New Plan for 100 West Bay

[aubureck]

I knew that Eugene Profit had sold the building and I had been wondering why, now I know.

VyStar wants to start interior demolition at 100 W. Bay St.

VyStar Credit Union wants to begin renovations of the 100 W. Bay St. building it bought in February next to the 23-story tower it is remodeling for its headquarters.

Jacksonville-based VyStar applied to the city to start interior demolition of the seven-story, 75,744-square-foot building at a cost of $859,670.

Dana B. Kenyon Co. is the contractor. Build-out will be permitted separately after the interior demolition.

VyStar bought the office building for $5 million from developer Eugene Profit, who planned to convert it into a hotel. The credit union will use it to create a larger Downtown campus.

The building is next to the VyStar Tower at 76 S. Laura St. The credit union bought that structure, the SunTrust Tower, and a parking garage in July for $59 million.

"When we started to do our space planning and design work within what is available in the tower, we saw that we were not going to be able to give our departments room for growth," said VyStar President and CEO Brian Wolfburg in March.

Wolfburg said the West Bay Street building eventually will house 200-300 lending specialists.

The company plans to bring at least 900 employees Downtown.

Wolfburg said the 100 W. Bay St. renovations would be a complete rehab, "from the windows to the roof and everything in between."

It has one tenant, Peterbrooke Chocolatier, which Wolfburg said will remain.

"We want to create a campus feel for our employees and we want to be good corporate citizens in Downtown," he said.

"Activating street-level retail in our buildings with shops and restaurants is part of that," he said.

VyStar will move its headquarters from its current base at 4949 Blanding Blvd. in West Jacksonville.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/vystar-wants-to-start-interior-demolition-at-100-w-bay-st

[thelakelander]

Wow these are words you don't hear everyday in Downtown Jacksonville.....

"We want to create a campus feel for our employees and we want to be good corporate citizens in Downtown," he said.

"Activating street-level retail in our buildings with shops and restaurants is part of that," he said.

[Papa33]

Hotel Indigo indefinitely shelved?  Looking for a suitable property?

[thelakelander]

Hotel Indigo is dead. The developer made his profit selling the property to VyStar.

[Steve]

Wow these are words you don't hear everyday in Downtown Jacksonville.....

"We want to create a campus feel for our employees and we want to be good corporate citizens in Downtown," he said.

"Activating street-level retail in our buildings with shops and restaurants is part of that," he said.

Seriously-it seems like Brian Wolfburg has ushered in a new day at VyStar. While I never met Terry West (previous CEO), VyStar seemed like a "cheapest possible" type company. Some branches in the middle of strip malls, HQ of Blanding Boulevard, etc. Certainly nothing wrong with that per se, but it's far different from buying a Class A high rise and being a steward of downtown revitalization.

[vicupstate]

Wow these are words you don't hear everyday in Downtown Jacksonville.....

"We want to create a campus feel for our employees and we want to be good corporate citizens in Downtown," he said.

"Activating street-level retail in our buildings with shops and restaurants is part of that," he said.

Seriously-it seems like Brian Wolfburg has ushered in a new day at VyStar. While I never met Terry West (previous CEO), VyStar seemed like a "cheapest possible" type company. Some branches in the middle of strip malls, HQ of Blanding Boulevard, etc. Certainly nothing wrong with that per se, but it's far different from buying a Class A high rise and being a steward of downtown revitalization.

Vystar is paying $175 per square foot for the Suntrust building; they estimated $300 per square foot for a suburban campus.

[Steve]

Wow these are words you don't hear everyday in Downtown Jacksonville.....

"We want to create a campus feel for our employees and we want to be good corporate citizens in Downtown," he said.

"Activating street-level retail in our buildings with shops and restaurants is part of that," he said.

Seriously-it seems like Brian Wolfburg has ushered in a new day at VyStar. While I never met Terry West (previous CEO), VyStar seemed like a "cheapest possible" type company. Some branches in the middle of strip malls, HQ of Blanding Boulevard, etc. Certainly nothing wrong with that per se, but it's far different from buying a Class A high rise and being a steward of downtown revitalization.

Vystar is paying $175 per square foot for the Suntrust building; they estimated $300 per square foot for a suburban campus.

Plus the cost to tear out an renovate. If the built a suburban campus it would have likely been built to suit.

[thelakelander]

Wow these are words you don't hear everyday in Downtown Jacksonville.....

"We want to create a campus feel for our employees and we want to be good corporate citizens in Downtown," he said.

"Activating street-level retail in our buildings with shops and restaurants is part of that," he said.

Seriously-it seems like Brian Wolfburg has ushered in a new day at VyStar. While I never met Terry West (previous CEO), VyStar seemed like a "cheapest possible" type company. Some branches in the middle of strip malls, HQ of Blanding Boulevard, etc. Certainly nothing wrong with that per se, but it's far different from buying a Class A high rise and being a steward of downtown revitalization.

If the property owners of Wells Fargo Center and the Bank of America Tower took a similar approach (ground level retail street activation) as VyStar and 100 North Laura, DT Jax could easily have a compact stretch of Laura just as vibrant as......this:

DT Coral Gables - 2009


DT Coral Gables - 2019




More before and after images: https://www.moderncities.com/article/2019-apr-the-makeover-of-giralda-plaza

^That was a $5 million job and it will have more positive impact on that city's downtown image than anything going up a mile outside of the Northbank core will have on it.

[Tacachale]

^Hopefully the enthusiasm is catching.