Starbucks Coffee Co. is in permitting review for a shop in Bank of America Tower, which would bring the national retailer back Downtown.
The city is reviewing a permit for an estimated $175,000 renovation of 2,225 square feet of space on the ground floor of the southeast corner of the tower at 50 N. Laura St.
The tenant improvement in Unit 150 comprises construction of a Starbucks Coffee cafe on the first floor within an existing business shell. It will include electrical, plumbing and mechanical modifications; interior partitions and equipment; and modification of the existing storefront for new steps with a railing.
Plans indicate an interior entrance from the 42-story tower’s lobby as well as an exterior entrance into Starbucks from the south-facing side of the tower.
A gift shop and most recently an art gallery, The Creative Exchange, leased the space.
T.D. Barr Construction LLC of Winter Garden is the contractor.
Colliers Urban Division in Jacksonville announced Feb. 12 on Instagram that Starbucks would return Downtown into the Bank of America Tower at Bay and Laura streets.
The Urban Division is led by Colliers Senior Vice President Matthew Clark and senior associates Sam Middlekauff and Olivia Steinemann.
“The addition of Starbucks to the Laura Street corridor is important to the pedestrian experience,” the Instagram post read.
“Not only does it offer another option for downtown office users but it’s an established brand that is universally recognized by locals and people visiting our downtown.”
Clark said July 14 the shop would likely open this fall.
Starbucks Downtown past
Seattle-based Starbucks had two stores Downtown in The Jacksonville Landing and at 11 E. Forsyth St.
It closed the Forsyth location in 2008 and the Landing shop in 2011.
The Landing has been demolished. Lily’s Asian-American Food is now at 11 E. Forsyth St.
Bank of America Tower is owned by New York-based Group RMC, which bought it in 2020.
Colliers represents Group RMC to lease the tower’s retail space. The CBRE real estate firm represents RMC in office leasing.
The lobby area of the tower is home to Ground Level Coffee and Akel’s Delicatessen, which operates the coffee shop.
The Ground Level Coffee lobby space is adjacent to the planned Starbucks.
Other coffee establishments along and near Laura Street include Urban Grind Coffee Co. at 45 W. Bay St.; Chamblin’s Uptown at 215 N. Laura St.; Setlan Coffee Co. on the ground floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, 333 N. Laura St.; and the St. James Cafe on the ground floor of City Hall, 117 W. Duval St.
Directly across from Akel’s, the Pour Taproom and Pizza Dynamo restaurant have opened in the VyStar Credit Union garage at 61 N. Laura St.
A Google map search shows at least 20 Starbucks locations in Jacksonville.
Meanwhile, the Bateh family can continue to operate Akel’s Deli in the Bank of America Tower through Nov. 30.
Jonathan Bateh said in April and again July 14 the group’s lease, which was to expire April 30, had been extended.
Bateh said the extension will give the family time to find another Downtown location if the current lease isn’t renewed past November.
“I am working on a few different buildings Downtown for a new lease,” he said.
The family also operates Ground Level Coffee in the tower lobby.
Two years remain on the coffee shop lease owned by his sister, Christie Bateh Blackburn.
She said July 14 that she is looking for a new space.
“Once the construction does start, I might be reaching back out to management to see if they want to let me out of my lease if I do find another,” she said.
The Akel’s Deli business model is sandwiches, pitas, salads, soup and chips. It is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday for breakfast and lunch. It has a built-in clientele with office workers in the tower.
Ariete Hospitality Group
Clark said July 14 that Ariete Hospitality Group of Miami continues working toward plans to renovate the closed Bank of America branch office space on the ground floor of the tower.
He expects it would open in summer or fall of 2026.
The size has yet to be determined, Clark said, but it could be from 4,500 to 14,000 square feet.
Ariete has several concepts that it can combine “and they never replicate a concept or a brand name,” he said.
It would be “a custom concept to the building.”
Clark said Ariete could use the entire branch side of the building, which is the western side of the structure, facing Bay Street to the south and Forsyth Street to the north.
He said it could accommodate multiple concepts, perhaps with one facing Bay, another facing Forsyth with a bar in the lobby.
Miami-area concepts include Cuban, French, international menus along with cocktail bars.