BDO relocating Jacksonville offices to Riverplace Tower

The BDO Jacksonville tax, assurance and financial advisory services office intends to move in April 2022 from Brooklyn on the Downtown Northbank to Riverplace Tower on the Southbank.

Jim White, tax office managing partner in Jacksonville, said the lease is up next year at 501 Riverside Ave., where BDO leases about 25,000 square feet.

It occupies the eighth floor of the 12-story building, which includes parking on the lower levels.

White said BDO has “a completely new concept that we believe really fits how our employees work today.”

White said Oct. 28 that plans began before the COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions, but they fit well within the post-pandemic environment.

Plus, “we really wanted to also be in the Downtown area and continue to be a part of our city’s Downtown renewal.”

White said the Southbank lease is for 17,501 square feet of space.

The city is reviewing a permit application for Jacksonville-based Auld & White Constructors LLC to renovate the ninth floor of the 28-story Riverplace Tower at 1301 Riverplace Blvd. on the St. Johns riverfront. BDO will occupy the full floor.

Gensler is the architect.

White said he spent the first 15 years of his career on the 24th floor of Riverplace Tower, where he worked with The LBA Group tax services and accounting firm.

In 2007, LBA Group moved to the new 501 Riverside Ave. building.

In 2016, LBA joined BDO USA LLP in an asset purchase. The group remained along Riverside Avenue. 

“We moved to Riverside Avenue when there was nothing there 15 years ago and now we are moving back,” White said.

White was a shareholder with LBA from November 1991 through 2016, then joining BDO.

The move to Riverplace Tower is into less space, but redesigned for current trends.

“We wanted to redesign our space to provide the collaboration and teamwork space that better represent the way we work today,” White said.

BDO has 96 employees in Jacksonville and intends to hire another 10-12 in the coming months, he said.

White said the “Exceptional Workplace Design” provides choice by providing formal and informal work settings to suit work by individuals and teams.

“Our BDO Flex plan allows employees to choose when, where and how they work and this office is an extension of that philosophy,” White said.

“With our more mobile BDO Flex environment, we need less actual desks and more space for collaboration and creativity.”

White said there will be a coffee-shop-style working bar where employees can plug in their laptops and work if they desire. The bar will be along the window overlooking the river and Downtown.

“We looked at several spaces in the Downtown, Brooklyn and Southbank areas,” he said.

“We want to continue to be a part of the Downtown business community.”

 He said BDO is building out the space to continue its growth as “the firm of the future.”

“Riverplace Tower offered the perfect size fit for our new design as well as location and all of the amenities our employees desire.”

White said parking for employees and clients and easy access to Interstate 95 were key considerations as BDO looked at options.

“The projects on the Southbank and in San Marco were also a key part of our decision,” he said.

Office, retail, restaurant, medical and residential projects are under development or planned near Riverplace Tower and along the corridors to the historic San Marco Square shopping, entertainment and community neighborhoods.

Senior Vice President Mark Montgomery at the Avison Young real estate firm represented BDO in the lease transaction. 

Plans list BDO USA LLP’s BDO Jacksonville office as the tenant. 

Lingerfelt CommonWealth Partners owns Riverplace Tower through LCP Riverplace LLC. JLL Managing Directors Michael Lofton and Jesse Shimp represent the landlord.

BDO works with clients worldwide.

It reported more than $2 billion in U.S. revenue in 2021, up 10.9% from 2020.

It has more than 70 offices in the U.S.

Global revenue for 2020 was $10.3 billion, up 7.8% from 2019, among 1,658 offices.