by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The Jake M. Godbold City Annex building has a long and storied history.
When it opened in 1908, it represented architect Henry John Klutho’s idea of a proper edifice for the Young Men’s Christian Association.
The design featured the details of the Prairie School and the construction made history in that it was the first reinforced concrete building ever erected in Jacksonville.
In the late 1920s, the building went through its first transformation as it became the offices for an insurance company. That renovation removed all of the YMCA features of the structure, including a swimming pool, a running track, private sleeping quarters and a handball court and bowling alley on the roof.
The third incarnation of the six-floor, 60,000-square-foot building came in the 1940s when the Haverty’s Furniture Company used the structure as a retail store and office building. The most noticeable change was a new treatment for the facade on the ground floor with a storefront window system that reflected the latest trend in retail marketing, window shopping.
Haverty’s remained in the building until Downtown lost its status as the retail center of the city and department stores and specialty shops began migrating to suburban malls.
After sitting empty for years, the building, across Laura Street from the former May Co. department store that was converted into the new City Hall, became the City’s property. In 2007, the building was transferred to the Police & Fire Pension Fund, which after an extensive renovation, leased it to the City to provide office space for several environmental departments and the City Retirement System administrative offices.
As the latest renovation was planned, the decision was made to implement the protocols developed by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
The update of the 100-year-old structure was extensive, said Tom Goldsbury, chief of the City’s Building Inspection Division. The structure was stripped down to the exterior, and the interior was demolished to raw concrete floors and columns.
During the first phase of the project, 1,350 tons of construction and demolition waste (82 percent of the total) were removed and recycled instead of being sent to landfills.
Incorporated into the design was the use of materials with pre- and post-consumer recycled content. Paint, wall coverings, floor coverings and adhesives were chosen for low levels of volatile organic compounds. There’s also a high-reflectance roof and an advanced lighting and mechanical system that saves energy and is automated to run less during off-peak periods.
The project also was notable in that the renovation was completed with a perfect safety record and was finished $150,000 under budget.
The City departments began moving in during July 2009 and after a year of operation, “the building is living up to the energy-saving expectations,” said Goldsbury. Compared to a similar building not designed under LEED requirements, the annex is using 77,000 fewer kilowatt hours of energy, a 15.5 percent saving, and 455,000 fewer gallons of potable water annually, a saving of 46 percent.
That’s accomplished by using chilled water from the JEA alternative energy plant for temperature control, waterless plumbing fixtures and sound and motion sensors that turn overhead lights on when a person is in a room and off when the room is unoccupied, among other “green” design features.
The building recently received the USGBC’s “LEED Gold” certification, the first Downtown building to be so recognized.
Goldsbury said in addition to saving energy and water, and therefore money, the design also accomplished a goal for those who work in the building every day.
“We wanted to make the office a comfortable place,” he said.
Kimberly Scott, chief of the City’s Municipal Code Compliance Division, said she has worked for the City for 25 years. “By far this is the most impressive office I’ve ever worked in. Even if you forget to turn off the lights, the building does it for you. It was an easy transition and there are really a lot of benefits,” through the LEED Gold technology, she said.
“It’s a holistic, sustainable approach,” said Goldsbury. “It’s not just the building, it’s the building in its environment and that helps the bottom line.”
The building at Laura and Duval streets was designed by architect Henry John Klutho.
356-2466