Downtown’s Southbank is in line for more improvements as the city issued a permit Jan. 30 for an almost $3.1 million renovation in the 701 San Marco building.
Gilbane Building Co. of Jacksonville is the contractor for work on the lobby and common areas of the first and second levels. Gensler is the architect.
The project involves 18,776 square feet on the first floor and 9,036 square feet on the second at 701 San Marco Blvd.
It includes selective demolition of the finishes in the lobby and common area and renovations that include finish upgrades throughout, a new security desk and a new coffee bar.
It’s another step toward more tenant amenities in the Southbank property, where Jacksonville-based Haskell is renovating four floors for its headquarters relocation.
The city issued a permit March 6 for landlord Bradford Allen San Marco LLC to build-out space on the second floor for a fitness center at a project cost of $2 million.
Jacksonville-based Tenant Contractors Inc. was the contractor for the project.
JLL Managing Director Michael Loftin said Dec. 10 the fitness center has been completed and is open to employees in the building.
He said the total footprint for the fitness center and locations is 14,000 square feet.
Loftin said March 7 that Prudential, a tenant and the previous owner of the building, had used the area as office space and as a wellness center for its employees.
Next up is the lobby project.
“Ownership is about to kick off the main lobby renovation,” Loftin said of the two-level area.
He said there now is a full-service cafeteria in the building along with a coffee kiosk.
Chicago-based Bradford Allen Investment Advisors paid $70 million in August 2022 for what was then called the Prudential Building and rebranded it 701 San Marco.
Bradford Allen acquired the property through Bradford Allen San Marco LLC from The Prudential Insurance Company of America.
The Class A office building at 701 San Marco Blvd. is about 700,000 square feet on 14.5 acres.
The building and its adjoining parking garage were built in 1985, property records show.
JLL represented Prudential, which had owned the building since its construction, in the sale.
The 701 San Marco building comprises a seven-story west wing and a 19-story east wing connected by a pedestrian walkway over San Marco Boulevard, landlord representative JLL said.
Haskell headquarters
Haskell Chairman, President and CEO Jim O’Leary announced to his staff March 4 that the Jacksonville-based global building services company is moving from its longtime headquarters on the Northbank into the 701 San Marco office tower on the Southbank – remaining in Downtown’s boundary while crossing the St Johns River.
The full move to 701 San Marco is expected in early 2026.
The city issued a permit Dec. 5 for Jacksonville-based Haskell to renovate its new headquarters space at a project cost of almost $30.1 million.
Haskell, a global building services company, has moved staff from its previous headquarters at 111 Riverside Ave. on the Downtown Northbank into three floors of temporary space in the building, called 701 San Marco, as it prepares for the build-out.
The project is described as the interior build-out of 138,351 square feet of space on four floors – the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th – to serve as Haskell’s new headquarters.
The largest tenants in place at 701 San Marco are Prudential and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.