by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
The Edward Ball Building on Hogan Street is for sale and, according to top City sources, parties including the City may be lining up to buy it.
Declining further comment, they confirmed the City has looked at the downtown property and also has a pending contract that would seal the deal.
A portion of the funds needed to cover the over $20 million purchase from a Pennsylvania-real estate trust will likely come from a soon to be passed Autumn bond proposal.
What the City would want with the massive 11-story property remains unclear.
However, immediate past City Council president Lad Daniels said last year he wanted to consolidate City employees, including those working for the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and the Public Works and Planning Departments, under one roof near the St. James Building on Duval Street. Currently, those offices are housed several blocks away in the City Hall Annex and the Florida Theatre.
Flanking the the U.S. Courthouse near Hemming Plaza, the Ed Ball Building would be the perfect fit for them, he said.
“I saw us having something like a government square where all of our services could be in close proximity to each other,” said Daniels. “I discussed it with (Mayor John Peyton), but we never got much movement
on it.
“However, I still think it’s a good idea.”
Daniels said he didn’t know those talks had continued after his presidential term ended in July.
Council member Kevin Hyde was also unaware the building acquisition was still on the table.
“You know, it’s one of those things that I think everyone threw out there for a while,” he said. “But the Mayor’s Office would have to make that call. Our job as the City Council is only to decide whether or not we’ll fund that purchase.”
Located at the corner of Hogan and Monroe Streets, the Ed Ball Building was purchased by American Financial Realty Trust in May from Wachovia Corp. Since that time, the 2,000 bank employees who worked in the building have been slowly relocating to other offices across the city.
The building was built for the Florida National Bank, which was run by Ball. His ties to the duPont family also gave him control over what is now the St. Joe Company and the Florida East Coast Railroad. Ball’s office was in the building.