Deutsche Bank continues its local growth.
The city issued a permit Friday for Deutsche Bank to renovate 27,805 square feet of space at Butler Plaza II at a project cost of $798,545.
Gilbane Building Co. is the contractor for the project, defined on the permit as a call center, at 4887 Belfort Road.
The global financial services giant continues on an expansion track in Jacksonville and will take over the offices at Butler Plaza vacated by Flytele.
Plans show Deutsche Bank will take space on parts of the first and second floors and the entire third floor of the four-story, 80,000-square-foot building. The space includes training and conference rooms, open office space and other uses.
Deutsche Bank already leases the entire 80,000-square-foot Butler Plaza III building at 4875 Belfort Road as extra space because it ran out of room at Meridian Business Park, where it leases just about all of the 200,000-square-foot, five-building office center at 5022 Gate Parkway in Southside.
The latest project will boost its Jacksonville presence to more than 300,000 square feet of space among seven buildings. Deutsche Bank also is reviewing sites, including 30 acres owned by JEA on the Southbank Downtown, for a consolidated office center of at least 300,000 square feet.
Deutsche Bank has a growing operation in Jacksonville across the front office and infrastructure groups, such as technology, strategy and operations.
308-unit Gran Bay Parkway OK’d
Gran Bay Realty Partners LLC, operated by the Rohdie Group of New York, was cleared by the city to build the 308-unit Gran Bay Apartments at Flagler Center — a set of 14 apartment buildings, seven garages and a clubhouse.
The city approved the permits Friday for Summit Contracting Group Inc. to build the almost $23 million construction project at 13444 Gran Bay Parkway in the South Jacksonville development.
The Rohdie Group of New York will develop the more than $30 million project. The additional costs include land, development and other expenses.
President Bob Rohdie said in late March that construction would be completed 16 months after construction began, which could be August-September 2015.
The Rohdie Group is a privately held real estate management firm based in New York, N.Y. Over the past 25 years, Rohdie and his team have developed more than 30,000 apartments in residential areas throughout the Southeast.
St. Patrick on the way up in North Jacksonville
St. Patrick Catholic Church earned the city’s blessing to build a new church in North Jacksonville at 601 Airport Center Drive E.
Sauer Inc. is the contractor for the project at a cost of $2.59 million.
The Diocese of St. Augustine is building the two-story, 14,139-square-foot church at the site where the new St. Patrick Catholic School also is under construction.
The current church and school are at 1429 Broward Road and that 10.8-acre property has been sold to a charter school organization, which is allowing the church to continue using the location until plans are completed for construction of the new church.
St. Patrick Catholic Church was established in 1959 and the school was started in 1964. Its website is stpatrickjax.org.
Tucker Rocky construction approved
The city approved construction Thursday for Tucker Rocky/Biker’s Choice, which distributes motorcycle and ATV aftermarket parts, accessories and apparel, at Westside Industrial Park.
Tucker Rocky is almost doubling its size in Jacksonville and adding jobs.
Tucker Rocky is adding almost 85,000 square feet of space at 8700 Jesse B. Smith Court. Pattillo Construction Corp. is the contractor for the $2.17 million project.
The Fort Worth-based Tucker Rocky is expanding at its 100,000-square-foot distribution center in Westside Industrial Park.
According to Tuckerrocky.com, the company offers products for street, custom, touring and off-road motorcycles as well as ATVs.
Chief Financial Officer Jay Goldstein said in the fall that the expansion will include a multimillion-dollar investment in mechanized conveyors to improve accuracy and efficiency in filling orders.
He said the Jacksonville distribution center opened in 1998 and its new lease will keep it there for at least another 10 years. He said the company has about 35 employees at the center and would add about a dozen jobs.
Tucker Rocky/Biker’s Choice also will invest in material storage and material handling equipment to increase shipping accuracy and minimize delivery times to its customers.
The facility will be refitted with energy-efficient lighting fixtures and other features as well as landscape irrigation to reduce environmental impacts and minimize energy costs.
Hospice buys thrift shop property
Community Hospice of Northeast Florida bought its existing Community Hospice Thrift Shop location at 11173 Beach Blvd.
The $2.9 million purchase March 31 includes 6.82 acres and additional retail and warehouse space. The organization said the acquisition will increase operational efficiencies.
Community Hospice had been leasing 15,500 square feet of retail space at the location.
The organization said the purchase increases retail space to 27,400 square feet and provides an additional 32,000 square feet of warehouse space.
It also increases parking by 60 percent to more than 100 parking spaces.
Carlos Bosque, chief financial officer of Community Hospice, said in a news release that with changes in health care laws and cuts to traditional funding, it was imperative to find diverse funding sources, like the thrift shop, to carry on the mission of improving quality of life for patients and their families.
“Many of the programs we transparently provide to the community are unfunded initiatives that require community support and funding from alternative sources,” Bosque said.
The Beach Boulevard and Orange Park Community Hospice Thrift Shops gross more than $1 million a year, said the release. All of the net proceeds directly offset unfunded patient care such as Community PedsCare, a pediatric palliative and hospice program for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.
The release said the proceeds also support palliative consultative services for patients who are diagnosed with a serious illness and for communitywide initiatives such as the Caregiver Coalition and Veterans related programs and services.
The deed recorded Thursday with the Duval County Clerk of Court shows that Community Hospice bought the property from Najhy and Putena Muheisen. The couple also is known as Nagi and Tutena Muheisen.
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