Happy anniversary, Jacksonville Bank. You were five years old last month.
But that’s not all on the mind of Gil Pomar, the bank’s president since it started. He got married last month, too.
Big things are in store for the bank, just as they were for its 44-year-old leader. A headquarters move is imminent, too, going from the two floors of the Humana Building to two floors - and much more space - in the old Barnett Bank annex at 11 Laura Street.
“A lot has happened in five years,” understated Pomar. “It’s hard to believe that we’ve come this far.”
It has come from a small group of businessmen wanting to start a bank to this, a $200 million operation with about 40 employees and three branches, with a fourth being planned.
“We started with a standing branch in Mandarin and a storefront at Queen’s Harbour,” said Pomar. “Jack Davis, a commercial realtor, came to me with an offer to go into the ground floor of the American Heritage building downtown. I said no, we were new. Too early. He gave me a prospectus and asked me to think about it.”
Pomar thought he was talking about the original American Heritage Life Insurance Building, which now is the 11 E apartments. No ... the insurance company had moved to what’s now the Humana Building across from the Landing, but then had decided to relocated to its own building just off Butler Blvd.
“When I realized that, I started thinking about being Downtown,” said Pomar. “Where should the ‘Jacksonville Bank’ be headquartered? Duh ... Downtown, of course!”
A leap of faith, and Downtown it was. The bank opened its newest branch and moved its corporate offices to Humana, opening on Jan. 1, 2000.
“Having a Downtown location gives us credibility in the business community,” said Pomar. “Plus, it’s a fun place to be.”
It won’t be “home” for long. On Sept. 1, the bank moves up the hill to 100 S. Laura, the white building on the corner of Laura and Forsyth. To the east is the Marble Bank, to the south is the Bank of America, to the north is the old Barnett tower.
The building was erected in 1962 as the Barnett Bank needed more space than its tower could provide. It actually was the site of the third Barnett Bank headquarters, which started on the corner of Pine (now Main) and Forsyth and moved to part of the block now occupied by the bank of America Tower. 100 S. Laura St. was next, built early in the century and later demolished, followed by the adjacent tower.
“I consider Forsyth and Laura to be the center of Downtown,” said Pomar. “Everything revolves around that corner.”
The bank’s branch will be on the first floor. A new entrance will be cut out of the corner of the building at Laura and Forsyth and you’ll step down into a banking room of about 3,000 square feet. There also will be an entrance from the building lobby, which can be entered from either street.
The corporate offices will be on the 10th floor, taking a space of about 12,000 square feet. It’s just a big empty room today “but we’re assured that we’ll be ready by Sept. 1,” said Pomar. “It better be ready - our lease (in Humana) runs out Aug. 31.”
The floor has a balcony stretching the length of both streets - look up and you’ll see it. It’s about four feet deep so there’s plenty of room to stand and look. Pomar’s office will be on the corner, the board room will run down Forsyth, the other offices will take the rest.
While the rest of the building is mostly vacant, Pomar says that won’t be the case for long. The building is owned by a German businessman and there are strong indications that another major tenant is on the way.
As for the Humana space, it’s going to another bank. SunTrust is moving over from its present building to lease most of the building, which is owned by Capital Partners.
“We could have stayed, even though it would be in another bank’s building,” said Pomar, “but this opportunity came along at just the right time.”
The opportunity also came with cash - according to public records, Capital Partners had to come up with $850,000 to get Jacksonville bank out of its lease and, as importantly, the name off the building that soon would be taken over by SunTrust.
As the Jacksonville Bank’s annual report succinctly states, “We dealt aggressively with protecting our interests...”
The signs will move up the hill, too. There will be lighted signage above the first floor on each corner, but not on the top.
“That would have been fine, but no one would see it,” said Pomar, standing on the corner and pointing out that the one-way streets are going in the wrong direction for people to be looking at the building.
“Forsyth goes west-to-east, Laura goes north-south,” he said. “But that’s why we like the spot. Both are major arteries through the city.”
He sees the bank as staying in its niche.
“We’re a community bank, like First Guaranty,” he said. “We’ve been successful by staying with our mission. I think we’ve built by sticking to the philosophy of hiring good people who want to work hard and have a good time.”
• Started by a group of businessmen which included Neptune Beach Mayor John Kowkabany, CPA Michael Carter and physician Gary Winfield. An initial public offering raised $10 million in start-up money.
• Jacksonville Bancorp is the bank holding company. The stock is traded on the NASDAU SmallCap market with the symbol JAXB.
• Opened on May 28, 1999, with branches in Mandarin and Queen’s Harbour.
• Moved headquarters and opened Downtown branch in Humana building in 2000, occupying space vacated by Compass Bank.
• Has about $200 million in assets, growing from $86 million two years ago and $176 million in 2003 annual report.
• Directors: Donald Roller, Price Schwenk, Gilbert Pomar III, D. Michael Carter, Melvin Gottleib, James M. Healey, John C. Kowkabany, Rudolph A. Kraft, R.C. Mills, John W. Rose, John R. Schultz, Charles F. Spencer, Bennett A. Tavar, Gary L. Winfield.