by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Formerly the Atlantic Bank Building, 121 Atlantic Place has been a part of Jacksonville’s history since 1909.
Standing 10 stories tall, it was the second skyscraper built downtown. (The Bisbee Building, now known as the Bisbee-Baldwin Building, was the first.
The Atlantic Bank Building, designed by the New York architectural firm Mobray and Uffinger, was first constructed for the Atlantic National Bank, which was originally housed in the Dyal-Upchurch building.
“The tower itself was what they originally built, the four-story annex was added in 1951,” said Becky Good, property manager for Regency Centers.
The annex was designed by S.L. Shepard of St. Louis and housed the Atlantic National Bank until 1973.
The building, located at 121 W. Forsyth St., was restored in 1984 by Regency Square Properties, who owned the building at the time. They renamed the building 121 Atlantic Place.
The renovation included restoring the marble facade, intricate plaster and marble interior finishes, white glazed terra cotta, bronzed and cast iron panels and the additions of awnings to accentuate the street level view.
Also, a new all-glass fifth floor with a private garden was added to the annex. The first floor was renovated to house a variety of retail stores and service-oriented businesses. The first floor is now occupied by Regency Centers and Cantrell Real Estate.
Other renovations included a sprinkler system, elevator system with mahogany cabs accented by brass strips, a new heating and air conditioning system, restrooms on each floor, electrical wiring and plumbing, upgraded ceiling system and lobbies that created a mezzanine effect, overlooking a atrium, full-height mahogany doors on upper floors, new carpeting, high quality hardware, grass cloth wall coverings, wood paneling and brass handrails along underground corridor leading to tenant parking.
The building, owned by Atlantic Place LLC., has 102,205 square feet of rentable space in the building and is currently 99.29 percent leased.
“We are leasing some storage space in the tunnel at great rates,” said Good.
Current tenants include Benny’s Sandwich Shop, located in the tunnel underneath the building, Regency Centers, Cantrell Real Estate, Stutsman & Thames, P.A., BTI Telecommunications, Beers Construction, The Regency Group, Inc., The Community Foundation and Ford and Harrison, LLP.
Regency Centers is the largest tenant with 72,597 square feet. It occupies most of the first five floors in the annex.
Cantrell Real Estate, which shares the first floor with Regency Center, has an entrance on Hogan Street and is the only tenant who has a different address, 121 N. Hogan St.
In December, Beers Construction is moving out its eighth floor offices, opening 2,569 square feet for lease.
“They are great tenants and we hate to see them leave, but we don’t have the square footage they need,” said Good.
The fifth floor is currently being renovated to house the Regency Center’s group in January, which will leave 5,293 square feet on the first floor for sub-lease.
Good said the first floor space would be ideal for several types of tenants.
“We certainly have the ability to have retail right where we are sitting,” said Good, adding the eighth floor vacancy and the first floor would be ideal for any professional office users.
Bruce Jackson of CB Richard Ellis is the leasing agent for the building.
In addition to the fifth floor build out, the tunnel and the lobby will be redecorating in the near future.
“It will keep the elegant theme in the building,” said Good. “We will add new carpet and new wall coverings.”
Good said being centrally located is one of the prime attractions of the building.
“You can walk anywhere from here,” said Good. “If you can’t walk there it’s probably because you don’t want to take the time. Downtown is great as far as being an employee. You just park your car and walk anywhere.”
Property administrator Shelida Jones agrees.
“The building is close to the post office, City Hall, JEA, The Florida Theatre, T-U Center and any restaurant,” said Jones.
George Whetstone, chief engineer, and Jones, help Good manage the building. There is also a maintenance team: Anthony Tootle, Chuck Zufelt and Rick Santini.
The group also manages four other local buildings.
“We work as a team to take care of the buildings and the tenants,” said Good. “Shelida gets the brunt of most of the calls from the tenants and addresses their needs. She communicates with their on-site staff as far as anything that needs to be done in the tenant space. She also assists in the collection of rent if needed. George is the trouble shooter extraordinaire. He is the one that we depend on to make sure that we are addressing things before we have to call an outside contractor. George also takes care of capital improvement recommendations in the building systems that would save the owners money, including energy efficient fixtures.”
While the building does not have parking, there is a garage next door that tenants can use.
“The building has ambiance, history, a sandwich shop, elevators and a guard desk,” said Good. “We don’t any parking ourselves, but we have an agreement with the parking garage next door to have about 97 spaces.”
Parking is offered at one space per 1,000 usable square feet.
“This is a very efficient building,” said Good. “The building is exceptional as far as operational. There really are some spectacular buildings downtown and 121 Atlantic Place is one of them. It has maintained itself and has not fallen apart. It was really well-built. The tenants who are in this building are very comfortable. Everyone likes working here. It’s not a family, but it’s close to it. We are small enough so most people know each other.”