Downtown Development Update: What's rising, what's delayed

[Jax_Developer]

It's the last step in the progression from HQ to Satellite Branch. They likely are running core functions here that would otherwise cost more to operate in other markets.

This is now an efficiency model rather than a competition model.

[jaxlongtimer]

So BOA moved a large portion of employees to a 10 story box in Southside. What would have made them happy to stay DT, and not consider leaving? Sorry for the ignorance, I don't come from real estate.

My take:

Paying higher rents for support people that mostly work virtually from either the office or from home doesn't make sense.  Add, from a recruiting standpoint, many support people, with lower incomes, can't afford to pay for downtown parking, etc. so they would prefer the suburbs.  They may also trend younger meaning they have young kids that they want to be closer to for their schools and where they live.

Higher paid, customer facing executives, probably lean older and with higher incomes so working Downtown isn't as much of an issue and makes more sense when interacting with customers at a high level.

I think these same dynamics work for a HQ's.  HQ's tend to have larger numbers at the upper levels of a company's payroll and personnel so more likely to populate a Downtown building.

[CityLife]

Barnett Bank sold for $15.5B in 1997... just think about that number in today's context. That is, by far, larger than any Fortune 500 locally in 2026, inflation adjusted of course.

Is it?  CSX?  FIS?

Look up the value of Barnett bank compared to the major banks at the time & you'll have your answer. CSX is the last man standing really..

Good point. Just on purely inflation alone using the CPI, $15.5 billion is $30.6 billion now. That's a larger market cap than FIS ($22 billion). But like you said, banks have far outperformed inflation in that time. Chase is up 20x, BOA 10x, Wells 9x, US Bank 7x, and Citi 3.6x. 

Barnett was bought up by BOA. We can't assume it would have gone up 10x since 1997 like BOA did, but based on all the other banks, it's likely that it would have done much more than just doubled through inflation. Barnett had 20% of all deposits in Florida in 1997. Had it stayed the Publix of Florida banking, it likely would have grown substantially as the state has become even more populated and received a substantially higher number of well off residents. It would have also be a major prestige company in Jax too.

Haven't really thought of Barnett in a long time, but you are right that it was a huge loss.

[CityLife]

There's been a lot of talk on MJ about the lack of historic preservation greatly hurting Downtown (and rightly so), but probably not enough about the loss of major corporate anchors downtown. The City got absolutely brutalized by banking and insurance mergers, and other closures. If you have all the below companies in their prime, fundraising for the new MOSH would have been a cakewalk, the downtown office market is strong, downtown restaurant/entertainment scene is more vibrant, urban core neighborhoods stronger. Basically, it's a different city.


-Barnett (built the Barnett building in 1990 as Jax's signature building). Had they stayed, would they have ultimately built another signature tower? At minimum, they are filling the current Barnett building with tons of high paying employees, and been a massive corporate benefactor.
-Charter Company (#61 in Fortune 500 in 1984) was in the JEA Building (Universal-Marion Building)
-Independent Life who built Independent Life Building in 1974. Sold in 1995 and operations moved to Nashville.
-Atlantic National Bank
-Florida National Bank
 -Stein Mart

Then you have Southern Bell and Prudential also downsizing their downtown operations.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ Add SWD (Top 5 U.S. mortgage bankers, real estate, insurance (and their spin off, Computer Power, formerly Alltel, and now known as Black Knight/ICE), Independent Life, Gulf Life, American Heritage/Allstate (one of the early movers from Downtown), Florida Title, Duval, Fidelity and First Federal Savings and Loans, Brockway Glass, Interline/HD Supply, some other niche title and insurance companies, etc.

We also use to host regional offices for Fortune 500 companies like IBM (now the Suddath building), Southern Bell/Bellsouth and Prudential (as you noted) that actually got involved in Jax civic affairs as major employers here.  Today, we either have lost those regional offices to consolidations, often to Atlanta, or, if still here, they just don't participate locally like they used to.

And, the State consolidating all its Jax regional offices off Davis Street.  Now, JSO and JTA are on the edges of the core, too.

Death by a thousand knife cuts.

[Jax_Developer]

Spot on JLT... when you add that list to CL's list, it paints a picture of a hollowed out the big business community is. Imagine the sheer spending those businesses would bring today.

Barnett Bank is a crazy what if... In 2026, we are seeing insane growth from big banks in big Florida cities. Imagine how 'Florida's Bank' would have been positioned (if they survived 08). Even removing them, theres about a dozen players that also sold out to larger regional companies over a 20-year period.

[Aristocles]

I wonder: what primarily fills up downtown Savannah and downtown Charleston, which never tore down large numbers of buildings in urban renewal the way lots of cities including Jax did? My impression, with all their low buildings, is it isn't major offices of banks and corporations. Those are probably in suburban office parks in those markets. I also get the idea downtown living is in demand, because Gateway Jax never would've gotten financing to build Pearl Street if it weren't. And look at all the apartments going up, particularly in Brooklyn. So why is it in demand?
Answers to those questions are key to figuring out what will turn downtown Jacksonville into a great place. Also, I think key to rebuilding downtown is U of Florida Jax, in LaVilla.

[Ken_FSU]

I wonder: what primarily fills up downtown Savannah?

SCAD's presence is massive, and cannot be understated in regards to downtown Savannah's vibrancy. Versus being a standalone thing, their campus is embedded deeply into the entire historic district. 70 historic structures. Have done a lot of work with them over the years, and it's incredible to see how much they activate that city. Film fest. Fashion week. Constant events. Would be a VERY different city without them.

[Tacachale]

I wonder: what primarily fills up downtown Savannah and downtown Charleston, which never tore down large numbers of buildings in urban renewal the way lots of cities including Jax did? My impression, with all their low buildings, is it isn't major offices of banks and corporations. Those are probably in suburban office parks in those markets. I also get the idea downtown living is in demand, because Gateway Jax never would've gotten financing to build Pearl Street if it weren't. And look at all the apartments going up, particularly in Brooklyn. So why is it in demand?
Answers to those questions are key to figuring out what will turn downtown Jacksonville into a great place. Also, I think key to rebuilding downtown is U of Florida Jax, in LaVilla.

My old man called the the Charleston strategy of urban development - you go through a lengthy period of torpor in an area where you aren't getting new uses coming in... but you also aren't tearing things down. If you hold out until all the old buildings move past being "outdated" and "decrepit" to where they're perceived to be "historic" and "valuable", you can make that part of your identity. It worked out for Riverside-Avondale for years and it's working in Springfield now. Even in our Downtown there are more historic bones than in some other places like Charlotte or Orlando. Our bigger issue has been lack of followthrough and vision holding Downtown back.

[Tacachale]

I wonder: what primarily fills up downtown Savannah?

SCAD's presence is massive, and cannot be understated in regards to downtown Savannah's vibrancy. Versus being a standalone thing, their campus is embedded deeply into the entire historic district. 70 historic structures. Have done a lot of work with them over the years, and it's incredible to see how much they activate that city. Film fest. Fashion week. Constant events. Would be a VERY different city without them.

My wife's cousin is at SCAD now. It's incredible to see how much of an impact they have on the historic district - and to do it with buildings scattered throughout it rather than gobbling the whole place up like a lot of colleges do.

Oh the things you can do when you charge $45k a year for tuition!

[thelakelander]

My old man called the the Charleston strategy of urban development - you go through a lengthy period of torpor in an area where you aren't getting new uses coming in... but you also aren't tearing things down. If you hold out until all the old buildings move past being "outdated" and "decrepit" to where they're perceived to be "historic" and "valuable", you can make that part of your identity. It worked out for Riverside-Avondale for years and it's working in Springfield now. Even in our Downtown there are more historic bones than in some other places like Charlotte or Orlando. Our bigger issue has been lack of follow through and vision holding Downtown back.

Bingo! Neither Savannah nor Charleston underwent the level of late 20th century urban renewal that Jax's core did. Both were economically in the dumps during that period of time.  Both were still super dense in the 1980s when I was growing up. They both were also the hood. You didn't see many white people walking around on the streets back in those days swiping credit cards on overpriced goods and services without worrying about the balance. Forsythe Park wasn't a spot where tourist frolic and SCAD kids play pick up soccer games. You were more likely to get robbed than purchase crafts from a weekend arts market.

LaVilla and Springfield had a similar vibe back then, during the height of the crack cocaine epidemic. I remember a time when you didn't want to stop at the light at 8th and Main. Unfortunately, LaVilla got knocked down in the mid-1990s as people, a few years before the movement back to urban cores across the country really heated up.  Much of the downtown core also fell to the wrecking ball during the 70s, 80s and 90s. Springfield survived and has become popular once again.

Gentrification over the past 30 years has made both Savannah and Charleston popular tourist destinations, which fuels their service industries (neither has much of a corporate central business district). I'd argue they both basically resemble what Jacksonville would have possibly become if much of that building stock that lasted into the early 1990s would have made it to the 21st century.

[Tacachale]

There's been a lot of talk on MJ about the lack of historic preservation greatly hurting Downtown (and rightly so), but probably not enough about the loss of major corporate anchors downtown. The City got absolutely brutalized by banking and insurance mergers, and other closures. If you have all the below companies in their prime, fundraising for the new MOSH would have been a cakewalk, the downtown office market is strong, downtown restaurant/entertainment scene is more vibrant, urban core neighborhoods stronger. Basically, it's a different city.


-Barnett (built the Barnett building in 1990 as Jax's signature building). Had they stayed, would they have ultimately built another signature tower? At minimum, they are filling the current Barnett building with tons of high paying employees, and been a massive corporate benefactor.
-Charter Company (#61 in Fortune 500 in 1984) was in the JEA Building (Universal-Marion Building)
-Independent Life who built Independent Life Building in 1974. Sold in 1995 and operations moved to Nashville.
-Atlantic National Bank
-Florida National Bank
 -Stein Mart

Then you have Southern Bell and Prudential also downsizing their downtown operations.

The Jaxson owners were talking about this some time ago, but it must have not been on the forum (or I can't find it). This is one of the biggest drags on Downtown today. All these office buildings were constructed for big companies that later left, so we've got a lot more office space than we can fill easily. The same problem is a drag even on places like Orlando despite how vibrant their downtown is in other ways, so it's easy to see how it can hold a place like DT Jax back.

Converting some to residential will help, but that isn't easy.

[thelakelander]

We wrote about this as early as 2010.....16 years ago!!!

https://archive.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-oct-an-empty-feeling-inside-the-walls-of-downtown

There are more old articles! I just can't remember the titles at the moment to find them.

[thelakelander]

Another one from 2015. Its been over a decade since this editorial was written. The problem is still the same. At some point, there needs to be some real strategy implemented to address the issue:

During the late 20th century, changes in the nation's business policies and practices dramatically impacted our central business districts. Some, like Charlotte and Houston, came out as winners. Others like New Orleans and Jacksonville were dealt blows they're still working hard to overcome today. Ever wonder why Downtown Jacksonville has too much office space on its hands? Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with local leadership or the popularity of our rapidly growing suburbs.

https://archive.metrojacksonville.com/article/2015-aug-seven-decisions-that-killed-downtown

[jaxlongtimer]

I wonder: what primarily fills up downtown Savannah and downtown Charleston, which never tore down large numbers of buildings in urban renewal the way lots of cities including Jax did? My impression, with all their low buildings, is it isn't major offices of banks and corporations. Those are probably in suburban office parks in those markets. I also get the idea downtown living is in demand, because Gateway Jax never would've gotten financing to build Pearl Street if it weren't. And look at all the apartments going up, particularly in Brooklyn. So why is it in demand?
Answers to those questions are key to figuring out what will turn downtown Jacksonville into a great place. Also, I think key to rebuilding downtown is U of Florida Jax, in LaVilla.

My old man called the the Charleston strategy of urban development - you go through a lengthy period of torpor in an area where you aren't getting new uses coming in... but you also aren't tearing things down. If you hold out until all the old buildings move past being "outdated" and "decrepit" to where they're perceived to be "historic" and "valuable", you can make that part of your identity. It worked out for Riverside-Avondale for years and it's working in Springfield now. Even in our Downtown there are more historic bones than in some other places like Charlotte or Orlando. Our bigger issue has been lack of followthrough and vision holding Downtown back.

^ This!  Charleston, Savannah... Add Asheville, same story. (Only big company I noticed in Asheville is the Biltmore Companies.)  Everything else is Art Deco revival. Locally, I would add the Rail Yard District to Riverside and Springfield.  At this point, maybe even San Marco.  At the beach, Atlantic Beach.  Communities that still have most of their "old time" character.

I could name a hundred other "once overlooked" towns and cities of all sizes where they got locked in a time warp and now, having historic character, are charming and popular places to both live and visit.  Arguably, closer to home, you could say that about Fernandina and St. Augustine.  I've been to countless small towns that are booming for the same reasons.

Jax was an overlooked city but we messed up by tearing down our history, trying to be a wannabe Atlanta or even New York.  Just crazy.

I wonder if we didn't have consolidation, and the urban core suffered economically as time passed by, if, today, most of our historic buildings would still be around.  All the post-consolidation "urban renewal" did little to grow Downtown.  Most of the "new investment" was by existing Downtown companies, not ones from the outside world.  The tortoise and the hare... maybe the tortoise would have been the long time winner.