Jacksonville’s tallest office building, the 42-story Bank of America Tower, is for sale, becoming the fourth major Downtown structure put on the market in at least five months.
Jeff Morris, a managing director in Orlando for Jones Lang LaSalle’s Capital Markets Group, said Tuesday that he and Jubeen Vaghefi, a Miami-based managing director, are representing the property owner, Parmenter Realty Partners, in selling the tower.
He declined further comment pending a news release, but confirmed the structure has been on the market at least since Monday.
The structure at 50 N. Laura St. comprises more than 700,000 square feet of space, property records show. Information at the Parmenter website says it has 600,000 square feet for lease. Of that, about 175,500 square feet is available among 16 suites, ranging from about 1,100 square feet to 21,700 square feet. That indicates occupancy of at least 71 percent.
The tower was built in in 1990 to house the headquarters for Jacksonville-based Barnett Banks Inc. Its obelisk design by international architect Helmut Jahn made it a signature tower on the Downtown skyline.
Parmenter Realty Partners of Miami bought the building in July 1999 for $74.72 million, property records show.
Duval County property records show a 2014 market value in progress of $48 million. It’s not known what price Parmenter is asking for the tower.
Parmenter, through Jacksonville Tower Associates, bought it from NB Holdings Corp., the successor to Barnett Banks Inc. Barnett was sold to NationsBank Corp. in 1998.
Bank of America Tower is considered Class A office space. Parmenter’s summer 2013 newsletter included “fun facts” that the tower is 617 feet tall, which is 62 feet higher than the Washington Monument, and the building’s exterior is covered with more than 160,000 square feet of blue fjord granite, enough to cover four football fields.
Its anchor tenants include Bank of America and Merrill Lynch and many others, including law firms, such as Holland & Knight and McGuireWoods; the Regus flexible office-lease space; and a YMCA branch.
The tower is one of four Downtown buildings that have been listed for sale. The Aetna Building on the Southbank has been sold, while the EverBank Center and Wells Fargo Center on the Northbank are for sale.
• The 20-story, almost 495,000-square-foot Aetna Building was sold in December by SouthShore Group Partners LLC to Boca Raton-based IP Capital Partners LLC for $55.5 million. The building, at 841 Prudential Drive, was developed in 1955. The sale price was higher than the building's 2014 market value in progress is $36.5 million. CBRE Inc. marketed the building for SouthShore Group.
• The Wells Fargo Center has been for sale at least since November. CBRE is marketing the property. The signature building, constructed in 1975, is owned by Wilmington, Del.-based FOO Trust II. The 648,307-square-foot, 37-story structure sits on a city block at 1 Independent Drive W. in the heart of Downtown's Northbank district. Property records show a 2014 taxable value in progress of $48 million. CBRE does not list an asking price.
• EverBank Center has been for sale at least since early December and is marketed by Colliers International. Built in 1983, the tower at 301 W. Bay St. was bought by El Ad Florida LLC in 2004. The 956,201 square feet of leasable space is 86 percent occupied, although a major tenant, AT&T, is leaving in May. El Ad bought the structure for $90.9 million and invested at least $3 million into its common areas. Its 2014 market value in progress is $42.5 million. Colliers Northeast Florida CEO and Principal Robert Selton said Tuesday the sales team has been providing tours of the 30-story building for prospective buyers.
Allstate lands permits for $4M renovations
Allstate Corp. was approved for $4.23 million in renovations for the 4920 San Pablo Road S. campus in Southside, continuing millions in remodeling since the start of 2012.
In permits approved by the city Monday, M.A. Mortenson Co. is the contractor to renovate the first and third floors of two buildings at a project cost of $4.23 million.
The projects are the third phase of renovations at the campus. Records show there are three buildings there – eight-story, five-story and two-story structures.
Mayo said in April that Allstate was renovating the offices to accommodate the relocation of employees who had been housed in a separate Jacksonville location.
"We are consolidating locations, not jobs," she said.
About 1,000 employees work at the Jacksonville campus among Allstate Benefits, Allstate Claims and Allstate Dealer Services.
Allstate, based in Northbrook, Ill., is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer and serves about 16 million households through its brand names. Its Florida region is based in St. Petersburg.
The San Pablo property was developed in 1994 for Jacksonville-based American Heritage Life Investment Corp. Allstate Corp. bought American Heritage Life in a $1.1 billion deal in 1999.
County records show the property is held in the name of American Heritage Life Insurance Co., which continues to operate as Allstate Benefits.
Madewell at Town Center
The city OK’d the permit for Bacon Construction Co. to renovate 3,000 square feet of space at St. Johns Town Center for Madewell, a women’s clothing and accessories retailer that is part of J. Crew. The store will open at 4813 River City Drive, No. 131, between Coach and Omega. The build-out is $257,359.
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