After more than 12 years, the Wells Fargo signage atop one of Downtown Jacksonville’s landmark buildings is gone from the skyline.
It took about two hours July 14 for a helicopter to remove the 20 letters from the 37-story 1 Independent Drive building. Previously called Wells Fargo Center, the tower sits along the St. Johns River Northbank west of the Main Street Bridge.
The job started at 8 a.m. While work continued, Bay and Water streets were closed at the building’s perimeter because of Federal Aviation Administration policy.
It took 22 trips to remove the letters and other materials atop the building, according to Hartsville, Tennessee-based High Angle Services, the company overseeing the removal of the signage. Each trip took about four minutes.
The letters were relocated to a vacant lot across from the Maxwell House Coffee plant on East Bay Street.
“A helicopter is a necessity for a job like this when you have a building shaped like the Wells Fargo building,” High Angle Services co-owner Walton Kinney said. “The work has to be perfect. Otherwise, somebody can die, and we don’t want that. Safety is always No. 1.”
Kinney also is the owner of Southeastern Lighting Solutions.
The city issued two permits May 21 for Southeastern Lighting Solutions to remove the signs at a total job cost of $60,000.
High Angle founder Jim Webster told Daily Record news partner News4Jax.com that his company also put up the Wells Fargo sign in 2011.
Building tenants received an email July 8 stating that the building at 1 Independent Drive would be temporarily closed to remove the signage.
In the email, property manager Banyan Street Capital said access to the building would be restricted from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
“This is due to the removal of the Wells Fargo sign, which will involve a helicopter removing each letter individually and transporting them to a designated area near the stadium,” the email said.
An entity managed by Argentic Investment Management LLC of New York City said April 26 it acquired Wells Fargo Center and that the building’s former owner, Banyan Street Capital, was retained as the exclusive owner’s agent.
It said the building is being marketed as 1 Independent and is seeking a new anchor tenant.
Argentic said it will “market the tower’s building-top signage opportunity and is already in discussions with two financial institutions.”
“This comes as Wells Fargo plans to downsize and extend its lease at the property, which will take place in October 2024,” the release said.
The tower opened in 1975 as the headquarters for Jacksonville-based Independent Life & Accident Insurance Co. and was known as the Independent Life Building.
It became the AccuStaff Building in 1998 and later the Modis Building before Wells Fargo became the anchor tenant in 2011, leasing more than 100,000 square feet of space among seven floors. The bank is expected to downsize to two floors.
