by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Vestcor Chairman John Rood has spent the better part of the past three years in the Bahamas as the United States Ambassador. During that time, there were long work days, plenty of fishing, a little hurricane dodging and golf with Sean Connery.
His stint is over and now it’s time to get back to work. Wednesday, Rood did just that when he and several others from the company hosted about 50 commercial real estate brokers at The Carling for lunch and a tour of the nearly 18,000 square feet of commercial space that’s available in the former hotel that Rood bought several years ago, restored to its original grandeur and converted into 100 apartments with two floors of commercial space.
“It’s great to be back,” said Rood, sporting a “Mitt Romney for president” lapel pin and matching tie.
Rood also purchased the old American Heritage Life Building on Forsyth and converted it into for-rent apartments. Although the projects happened a couple of years apart, the original idea was to concentrate relatively equally on both the residential rental and retail leasing sides. That didn’t happen.
“We focused on residential and did a great job. The Carling is 97 percent rented and 11E is 95 percent,” said Rood. “We haven’t paid as much attention to the commercial space. It was priced higher in our proforma, which was not right for the market. That’s just how it evolved. Rather than lease at $25 a square foot, we think this is a good value at $18 a square foot.”
The informal gathering included brokers from all over Jacksonville, but many were from Downtown. Bobby Knight of Addison Commercial Real Estate took the tour. Knight sells and leases space all over, but he does plenty of business in the urban core. He said mixed-use buildings only appeal to certain businesses. However, The Carling does present a unique opportunity in the heart of Downtown.
“You have to have some retail and some basic services,” said Knight about what makes a successful mixed-use tower. “You have to have a little bit of everything. I like what they have done here. Across the river is a little too contemporary for me. They have taken this back to what it was.”
Rood said the event was also created as a means to get commercial brokers inside the Adams Street building many pass on the way to work or lunch. While the external renovations are obvious, too many people, Rood said, have no idea what’s available inside. Rood also wants to continue what he started several years ago when he bought the two buildings.
“We want to contribute to turning the tides Downtown,” he said. “I want this to be a vibrant community my kids come to. We want to do our part and it’s important that people see what’s inside.”
According to a brochure, Vestcor is looking for 3- to 10-year lease agreements with options for renewals. Vestcor is also willing to work with any potential tenant on build-out designs and build-out costs. According to Vestcor President Steve Frick, much of the first-floor space is leased, but there are options.
“The art co-op on the first floor is on a 30-day lease,” said Frick, adding the space is basically available immediately.
In addition to the basic services, Rood would like to see a high-end restaurant lease space at some point in time. Fiorentino & Hewett have leased space on the second floor and Rood says the space opposite them would be ideal for a restaurant.
“We’d like to have a restaurant, but that can be challenging Downtown,” he said. “We are far more interested in leasing the space for offices.”