JEA’s old headquarters campus in Downtown Jacksonville could return to life as an office-to-residential conversion project after the city utility selected a bid from Live Oak Contracting to purchase the property.
JEA announced Sept. 12 that it had selected Live Oak in a ranked process to purchase the 19-story office tower along with adjacent properties for $1 million.
In a Sept. 12 news release, Live Oak said its project would be branded as The Jewel at 21 West and would “transform the 65-year-old Downtown Center Complex into a vibrant mixed-use destination that blends historic preservation with modern living.”
Plans include 180 residential units, rooftop amenities, office space and ground-floor uses.
Live Oak was one of two respondents to a JEA request for proposals for the utility’s former campus at 21 W. Church St., 421 Laura St. and 21 E. Church St. The other response was from Simple State Inc., based in Jacksonville Beach.
The contract for the purchase is subject to approval from JEA’s board, as required by the utility’s governing bylaws.
The Live Oak team
Live Oak said the redevelopment is a joint venture between Live Oak Estates Group and Lone Pine Development. The team includes Live Oak as construction manager, Gensler as architect and designer, and Olto Construction as commercial interiors contractor. Additional partners include River North Strategies (government affairs), Ballard Partners (policy strategy), and Burr & Forman LLP (legal counsel), with CBRE Capital Markets serving as financial adviser.
“The selection of our team is a vote of confidence in our shared vision for Downtown Jacksonville,” said Paul Bertozzi, president & CEO of Live Oak. “This campus sits at a landmark location in the heart of downtown, and together with our partners, we look forward to delivering a radical transformation — reimagining this property as both the crown jewel of downtown and a renewed source of energy for culture, commerce, and community.”
The campus comprises:
• The 347,811-square-feet structure office tower. The structure opened in the early 1960s as the Universal Marion building and was topped by a revolving restaurant.
• The former customer service center, a 248,220-square-foot, six-story office building also built in the early 1960s.
• The Adair Building, a parking garage at 421 Laura St. with more than 500 spaces. The building includes street-level retail space.
• A below-grade parking deck with about 190 spaces. Those spaces were shared by the headquarters tower and customer center.
JEA moved out of the old headquarters in 2023 and into its seven-story structure at 225 N. Pearl St. JEA and developer Ryan Companies US broke ground on the new headquarters in 2020 after three years of planning. Its cost was estimated at $100 million. JEA leases the building, which was sold to Real Capital Solutions for almost $95 million in 2022.
Bid financing
Live Oak’s bid did not contain an estimated project cost for its office-to-residential conversion of the property. The bid did include a breakdown of the project’s capital stack, including 65% in debt, 20% in private equity and 15% in public funding, such as incentives and tax credits.
Live Oak said the project would create 300 construction jobs and more than 100 jobs upon completion, while increasing the city’s taxable value.
In its bid dated July 29, Live Oak said it planned to apply for incentive programs through the Downtown Investment Authority.
“Consultation with local incentive counsel and city officials is underway to prepare application packages,” the bid stated. “Based on precedent, incentive review and approval is expected to occur within 4–6 months of submission.”
Simple State deal
Simple State Inc. offered nothing for the building, instead saying “the true value of this transaction lies not in a cash payment for an aging asset, but in a strategic public-private partnership.”
“Our plan immediately removes a significant and costly liability from JEA’s balance sheet, eliminating its status as a going concern,” the bid stated. “In exchange, our team assumes the full financial and operational burden of this complex redevelopment, including all costs associated with environmental remediation, asbestos abatement, extensive retrofitting, and new construction.”
Simple State Inc. is led by Marc Kozman, a property owner and developer. It proposed to redevelop the property as The Commons at City Square, with 177 workforce housing units and such features as a rooftop restaurant, a charter school, startup incubator, wellness and fitness center and an “experiential zone” with tenants that could include a creative arts studio, digital golf simulator or bowling and billiards hall.
Historic buildings
The buildings on the former campus are considered contributing properties in the Downtown Jacksonville Historic District as listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Office-to-residential conversions have increased in recent years, driven by high office vacancy rates stemming from remote-work policies instituted during the coronavirus pandemic.
However, not all office buildings are viable for conversion to living units for reasons that include zoning barriers, high renovation costs and building designs that prevent exposure to open air and provide little or no natural lighting in their structural cores.
In 2023, JEA and the Downtown Investment Authority sponsored an office-to-residential symposium called “From Workplace to Living Space,” which brought together professionals with experience in converting office buildings to residential uses. The panel discussed opportunities and challenges involved in the adaptive reuses, for which the floor plans of some office buildings make them unsuitable.
During the symposium, the JEA headquarters were cited as a candidate for conversion.