VyStar Credit Union wants to begin renovations of the 100 W. Bay St. building it bought in February next to the 23-story tower it is remodeling for its headquarters.
Jacksonville-based VyStar applied to the city to start interior demolition of the seven-story, 75,744-square-foot building at a cost of $859,670.
Dana B. Kenyon Co. is the contractor. Build-out will be permitted separately after the interior demolition.
VyStar bought the office building for $5 million from developer Eugene Profit, who planned to convert it into a hotel. The credit union will use it to create a larger Downtown campus.
The building is next to the VyStar Tower at 76 S. Laura St. The credit union bought that structure, the SunTrust Tower, and a parking garage in July for $59 million.
“When we started to do our space planning and design work within what is available in the tower, we saw that we were not going to be able to give our departments room for growth,” said VyStar President and CEO Brian Wolfburg in March.
Wolfburg said the West Bay Street building eventually will house 200-300 lending specialists.
The company plans to bring at least 900 employees Downtown.
Wolfburg said the 100 W. Bay St. renovations would be a complete rehab, “from the windows to the roof and everything in between.”
It has one tenant, Peterbrooke Chocolatier, which Wolfburg said will remain.
“We want to create a campus feel for our employees and we want to be good corporate citizens in Downtown,” he said.
“Activating street-level retail in our buildings with shops and restaurants is part of that,” he said.
VyStar will move its headquarters from its current base at 4949 Blanding Blvd. in West Jacksonville.