by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
As construction and renovation downtown becomes more and more visible, the Police & Fire Pension Fund is just one local organization that is beginning to see that the property available for purchase in the area could be potentially sound investments.
Currently, the fund, which is led by administrator and former police and fireman John Keane, owns the building housing its offices on West Adams Street and the neighboring parking garage.
“We’re definitely committed to downtown,” he said. “When we purchased the building that houses our offices, we did it for three reasons. It gave us more space; it was available for a good price; and it allowed us to work with the City towards downtown’s continued improvement. The heart of any great city is its downtown.”
He added that, while eying property before the onset of the Better Jacksonville Plan, the fund is keenly aware of the benefits of working in conjunction with the City’s efforts.
“We’re happy to be a little spoke in the wheel of progress,” he said.
Al Battle, the managing director for the Downtown Development Authority, speculated that the fund, while strengthening its presence and commitment to downtown, is also simply making investments as any other brokerage firm would.
“While I haven’t talked to them directly about their downtown development,” said Battle, “I would assume that they recognize that real estate, and the downtown area in particular, are solid and safe investments right now.”
According to Keane, the fund has access to nearly $90 million allotted for real estate purchases. Of that, $7 million has already been used to purchase the properties that they currently own, which Keane said are easily paying for themselves. For now, he said their eyes remain focused on the downtown real estate market.
“It’s wise for us to stay in the area,” he said, “because we’ll be close enough to manage it properly.”
Next on the fund’s real estate wish list is the Haydon Burns Library on Ocean Street. One of three respondent’s targeting the soon to be vacated building — Vestcor Companies and the Metropolitan Design Center have also answered Request for Proposals — Keane stressed the fund may have a better idea of what the structure’s architecture is capable of.
“Our building has a foot print very similar to that of the library,” he said. “It also has an atrium like ours,” he said, adding the library could easily be converted into general office space without having to demolish it.
The fund also responded to an RFP to build five downtown parking garages with 4,116 total spaces and a price tag of $50.5 million. The fund would team with Boston-based Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, which would manage the development and construction process.
“We know that improvement to downtown is vital,” he said. “It can greatly enhance the quality of life for the people living here.”