Vulcan Materials Co., which occupies a 50-year-old Springfield office complex, will relocate to Southside because it needs less space.
The Alabama-based construction materials company leases about 75,000 square feet of office space at 155-57 E. 21st St., but needs a fraction of that.
As a result, it is moving to about 10,000 square feet of office space in Deerwood South at 10151 Deerwood Park Blvd.
Vulcan Materials expects to move its 38 Jacksonville employees to the new location by the end of the year, although the timeline is still being determined.
Matt Arbuckle, who leads Florida real estate and business development for Vulcan Materials, said the Deerwood South site was chosen based on its proximity to where many of the company’s employees live.
Vulcan Materials leases the Springfield location from FRP Holdings Inc.
Property records show two office buildings — a six-story and two-story building — that total more than 70,000 square feet of space.
Built in 1963 and 1965, the structures were built for Florida Rock Industries Inc. Vulcan Materials, based in Birmingham, Ala., bought Jacksonville-based Florida Rock in November 2007 for $4.2 billion. It was the largest acquisition in Vulcan’s 50-year history.
Upon the sale, the Springfield site was near capacity, Arbuckle said. The recession seriously affected the construction industry and the employee count was reduced as a result.
Vulcan also previously occupied a building near Downtown at 700 Palmetto St., which was sold to Cementos Argos last year. Cementos Argos, based in Colombia, bought the cement and concrete businesses in Florida that had been owned by Florida Rock.
Arbuckle said the sale of the concrete and cement business meant that many employees based at the Springfield office moved to the Argos location.
Arbuckle said the Springfield office manages Vulcan’s Florida operations. The jobs include engineering, geology, IT, finance, safety, environmental, transportation and other functions.
Building plans show Vulcan will take about half of the first floor at 10151 Deerwood Park Blvd., Building 100. The layout shows at least 28 offices, open office areas, conference and training rooms, a break room and other uses.
Vulcan Materials reports it is the nation’s largest producer of construction aggregates, primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel. It also produces asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete.
It says it has 315 sites that produce construction aggregates and more than 100 facilities that produce either or both asphalt and concrete.
It says its customers include heavy construction and paving contractors; commercial and residential building contractors; concrete products manufacturers; governments; railroads and utilities.
FRP Holdings Inc. is a commercial real estate company. It was part of Jacksonville-based Patriot Transportation Holding Inc. until a spinoff in January.
Arbuckle said 10 years remain on the lease. Vulcan Materials is actively looking for subtenants for the space.
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