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

[thelakelander]

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Fidelity National Information Services Inc. Chairman, President and CEO Gary Norcross announced Friday that FIS is Project Sharp, a long-expected disclosure.

What that means is Jacksonville-based FIS will build a $145 million, 300,000-square-foot headquarters at 323 Riverside Ave. and create 500 jobs paying an average $85,000 a year by 2023.

"FIS has decided to double-down" in Jacksonville and "build a new and expanded headquarters," DeSantis said.

Full article: https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/fis-to-build-dollar145-million-headquarters-in-riverside-create-500-jobs

[Tacachale]

That is phenomenal. Huge news for Brooklyn, and all of Jax.

[Steve]

Giant win. I'm (hopefully) looking forward to more detailed renderings of the buildings.

[Peter Griffin]

FINALLY some new high-rise construction in Jax

Even if it's just proposed right now, the fact that it's proposed as a HQ for a large financial firm makes me think funding shouldn't dry up immediately at the sign of an economic downturn. No building or industry is recession-proof, but I reckon I can feel optimistic about this one.

[thelakelander]

The tower will be 12-stories. More pictures are up in the Jax Daily Record article:

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/fis-to-build-dollar145-million-headquarters-in-riverside-create-500-jobs

[Captain Zissou]

12 floors is the same number as the current FIS/Black Knight building, but the heights per floor look to be higher on this.  I hope there is some retail component fronting Riverside Ave, but otherwise this looks great.

[thelakelander]

Better picture:

[thelakelander]

12 floors is the same number as the current FIS/Black Knight building, but the heights per floor look to be higher on this.  I hope there is some retail component fronting Riverside Ave, but otherwise this looks great.

From the rendering it looks like the fire station is replaced with a road serving as the entrance. A large parking garage appears to be just north of where the station is today. Since the office tower looks like everything is self contained with little interaction with the riverwalk or the surrounding streets, the big question will revolve around the garage's ground frontage on Riverside Avenue.

[Papa33]

Large parking deck on along Riverside Avenue?

[edjax]

Biz journal has a video.  Turning from riverside onto the new access road.  At the corner facing riverside it looks like there is a 'chance' for retail, but really hard to tell. I say bigger chance none.

[thelakelander]

Large parking deck on along Riverside Avenue?

Yes.

[Papa33]

Large parking deck on along Riverside Avenue?

Yes.

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

[Steve]

I don't fundamentally have an issue with a parking garage fronting the street. To me it's all about the ground level. That to me is an easy place to make retail work, especially given the added employees downtown here and at Florida Blue. The area around the building does look suburban, but I haven't seen a good rendering of the street frontage to judge yet.

It's interesting about the employee shift downtown. FIS right now is in the Black Knight Building and the Prudential Building on the Southbank, as well as one other building in town; I think somewhere on the southside. Assuming they all move here, then that frees up space for Black Knight, so the Black Knight employees in the Florida Blue tower move over, so I'm guessing that building would then be full (I don't see space for lease there). With the new parking garage, Florida Blue then backfills the space vacated by Black Knight moving out.

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

[jaxjags]

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.

[Steve]

Actually, this rendering isn't as bad as I feared (from Forest St looking at Riverside Ave):



It isn't the most urban thing ever seen, but clearly there are what appears to be store frontage along Riverside and at the corner.