• Jacksonville’s office vacancy rates remain in the 20 percent range, says Cushman & Wakefield. As of June, office space downtown was 22.5 percent vacant, led by 26.1 percent on the Northbank. Suburban office vacancy was 23.4 percent, as was the vacancy in the largest market, Butler/Baymeadows.
• Industrial vacancy ended the quarter at 12.8 percent, with North Jacksonville at 21.8 percent. The largest market, Westside, was 9.2 percent.
• Bobby Handmaker said he’s been preparing to franchise his Cruisers hamburger shops since he bought the company in 2007. “The time is right, because a lot of people are getting no return on their money,” he says. “We’re aiming at 100 with at least a half dozen around here.”
• One of our city’s largest Bible study groups has husband-wife leadership. CPA Ron Pellum takes over this year from developer Lockwood Holmes; wife Katie leads the women’s group.
• You know Mac Brunson as the pastor of the First Baptist Church. What you might not know is his hobby: studying the life and times of Abraham Lincoln.
• Planning ahead: when Neil Frontz signed a baseball contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, mom and dad made sure his college education payment was included. Frontz was cut earlier this year after arm trouble developed, so you’ll see him at UNF, with the bills going to the Rays.