by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
A local developer has agreed to purchase a downtown building and plans to renovate it into upscale office space.
Andy Madenberg, president of Madenberg Development and Management Company, will close Tuesday on the building at 100 N. Laura St., which is located across the street from Bank of America tower, from Corim Laura Street LTD for about $5 million.
“The first floor will have upscale retail and the upper floors will be converted to nice offices,” said Mark Pollack of Schultz Foster Addison, who represented Madenberg in the purchase. “Madenberg wants to rival the Class A buildings that are downtown, with better lease rates and more options.”
Pollack said potential retail tenants have not been discussed.
“We are just going to put it out there and see who is interested, but we aren’t talking to anyone specifically yet,” said Pollack.
The 136,000 square-foot building is 10 stories and has been vacant for three years. It has been gutted and the asbestos has been removed.
Construction will start as soon as Madenberg acquires the proper permits.
“This is a first of many projects we hope to do in downtown Jacksonville,” said Madenberg. “We hope to make the city a vibrant and essential part of the Florida economy and would like to be that driving factor.”
Madenberg approached the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission for funding, but is not relying on City money to make the project feasible.
“I have approached the JEDC on certain things, but we are a private company that uses private funds,” said Madenberg. “We thought this was a really nice project that we can use to help the community. We are not making whether we do the deal contingent on whether we get money from the government, though it certainly would help enhance the project. No decision has been made by the JEDC so far.”