by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
One key factor relating to real estate is location, and two Downtown businesses believe they are positioned well for the future.
Signet Enterprises and the law firm of Brennan, Manna & Diamond recently announced the opening of the Signet Center at 800 W. Monroe St.
The Downtown business headquarters for the two companies is located near the proposed site for the new Duval County Courthouse.
“We needed more office space and more parking,” said Tony Manna, CEO of Signet Enterprises, “and it is strategically located for Brennan. They are one block away from the site of the future County Courthouse.”
Signet Enterprises is a private-equity firm that consists of five business units: Signet Development, Signet Industries, Signet Public Affairs, Signet Healthcare and Signet Capital, an investment and merchant bank.
The company was formed under the name Janna Enterprises in 1995 and changed its brand in 2005 to bring together its many entities under one label.
Signet Development is one of the cornerstones of the company and was founded in 1995 as a regional real estate development and construction management firm. It has grown into a national development and project financing company handling public-private, commercial and healthcare development projects. One such project is Metropolitan Parking Solutions, which operates three parking facilities Downtown.
Brennan, Manna & Diamond was founded in 2000 and now has offices in Akron, Ohio, Bonita Springs, Fla. and Jacksonville. These offices are staffed by 42 attorneys and have primary practice areas that include business law and litigation, corporate finance, commercial lending, health law, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, taxation, and estate planning.
“Brennan, Manna & Diamond(BMD) is excited to be anchored in the Signet Center,” said Mike Freed, managing partner of the Jacksonville office of BMD. “It places us strategically in the heart of where deals are happening. The Signet Center is all about intellectual capital and relationship building. Brennan, Manna & Diamond is similarly focused.”
The two companies have been working together for about ten years and moved from their space in the SunTrust Building.
The Signet Center offers 20,000 square feet of office space on two floors. It’s located on 1.5 acres of land and offers 80 parking spaces for clients and employees. The building was designed by Jacksonville architectural firm Rink Design Partnership.
“From design to construction, the process was very smooth,” said Manna. “We are very excited about the new building. It came together very nicely.”
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