by Sean McManus
Staff Writer
Two weeks ago, the top leadership of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) visited the 24th floor offices of Colliers Dickinson in Independent Square to talk about Jacksonville real estate. David Jellison, the NAIOP chairman who works for Liberty Property Trust in Minneapolis, and Thomas Bisacquino, the president of NAIOP in Herndon, Va. had been hearing a lot of buzz about Jacksonville.
“Everything is happening all at once at people are starting to notice,” said Hobart Joost Jr., senior vice president at Colliers Dickinson. “Expansion magazine, Cathy Whatley, the Jaguars, the Super Bowl, Jacksonville’s becoming a household word.”
Whatley, of the Buck & Buck real estate firm, was elected president of the 2003 National Association of Real Estate. And Expansion Magazine, a publication for site selection planners, recently ranked Jacksonville the best city for business expansion and relocation.
Joost, who showed the NAIOP brass around downtown and toured an industrial park on the Westside, said he couldn’t believe their reaction.
“These guys were floored by the quality of the office space that was basically out in the woods,” said Joost. “As soon as people see what we’ve got here they love it.”
Colliers Dickinson, a full-service real estate firm that serves as a brokerage house to sell and lease commercial properties and manage office space, is preparing for a record number of deals in the next few years that they hope will propel Jacksonville into the big leagues.
“We are working closely with the Chamber to produce quality data that helps prospective clients get a feel for what’s available and where their options are,” said Fran Pepis, Colliers Dickinson associate vice president and downtown agent. “And we are working with the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission to educate companies about specific buildings and the costs and benefits associated with doing business downtown as well as in other areas.”
Pepis said historic preservation, zoning codes and rehabilitation can produce added expense.
“It’s important that we work with the City and the client to talk about the whole plan.”
Pepis noted that there’s a lot of business from law firms, architects, engineers and other established businesses downtown. She says the Better Jacksonville Plan is bringing all kinds of firms downtown to “be where the decision-makers are.”
“These companies have five-year contracts with the City and they need office space,” said Pepis. “We are currently trying to accommodate their needs for the short-term with the understanding that the demand of space downtown will only continue to rise.”
Company president Walter Dickinson, who has been working in commercial real estate in Jacksonville for more than 40 years, said that government is really driving a lot of the business in commercial properties right now.
“The Internal Revenue Service just moved into the new Prudential building and the Circuit Courts just got 7,000 square feet on Duval Street,” said Dickinson. “Couple that with the new courthouse and the baseball park and you’ve got lots of activity that is public sector-driven.”
Of course, Jacksonville’s stalwart Insurance industry is helping, too. Dickinson just closed a deal to put Craig IS, the technology provider to insurance companies, into 25,000 square feet in the First Union building.
“Jacksonville has finally become an acceptable place to do business,” said Dickinson. “We’ve always known this is a great place to do business but now the rest of the country knows it.”
Saying that as pressure grows for government to move its offices off the riverfront, property prices are going up north of Bay Street, Joost recalled one empty parcel on Beaver and Newnan streets that “you couldn’t give away two years ago” that recently sold for $14 per square-foot to the St. Johns Cathedral Foundation.
Although Jacksonville’s economy has been better than the nation as a whole, Pepis said they are still seeing a fair amount of consolidation business.
“As companies downsize or consolidate, they still need new space,” said Pepis. “And people who still want to be where the action is, are staying downtown.”
Dickinson credited the mayor and the sheriff with making downtown a desirable place to do business, and now, to live.
“People wouldn’t be coming downtown if it wasn’t safe,” he said. “The Chamber, along with the City and the police have done wonderful things for the Central Business District.”
Pepis said a whole new category of opportunities will arise when the residential boom hits.
“There is going to be grocery stores, gourmet markets, more restaurants and entertainment,” said Pepis. “We’re ready.”