Colliers International reported Monday that the 37-story Wells Fargo Center is on the market.
“We are interested to see where this tower trades,” said the Jacksonville office of the real estate group in a quarterly office market report.
Being on the market indicates the owners are looking at options that typically include selling it, recapitalizing it or keeping it.
Colliers International Executive Director Chuck Diebel said the building needs an owner willing to reinvest capital into it.
"Historically, the building has maintained occupancy rates at or around 95 percent; in recent years, though, that number has dropped. It’s just not the same Class A building that it used to be," he said.
Diebel said it will take "a lot of investment to bring the building up to modern Class A standards, and to ensure that it remains the iconic building that it has always been."
A buyer would benefit from increased rents in the market, however, Diebel said.
The Wells Fargo Center, at 1 Independent Drive, last sold in June 2014 for $75 million, according to deeds filed with the Duval County Clerk of Court.
Duval County Property Appraiser records show a 2019 assessed value of $54.52 million for the tower.
The tower includes two stories of underground parking and 35 floors of ground floor and office space, with The River Club on the top two levels. It comprises almost 650,000 square feet of rentable space.
Taking up the 1 Independent Drive city block, the building is considered one of Jacksonville’s most recognized buildings and used in skyline shots of the city.
The tower was built in 1975 as the headquarters for Jacksonville-based Independent Life & Accident Insurance Co. and was long known as the Independent Life Building.
It became the AccuStaff Building starting in 1998 and later the Modis Building before Wells Fargo became the anchor tenant and marquee name in 2011.
At the time of the 2014 sale, the center was about 89 percent leased. The building is on almost 3 acres overlooking The Jacksonville Landing, which is set for demolition, and the St. Johns River.
In the 2014 sale, Allegiance Partners of New York paid $44.75 million through Allegiance Jacksonville LLC. Banyan Real Estate Capital of Miami paid $30.55 million through WFC Lessee LLC.
Allegiance and Banyan also paid a combined $3.7 million for a three-story parking garage at 21 E. Bay St. A nine-story parking garage at 1 W. Bay St. was included in the purchase of the building.
Two mortgages totaling $66.4 million were issued to the investors.
Before the 2014 sale, the building sold in 1997 for $35.7 million.
