JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JEA announced Tuesday that it officially began seeking bids for its former headquarters and adjacent properties in downtown Jacksonville. Now, many are wondering how the space will be used.
Linzee Ott, CEO of Build Up Downtown, said there is a possibility the headquarters could be turned into housing, but at the end of the day, it is up to developers to decide. Ott added that the city wants to see the building “activated” to get more feet on the streets of downtown.
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“Location-wise, it’s a fantastic opportunity. The buildings themselves are beautiful,” Ott said. “There’s structured parking already on the site. The buildings are in good shape, so it would be great to see some life return to these.”
People might recognize JEA’s former headquarters – also known as the Universal Marion building – by the iconic honeycomb windows.
When it first opened in 1963, the 19-story tower was the tallest building on the Northbank. Ott said there was once a popular rotating restaurant situated on top of the building called “The Embers.”
“They’re architecturally really lovely buildings. The unique honeycomb shape of the windows, I mean, it’s pretty iconic, the round, rotating restaurant that used to be on the top, The Embers restaurant. It would be really, it would be really fun to see that return,” Ott said.
JEA moved its Customer Solutions Center and corporate offices to a seven-story building at 225 N. Pearl Street in April 2023.
Nearly two years later, potential bidders are invited to participate in the bidding process, and locals say they want to see something more than just another office space.
Jihan and Mariah said they would like to see more housing downtown.
“If people actually lived down here, they’d have a reason to come and, you know, enjoy the park and enjoy the shops and restaurants that are down here, and then more stuff like that could pop up,” Jihan said.
But Alec Vanboxtel, who used to live downtown, said there’s no reason for the city to want more apartments in the urban core. He thinks bringing back “The Embers” restaurant would be a smart move for the right developer.
“I think something like that, something a little bit different, so people can enjoy the outdoor Florida weather, and maybe actually just get people to come down here and then work on apartments, because then there’s a reason to want to live here, a reason to want to be able to walk around and have stuff to do,” Vanboxtel said.
There’s a total of three properties JEA is looking to sell to the right developer.
- The Tower, a 19-story office building constructed in the early 1960s with approximately 347,811 square feet at 21 W. Church St.
- JEA’s former Customer Center, a six-story office building constructed in the early 1960s with approximately 248,220 square feet adjacent to the Tower.
- The Adair Building, a parking garage with approximately 513 parking spaces that also includes street-level retail space, at 421 Laura St.
The Tower and Customer Center also share a below-grade parking deck with approximately 190 parking spaces.
JEA’s Request for Proposal (RFP) set a deadline of April 8 to receive bids for the properties located on Church Street. It also states that respondents will be required to coordinate with JEA, the City of Jacksonville, the City’s Downtown Investment Authority (“DIA”) and other regulatory bodies “to develop the former HQ in a manner that best serves the community’s interests.”
JEA’s staff will negotiate a purchase and sale agreement with the highest-ranked respondent based on a recommendation from the evaluation committee. Then, JEA’s board would need to approve a purchase agreement.
In a statement, a spokesperson for JEA told News4JAX, “JEA’s former headquarters is well-positioned to contribute to the growth and development of Downtown Jacksonville. We look forward to evaluating the responses of interested parties and working with our City partners to move this project forward.”