As Duval County Public Schools tries to sell its administrative headquarters and relocate, a Jacksonville City Council member has introduced a resolution urging the district not to leave Downtown.
Member Matt Carlucci said he believes the district would best serve the community by keeping its administrative offices centralized in Duval County, where they can be reached most conveniently by residents across the community.
He says a move would be detrimental for Downtown redevelopment, draining away workers who might otherwise patronize businesses within the eight districts that make up Downtown businesses or choose to live there.
During the July 16 meeting of the Downtown Investment Authority, Carlucci said it was understandable for the district to vacate its building at 1701 Prudential Drive on the Downtown Southbank. But a move to the suburbs, he said, would result in the loss of “a vital institution and the many people who work there from the daily life of Downtown.”
Carlucci said there are other sites Downtown that would suit the district’s needs. He said keeping the board offices Downtown would strengthen the urban core.
“It keeps employees close to restaurants and small businesses that need as many customers as they can get,” he said. “It sustains foot traffic and energy. And it gives Downtown the added anchor of a public institution in a place that I believe gives it prominence.”
DIA board Chair Patrick Krechowski thanked Carlucci for his remarks and offered to participate in discussions on the issue.
Duval Schools has operated its central administrative offices at the six-story, 120,822-square-foot Southbank building since 1981.
In 2021, the district launched a search for a buyer for the building and began seeking bids to develop a new headquarters off the riverfront. It offered the building and other surplus properties to help pay for the new central offices.
In 2023, after a group of 16 bids had been reduced to two finalists, members of the Duval County School Board expressed hesitancy about the proposals. In 2024, the district changed approaches and hired the Trinity Commercial Group real estate firm to sell the building.
About 600 district employees work in the central offices, according to district documents related to the sale proposal.