by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Labor Day weekend is normally reserved for the last vacation of the summer, but the Jacksonville Bar Association labored through the weekend to move into its new office in the Aetna Building on Jacksonville’s Southbank.
The organization was able to improve its office space in many ways because of the move. The office will grow from 1,800 square feet to about 3,000, for an about 15 percent increase in rent. Employees, JBA members and guest will also be using some slightly used furniture that was bought from the previous renter of the space the JBA is moving into.
“We were able to get some really nice furniture at a great price,” said Susan Sowards, executive director of the JBA. “This allows us to donate our old furniture to Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.”
The JBA purchased four executive desks with matching credenzas, nine leather chairs, one receptionist unit and a small, round conference table for $1,945 from Federal Employees Benefits Group. Despite giving away the old furniture, the old office contained two truck loads of furniture and equipment that filled a truck that had enough space to transport a GMC Suburban.
“(The move) is going as smoothly as it possibly can go,” said Sowards on Friday.
The amenities available at the Aetna building drew the JBA’s interest, said JBA President Joe Camerlengo before the organization signed the lease in July. The new location offers five floors of covered parking at 40 percent decrease in parking fee. Functions such as the “Bench and Bar Party” can be held in the lobby of the building at no additional charge.
“There are is only one drawback I can think of right now,” said Camerlengo on Thursday. “We do have to put up with the trains riding by once in a while.”
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