Theatre Jacksonville, which already has improved its climate control systems, also is renovating the downstairs lobby bathrooms.
The City approved a permit for Breaking Ground Contracting Co. to renovate the restrooms in a $60,000 project.
The theater is in San Marco at 2032 San Marco Blvd.
Executive Director Sarah Boone said Theatre Jacksonville received a $136,581 donation from the Weaver Family Foundation fund at The Community Foundation in Jacksonville to underwrite the cost of a new HVAC system for the theater and a total renovation of the lobby bathrooms downstairs.
She said the main air-conditioning unit for the auditorium was replaced in July and a new unit was added to take care of climate control in the lobby areas.
"These improvements have already made a huge difference in patron comfort as well as reducing our utility bill," she said.
She said the bathrooms will be undergoing a total overhaul to add another stall to the ladies' room and reconfigure the men's room. She said an Americans with Disabilities Act accessible bathroom will be available on the far side of the lobby, updating the original men's room, which has never been renovated.
Boone said the Weaver funding enabled the theater to partner with the architects and designers at RS&H and Breaking Ground Contracting.
"We open our next show, 'Forbidden Broadway,' on Nov. 30 and I'm putting the word out to everyone that 'pardon our dust' signs will be flying proudly as people make their way into the theater for an evening of laughter and fun," she said, adding she was "deeply grateful to the Weavers for their continued support of Theatre Jacksonville."
Cass Information Systems moving in December, adding jobs
Cass Information Systems will move its Waste Reduction Consultants business during the last week of December from Jacksonville Beach to the Capital Plaza at Deerwood Park office center.
Gary Langfitt, president of Expense Management Services with Cass Information Systems, said the company has 44 employees and is planning for 63 in the new offices.
"We're growing out of our Beach location," he said.
Langfitt said the Jacksonville operations will gradually take on the Cass Information Systems name, with some services continuing as Waste Reduction.
He said Waste Reduction's revenue grew 35 percent last year and he anticipates another 35 percent increase the current year.
Langfitt said he looked at 18 locations before choosing the Deerwood Park location. He said it provided convenient access for the employees and the building also offered a fitness center.
The Daily Record reported last week Cass Information Systems intends to lease space in the Capital Plaza office park and move Waste Reduction Consultants there.
A pending building permit application shows Dav-Lin Interior Contractors will renovate about 9,700 square feet of space on the third floor of the four-story building at 10401 Deerwood Park Blvd. at a project cost of $320,000.
Michael Loftin, managing director of leasing for Parkway Realty Services, the representative of property owner Deerwood Office Buildings LLC, said Capital Plaza comprises three buildings, totaling 415,000 square feet of leasable space. Cass will lease 11,000 square feet of space in a 150,000-square-foot building.
St. Louis-based Cass Information Systems describes itself on cassinfo.com as a leader in back-office business processing solutions for complex payables.
Cass Information Systems says it provides expense management and related business intelligence services.
Annual revenue for fiscal 2010 was $96.2 million, up 9.4 percent from fiscal 2009, while average total assets were $1.1 billion.
It announced Jan. 9 that it bought Jacksonville-based Waste Reduction Consultants, which provides environmental expense-management services.
Waste Reduction's office address is shown on its website and in state corporate filings as 333 N. First St., Suite 310, in Jacksonville Beach.
LA Fitness gearing up
The City issued business licenses for LA Fitness and Pro Results in Lakewood, Southside and Atlantic Beach. The fitness centers do business in Florida under Fitness International LLC, according to state corporate records. The three centers are opening at 3600 University Blvd. W. in Lakewood, 11901 Atlantic Blvd., No. 800, in Southside and 985 Atlantic Blvd. in Atlantic Beach.
Homes sales increasing
Home sales continue to rise. The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors said single-family residential sales rose 19.3 percent in October from the year before to 1,489 closed sales.
Of the closed sales, 823 were traditional sales, or 55 percent, while 666, or 45 percent, were lender-mediated.
The Realtors group said the median sales price rose 7.9 percent to $137,950.
Pending sales rose 45 percent over the year to 1,940. The inventory of homes for sale fell 30.5 percent to 8,667, an 8.8-month supply.
Weekly conventions
Visit Jacksonville reports several events are booked in the coming weeks, bringing about 350 delegates to Northeast Florida. Events include:
• Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Loan Origination Essentials, Nov. 26-29, Crowne Plaza, 28 delegates.
• University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville, Department of Pediatrics, Residency Interviews, Nov. 28-29, Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Southbank, 12 delegates.
• Biomet Microfixation LLC, Biomet Teambuilding Event, Nov. 29-30, Omni Jacksonville Hotel, 12 delegates.
• Florida Department of Health, Board of Nursing Home Administrators, Nov. 29-30, Renaissance World Golf Village Resort, St. Augustine, 30 delegates.
• Florida Department of Health, Board of Osteopathic Medicine, Nov. 30, Hyatt Downtown, 50 delegates.
• Portfolio Recovery Associates, December Retreat, Hyatt Downtown, Dec. 2-5, Hyatt Downtown, 60 delegates.
• Graduate School USA, Executive Leadership Program, Dec. 2-7, Hyatt Downtown, 160 delegates.
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