in the lobby openly displaying machine guns. In a day, when cameras were rare, they had them everywhere, on every corridor and in the elevators. Armored cars entered underground through a secure and hardened entrance. The center of the building was essentially a multi story vault that was sealed after hours. Definitely made an impression on visitors 8).
For the uninitiated, there are, today, 3 current or former Federal Reserve Bank buildings in Jacksonville.
The present day building by the convention center is similarly secured and also has a large cafeteria. But, interestingly, due to the almost total elimination of paper check clearing, the building is half empty or more (it was built for about 500 Fed employees and today has less than 100) and the GSA offers space in it for lease by corporate tenants. If you don't mind going through multiple layers of security every time you enter or exit the building, you probably couldn't work in a more secure space. You also would not have to worry about a Cat 5 hurricane destroying your office.
Yes, you are correct, the 1952 version. Did you happen to have met one of the guards whose name was Ricky Ricardo? Nice man, always a big smile.
Where is the 1952 version located?
Quote from: sandyshoes on August 28, 2020, 03:37:38 PM
Yes, you are correct, the 1952 version. Did you happen to have met one of the guards whose name was Ricky Ricardo? Nice man, always a big smile.
I just delivered to the building. Didn't know anyone there. Isn't Ricky Ricardo Lucy's husband :D?
Quote from: thelakelander on August 28, 2020, 04:07:32 PM
Where is the 1952 version located?
It's at Church and Hogan. It is now the City's Fire and Rescue Dept. HQ's. See pictures below. The carved words in the wall over the entrance are from its days as the Federal Reserve Building and say: "The Federal Reserve System through which our banks and government join hands to further the enduring prosperity of our American commerce, industry and agriculture."
(https://vintagejacksonville.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/000566web.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Frbjax.jpg/1280px-Frbjax.jpg)
Today's Federal Reserve Bank building on Water Street:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/5541/14296768741_938dc815dc_b.jpg)
Quote from: marcuscnelson on August 28, 2020, 01:47:13 PM
Imagine what people like these guys could have done with adaptive reuse in places like City Hall. What a damn shame.
Yeah...prime property right on the river front.
Jaxlongtimer #14: Indeed he was Lucy Ricardo's husband. But this security guard's badge photo and the name underneath his photo both agreed his face belonged to someone named Ricky Ricardo, and he took great pleasure in introducing himself to people to get their reactions. I knew I should have added a disclaimer as soon as I wrote that, but... And as soon as you mentioned the machine guns, I shuddered at remembering those. I guess I had blocked them out. Interesting tidbit about the one huge vault in the middle of the building, I had never known.
This Sifakis group sure seems to have a lot of faith in the core Northbank. I wonder if they will end up with one of the other nearby properties that have had announcements but have yet to move forward in a substantial way. I thinking of the Jones Brothers Furniture, Ambassador Hotel and Independent Life properties.
I agree this would be far more impactful than all the big pie-in-the-sky projects that never seem to happen. On the other hand, the not so big projects often don't materialize either.