The Laura Street Trio of historic buildings in Downtown Jacksonville has a new owner, opening a door toward possible restoration of the long-vacant structures.
Indiana-based Becovic Management Group obtained ownership of the three buildings Aug. 5 in a court-ordered foreclosure auction, placing a winning bid of $125,100.
“We are pleased to confirm our acquisition of Jacksonville’s historic Laura Street Trio through the auction process,” read a statement issued after the sale by Muhamed Becovic, president and owner of the privately held Becovic Management Group. “These landmark buildings hold a special place in the city’s history and represent an important opportunity for the future of downtown Jacksonville.”
The sale stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the city of Jacksonville in November 2024 against Laura Trio LLC and Red Oak Capital Fund II LLC.
The city alleged Laura Trio LLC, which is affiliated with Trio owner SouthEast Development Group, owed $827,500 in fines for municipal code violations.
At the time, the mortgage on the three buildings was assigned to BMG Trio LLC from ROCF II Series, a series of Red Oak Capital Fund Series LLC.
In February 2026, Indiana-based Becovic Management Group positioned itself to acquire the buildings when it took over the mortgage for the property. The mortgage transfer came after Becovic’s late 2025 purchase of the Barnett building across Laura Street from the Trio.
Before Becovic purchased the Barnett building, it announced it also planned to purchase and renovate the Trio with an adaptive reuse of all three buildings and new construction on the site.
In assuming debt while the lawsuit played out, Becovic gained leverage toward a potential acquisition of the Trio. A higher bidder would have had to pay off the debt that has been assumed by Becovic and the fines owed to the city.
Muhamed Becovic said in a July 22 phone interview that his intention remained to redevelop the Trio with uses that include hospitality, food and beverage and residential. In his Aug. 5 statement, he said the acquisition was “a historic milestone” for his company and family, “one that we are proud to carry forward with a deep sense of responsibility and purpose.”
“We appreciate the significance of this property and look forward to engaging with local leaders, stakeholders, and the broader community as we evaluate the path ahead. We will release further information about our plans in the near future,” the statement said.
Trio’s history
The Trio comprises the Florida Life Insurance, Bisbee and Marble Bank buildings at northeast Laura and Forsyth streets. The buildings, which have been vacant for decades, were among the first built after the 1901 fire that destroyed much of Jacksonville.
The three buildings are shielded by historic preservation protections under two separate classifications, having been identified as local historic landmarks and listed as contributing structures within the federally designated Downtown Jacksonville Historic District.
Requests to demolish any of the buildings would be subject to approval by the city Historic Preservation Commission. If approved, the Council Land Use and Zoning Committee would review the request and make a recommendation to the full City Council on whether to grant final approval for razing.
Steve Atkins, principal of SouthEast Development, purchased the buildings in 2013.
In 2017, Council OK’d $5.8 million in public incentives toward a $44.6 million project that included only the restoration of the historic buildings.
In 2021, the Council-approved incentive amount increased to $26.6 million for a $70.4 million version of the redevelopment that included new construction for a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel.
In 2023, SouthEast returned with a request for $63.5 million in incentives for updated plans that added new construction for 149 apartments with market-rate and workforce housing units. The price for that version of the project was $175 million.
In June 2023, the Downtown Investment Authority board voted 5-1 to send a term sheet for that version of the project to Council with neither a recommendation for or against it. DIA staff reported at the time that SouthEast did not meet certain DIA criteria for incentives, including the level of private investment and the return on public investment.
After rejecting legislation aimed at moving the project forward, Council voted in January 2024 to send the issue back to the DIA.
That prompted another round of negotiation in which the total cost of the project rose to $191.2 million and SouthEast’s requests for incentives climbed to $87.2 million, which would be almost 46% of the cost being backed by the city.
As the asks for incentives went up, Atkins faced rising concerns among city leaders that he was not bringing enough private capital to the project and that his requests for public funding would put the city at increasingly outsized financial risk.