by Bailey White
Staff Writer
Perhaps one of the best examples of downtown growth, 550 Water Street has seen a recent revitalization. The building formerly known as Flagship Plaza is 75 percent occupied and is now home to a mix of businesses who take advantage of the impressive views of downtown and the river, the attentive management team and the convenient location.
A number of solo attorneys are moving to the 13th floor where they have access to a large conference room and their own law library.
“Ellen Graber [an attorney who leases office space on the 13th floor] donated the books and we donated the use of a room for the library,” said Nicole Blevins of Foram Management and Leasing, the Miami-based company that manages the building.
Graber, who has been in the building since July, considers 550 Water Street the perfect downtown location.
“It’s a great space,” she said. “The rates are extremely affordable and it’s just a stroke of luck that the building is two blocks from where the new Duval County Courthouse will be.”
The building’s proximity to the Omni, where the Jacksonville Bar Association hosts its monthly luncheons and where legal professionals can take continuing education classes, also makes it attractive to attorneys.
The building is also home to the Super Bowl Host Committee, which resides on the 11th floor, and the Jacksonville & the Beaches Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, which has been in the building since moving from East Adams Street earlier this year.
“And the Willie E. Gary Foundation should be moving in within the next month or so,” said Blevins.
Other tenants include the Internal Revenue Service, taking up a quarter of the first floor and floors five through nine, AFLAC and Ideal Software Solutions.
The fourth floor is home to the Riverview Cafe, which recently received a makeover by new owner Wade Niergarth, who also owns Wade’s Place in the SunTrust building.
The 14 story-building offers 249,000 square feet and has been a part of Jacksonville’s skyline for about 20 years.
So why so much recent interest?
“There are a lot of reasons why the building is popular,” said Ray Moore, who manages the building for Foram Management. “We maintain it as a first class office environment and maintain good relationships with our tenants and give them good support.”
Moore said the positive growth downtown has had a positive affect on the building, something he sees continuing.
“There’s a good business climate downtown now. There’s a good synergy,” he said, adding that Mayor John Delaney, the Downtown Development Authority and Downtown Vision have all played roles in the growth. “With the Riverside Avenue area and Brooklyn and LaVilla being cleaned up, we’re going to be right in the core of the downtown area.
“We offer really good rates and, of course, the views are spectacular. And Jacksonville is just booming right now.”