The 37-story Wells Fargo Center could be within a month of a sale, according to the broker marketing the Downtown tower.
“A transaction will occur during the second quarter of 2014,” said CBRE Senior Vice President Michael Harrell, adding that there is “always an element of uncertainty.”
Harrell said he believes the deal is “a month out from a transaction.”
He said he could not speak to any of the details, such as whether the building was under contract or the identity of the prospective buyer.
The three landmark Northbank Downtown towers for sale could change hands by the summer.
The Wells Fargo Center, at 1 Independent Drive W., has been on the market since at least November. It also is the oldest of the three buildings, having been built in 1975, and the smallest, at about 650,000 square feet of space. Its 2014 market value is listed by the city at almost $58 million. It last sold in 1997 for $35.7 million.
Also for sale are the 42-story Bank of America Tower at 50 N. Laura St. and the 30-story EverBank Center at 301 W. Bay St.
The signature Wells Fargo Center was built for the headquarters of Jacksonville-based Independent Life & Accident Insurance Co.
It is owned by a Wilmington, Del.-based trust. Duval County property records show FOO Trust II and Wachovia Trust Co., as trustee of FOO Trust II, own the building.
Independent Life and Accident Insurance Co. sold the build to ACP-I Limited Partnership of Winter Park in 1997. Through a series of transactions, Highwoods Realty Limited Partnership of Raleigh, N.C., sold it to in 2000 to Florida Office Owners LLC of Orlando.
CBRE, as the exclusive adviser, has been presenting “the opportunity to acquire the 100 percent fee simple interest” in the tower in the heart of Downtown’s Northbank district. CBRE does not list an asking price.
CBRE’s executive summary says Wells Fargo Center occupies a full city block with views overlooking the St. Johns River and Downtown Jacksonville.
The summary in November said the building is 88 percent leased to 47 tenants, including Wells Fargo, Regency Centers, UBS and the Internal Revenue Service. Wells Fargo’s lease runs through 2024.
CBRE said parking is provided below the tower in a garage as well as in two additional garages, for a total of 1,831 spaces.
Family Dollar, Dollar Tree sprouting
Family Dollar and Dollar Tree aren’t slowing down with Jacksonville developments, it appears.
Plans filed with the city show Family Dollar wants to build in the Mayport area and Dollar Tree will build at 1631 University Blvd. S. in Southside.
Family Dollar is working on plans for a store at 2440 Mayport Road. Blue Current Development LLC of Mount Pleasant, S.C., proposes to build a store of 8,320 square feet on 1.5 acres. The store would be west of Mayport Road and north of Assisi Lane/Fleet Landing Boulevard. The property owner is Shoppes of Lakewood Inc.
Dollar Tree would build a 9,973-square-foot store after demolition of an existing 7,021-square-foot building, a former ABC Fine Wine & Spirits. Dynamic Commercial Real Estate Advisors of Virginia Beach, Va., is the developer. Dollar Tree Stores Inc. of Chesapeake, Va., is the property owner, site plans show. It’s a 1.63-acre site.
Family Dollar announced April 10 it will close 370 underperforming stores in the fiscal year’s second half, which is March-August, but did not announce where. It also said it would slow the pace of growth of its new stores in fiscal 2015, starting in September. It plans to open 350-400 new stores, down from about 525 new stores in fiscal 2014.
Family Dollar has 48 stores in Duval County and at least five more in surrounding counties. In April, Family Dollar filed plans for a store at Normandy Boulevard and Blair Road
The city recently approved construction for Dollar Tree stores at 10827 Harts Road; 12123 Lem Turner Road, No. 1; and 6466 103rd St. Dollar Tree’s website shows 30 stores in the five-county area, including 21 in Duval County.
Meanwhile, the other big discount retail “dollar” chain, Dollar General, is building at 6830 Atlantic Blvd., east of University Boulevard and near the proposed Dollar Tree.
The big three — Dollar General, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree — count more than 130 area stores operating or proposed for development in Northeast Florida.
Dollar General, based in Goodlettsville, Tenn., operates more than 11,000 stores in 40 states. Its website is dollargeneral.com
Family Dollar, based in Matthews, N.C., operates more than 8,000 stores in 46 states. Its website is familydollar.com.
Dollar Tree, based in Chesapeake, Va., operates almost 4,960 stores in 48 states and in five Canadian provinces. Its website is dollartree.com.
Clarity Pointe files plans in Baymeadows
Owner BCDC BrightPointe LLC filed site plans with the city for the proposed Clarity Pointe memory-care center on 3.43 acres at 8929 R.G. Skinner Parkway.
The 43,412-square-foot center would provide a maximum 60 beds.
BCDC BrightPointe, of Knoxville, Tenn., is listed as the owner. DB Civil Works is the engineer and DCH Partners of Marietta, Ga., is the architect.
The site is south of Baymeadows Road East and east of the Interstate 295 East Beltway.
Clarity Pointe is one of at least 14 assisted-living, adult-care or memory-care projects underway or planned in Duval County, regulatory records show.
Wekiva Springs pursues expansion
Wekiva Springs, a behavioral health hospital, continues to pursue plans to build a 52-bed addition at its nearly 10-acre Southside campus.
Site development plans filed with the city show Wekiva Springs would expand the hospital and add a new 4,700-square-foot outpatient building.
The existing building area of almost 44,000 square feet would increase to almost 67,000 square feet.
Plans show the existing facility includes a 60-bed hospital and a 5,000-square-foot outpatient building. The additional structures are planned on almost 6 acres of the site, at northeast Salisbury Road and Charing Street. There also will be more parking and infrastructure improvements.
Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., a civil engineering firm, prepared the plans for Universal Health Services Inc.
An application was filed for the project with the St. Johns River Water Management District.
Wekiva Springs is at 3947 Salisbury Road in the Southpoint area. The expansion is next to it at 6575 Charing St.
Wekiva Springs provides specialized mental health and treatment programs for men and women of all ages who “are struggling with addictions, eating disorders and mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety on an inpatient basis.” It offers gender-specific settings.
For more information, visit wekivacenter.com.
(904) 356-2466