- February 25, 2022
Industry West founders and owners Anne and Jordan England in the central amphitheater and stadium seating area at their new headquarters at 1001 Kings Ave.
Jacksonville-based Industry West, an online furniture retailer, moved into its new 111-year-old headquarters after exterior work and interior rehabilitation.
The central amphitheater features stadium seating that be used for group meetings and presentations. Stairs up the side end at the second-floor Industry West hub. Industry West uses the first two floors of the three-story building.
Co-founder Anne England in her second-floor office at Industry West.
An island and tap area on the first floor can be used for employee and community hospitality events.
A conference room on the second floor.
Anne and Jordan England said the space between their offices is claimed by their 9- and 5-year-old daughters.
Stadium seating and a side stairwell take associates and visitors to the second floor, where the Industry West hub is set up.
A view to the first floor and also along the sides of the second floor. Industry West co-founder Jordan England’s office is to the back and co-founder Anne England’s office is to the right.
A conference room on the third floor shows the view for prospective tenants.
A gathering area on the third floor.
NAI Hallmark is representing the Englands in their efforts to lease the third-floor space to a tenant.
The center island on the third floor, which is vacant and available for lease.
Industry West co-founder Jordan England has an office on the second floor of the company’s new HQ at Kings Avenue and Prudential Drive.
Now at least 111 years old, the historic 1001 Kings Ave. building on the Downtown Southbank has a new use – and what the owners say is a new vibe.
“It has a lot of energy,” said Jordan England during a Jan. 23 tour of the structure at southeast Prudential Drive and Kings Avenue.
Jordan and Anne England own the Jacksonville-based online furniture retailer Industry West, which they founded 12 years ago.
They moved their Jacksonville team into the building, which they have been calling “HQ,” about two weeks ago.
“It feels good having the team back together,” Anne England said of the time spent remotely since leaving their previous San Marco headquarters when it was renovated for lease to Fore Score Golf Tavern.
The building
It took two years to complete the $5 million Kings Avenue project, comprising exterior refurbishment and interior rehabilitation.
The century-old beams and inside brick are exposed and the interior was renovated to feature a central, two-story amphitheater and stadium seating with stairs up the side to the second floor and a seating area for meetings and other uses.
Arched windows indicate where horse stalls once stood.
The lobby area of the first floor features a reception and gathering space, with a kitchen area that includes a counter, cabinets and island sourced from a Thailand supplier, set up for food and drinks as needed.
In the back are offices and more open space.
The second floor, considered the HQ’s main hub, has a gathering area for staff as well as offices, including those for the Englands and a room between theirs that their 9- and 5-year-old daughters claim.
Natural light floods all three floors with windows facing all sides of the building and offices with glass fronts. A roll-up door on the ground level opens to the building’s 16-space parking lot off Kings Avenue.
A skylight was a part of the existing design and the Englands wanted to enhance it and make it a central part of the building.
The furnishings are from the Industry West collection, providing visitors and clients a closer look and a hands-on showroom. The furniture will rotate out to feature new items.
The space is set up for interaction, including beer on tap and kombucha for staff events and parties. It also is used for fundraisers and other gatherings.
Renovations took a year longer than expected because “stuff comes up” in old buildings, Jordan England said.
Among other work, the foundation needed repairs.
The Englands want to research the structure’s history, but what is known is that the three-story historic landmark was developed before 1912. It is one of the few remaining commercial buildings reflecting the old City of South Jacksonville of 1907-32.
The Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission approved a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project in June 2021 for changes to the structure’s exterior.
The building is not in a locally designated historic district but is a local landmark.
The landmark status application shows the building was developed before 1912 and that early on, a hardware store and a dry goods store occupied the first floor, with six apartments on the top floors.
It more recently housed offices.
The project
The Englands and Corner Lot CEO Andy Allen and COO George Leone formed ALE Kings Holdings LLC to develop the project.
ALE Kings Holdings bought the Kings Avenue property July 6, 2021, for $2.25 million. South State Bank issued an almost $3.6 million mortgage.
The city issued a construction permit in November 2021.
Opus Group of Jacksonville was the contractor for the almost $1.76 million construction project for interior alterations. Bold Line Design LLC was the architect.
Plans showed a total 11,702 square feet, comprising 4,089 square feet on the first floor, about 3,644 square feet on the second level and 3,969 on the third floor.
City Council approved a $1.23 million package of forgivable and deferred principal loans in September 2022 to assist ALE Kings Holdings LLC cover building the renovation costs.
The incentives comprised a Historic Preservation, Restoration and Rehabilitation Forgivable Loan, a Code Compliance Forgivable Loan and a Downtown Preservation and Revitalization Program Deferred Principal Loan.
A term sheet from the Downtown Investment Authority, which negotiated the deal, showed $4.813 million of the total development costs are eligible for the incentives from the agency’s Downtown Preservation and Revitalization Program.
Allen said the project, including the purchase price, was “all in for $5.1 million.”
He said Jan. 24 that the city incentives made the project viable.
Industry West occupies the first two floors.
Corner Lot’s Breeze Homes planned to use the third floor, but instead is housed at Corner Lot’s Riverside property.
That floor now is available for lease and is listed with NAI Hallmark. Vice Presidents Patrick Carney and Sarah Teagle and Managing Partner Christian Harden are the contacts.
Stairs and an elevator connect all three floors.
There was talk early on that a coffee shop might work on the first floor, but Anne England said that was not in the plans now.
The Englands want to host events there, however.
“Hospitality is important to both Jordan and me,” she said.
The company
The Englands started Industry West as an e-commerce venture, moving from home to leased space in San Marco and then to a building it bought in San Marco Square.
The Englands, Allen and Leone bought the San Marco Square property at 1407 Atlantic Blvd. in 2017. They renovated it and Industry West moved there in 2018.
They sold the property in July 2022 to Jacksonville-based TSG Realty.
Fore Score Golf Tavern, another venture that includes Allen and the Englands, opened in the space just before the sale and now leases it.
In the meantime, Industry West staff operated remotely as well as the company’s AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center distribution center.
Industry West also has a New York City office and showroom.
Industry West counts about 40 employees, with 10 in the SoHo area of New York, 15 at Cecil and 12-15 at HQ.
The Englands declined to disclose sales.
The e-commerce company describes itself at industrywest.com.
“Our curated selection of high-quality mid-century modern, contemporary, and traditional furniture is designed to enhance those small moments — and enrich the big ones,” it says.
Industry West sells commercial and residential furniture for offices, restaurants, hotels, high-tech startups and residences throughout North America.
It works with manufacturers worldwide for furniture such as tables, desks, chairs, sofas, barstools and other products and accessories.
California and West Coast clients include Silicon Valley customers.
The Englands had the option to move staff out of town, but chose to stay.
They had signed a letter intent in 2020 for space in Los Angeles for the creative and marketing team, meaning half of its staff would have been there.
Then came the pandemic and they stayed.
Jordan England said they designed the space.
“It turned out almost better than we thought it would,” he said. “This is place that we are going to ‘get,’” he said.
“We have to live up to it.”
