From the Daily Record
(See full stories on jaxdailyrecord.com)
Humana is negotiating to move its Northeast Florida office from Downtown to the Baymeadows area by the end of the year. Also, a retail center will be set up in Mandarin.
Almost 100 employees will be moving.
Humana’s lease of 35,000 square feet at Downtown’s SunTrust Tower expires Dec. 31. The company is pursuing a 20,000-square-foot office space at the Prominence building at 8381 Dix Ellis Trail.
It’s also planning to open a new retail customer service and sales office — Humana MarketPoint — in Merchants Walk in Mandarin.
The sales team offers Medicare, individual health, and CarePlus Health plans, a Humana-owned Florida Medicare Advantage HMO.
Vantage Hospitality Group Inc. paid $9 million for the Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk hotel and changed its name to the Lexington Hotel & Conference Center Jacksonville Riverwalk.
Lexington is a brand of Coral Springs-based Vantage Hospitality.
Lexington will launch an extensive, 18-month renovation of the 323-room hotel, returning the hotel to a nautical theme in recognition of the St. Johns River and U.S. Navy.
Vantage Hospitality is a privately held company that is among the world’s top 10 franchises, owning more than 1,200 properties. Legacy brands include Americas Best Value Inn and the Lexington by Vantage collection of inns, hotels and suites.
A Canadian investor bought Riverplace South on Downtown’s Southbank for $9 million.
AvMed anchors the eight-story office building at 1300 Riverplace Blvd.
Thomas Marmaros of Laval, Quebec, purchased the property as Riverplace Boulevard LP.
Riverplace is one of three Southbank offices that have changed hands since the end of 2013. It sits across the street from the 28-story Riverplace Tower, which changed hands for $29 million in October.
Hillwood Investment Properties said the February sale of the GE Oil & Gas site put its Jacksonville operations “into the black.”
It delivered a check of an additional $1.5 million to the city.
Dallas-based Hillwood is the Jacksonville’s master developer at Cecil Commerce Center, a former naval air station.
The company is under contract for a building development schedule for the Westside business park. The contract provides for the city to receive a portion of Hillwood’s net proceeds from development.
Hillwood bought the GE Oil & Gas site from the city in August 2013 for $294,290 and then developed a speculative 510,000-square-foot structure. It sold the 40-area property and building to a San Diego investor in February for $57.6 million, five months after the announcement that GE Oil & Gas would lease the building.
TopGolf sets up for
Town Center area site
TopGolf, the Dallas-based operator of multilevel golfing entertainment centers, wants to develop a site just east of the Town Center.
The City Council voted on an ordinance to rezone the 15-acre site.
TopGolf offers competitive golfing games for a variety of ages and skill levels. Players hit golf balls containing computer microchips that track each shot’s accuracy and distance while also awarding points for hitting targets on the outfield.
Each facility also offers music, games and HDTVs, as well as lessons, leagues, tournaments, children’s parties, and corporate and social events.
A company spokeswoman said each TopGolf center creates 450 jobs, with 100 of those full time or full-time equivalents.
Shad Khan’s Stache Investments Corp. filed a complaint to foreclose on the Barnett Bank Building Downtown, claiming it is owed more than $3.9 million.
In 2013, Stache loaned Barnett Tower LLC, led by Stephen Atkins of the SouthEast Group, $3 million to buy the historic 18-story tower at 112 W. Adams St. A second loan of about $166,000 was made to Atkins’ group in 2014.
The foreclosure complaint said Barnett Tower has not made a single payment on two notes issued.
In its response filed in court, Barnett Tower said it was never supposed to repay the money. The agreement initially was to resell the property to Desai Ventures and SouthEast would be the developer.
The response said Stache then said the property would be redeveloped and house several businesses Khan had financially supported, such as One Spark, KYN and CoWork Jax.
The Barnett Building was Jacksonville’s tallest tower when it opened in 1923 and remained so until 1954. It has been empty since 1991.
Since acquiring the building, Atkins has envisioned a retail, residential and boutique hotel, and later, office, classroom, residential and retail space. He’s also said he would need at least $8 million in city incentives to pull a deal together.
A foreclosure hearing was held July 7.