A Jacksonville businessman who led a multistate HVAC and refrigeration wholesale supply company has bought the former Venus Fashion Inc. headquarters office with plans to transform it into a center for supporting skilled trades in Northeast Florida.
Chris Ware, a Jacksonville native who expanded a single Johnstone Supply franchise into more than 40 locations under The Ware Group, closed on the building at 11711 Marco Beach Drive on Jan. 27 through Marco Beach LLC. The building is in the EastPark business campus on the Southside.
The purchase price was $12.5 million.
Ware and Karen Bowling, former chief administrative officer for Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, said during a presale tour of the building Jan. 9 that they were partnering to develop WareWorks, a nonprofit workforce development organization for plumbing, electrical work, HVAC, welding and similar trades.
Ware said the 135,000-square-foot Venus building, which he became aware of due to its proximity to The Ware Group’s offices nearby, was ideal for transformation as a trade center.
The swimwear and clothing company sold it with computer equipment, workstations, kitchen equipment, office furniture and more contents included. There are spaces for classrooms, conferences, workshops and high-ceiling areas with enough space for training devices such as a cutaway of a house or office.
The building is powered partly by a solar array, providing a hands-on opportunity for students to learn about maintaining solar energy systems.
It underwent a $9 million renovation beginning in 2018 that included interior walls, paint, flooring, ceramic tile, plumbing, HVAC, doors and hardware.
At the time, Venus’ president said the renovation was designed to establish the building as the company’s headquarters “for at least the next 20 years.”
The purchase also included a parking lot to the west. Ware said the property offers 350 parking spaces.
Venus falters
Venus was founded in 1982 as Titan Bodybuilding, Inc., selling apparel for male bodybuilders. After adding a women’s apparel brand named Venus in 1983, it changed its name to Venus in the late 1980s based on strong sales of the brand.
Venus was acquired in 2009 by Bonprix, a division of Germany-based Otto Group. The 2018 renovation was carried out under Bonprix.
The company faltered during the pandemic, filing notice in September 2020 that it was laying off 120 workers at its North Jacksonville fulfillment center followed by a November 2023 notification that it was laying off 129 employees at its Southside headquarters.
In August 2025, American Exchange Group, a New York-based fashion accessory products and brand management company, said it acquired Venus.
Ware said he learned in early fall of 2025 that the building was for sale.
“I got the name of the general manager here and met with him the next day,” he said. “I was walking around, and I was like, ‘Holy smokes!’ He started telling me the restoration story, and I was thinking this could be a fantastic trade school or trade resource center.
“This is a sign from God about what’s next for me.”
The WareWorks concept
Ware said his interest in supporting trade instruction came while working with his businesses customers, which he sold in April 2025, and speaking with friends and other business owners about workforce needs in the region.
“My customer was the contractor,” he said. “And the contractor had to have technically trained service techs so they could install the products we sold them properly. So it was in our best interest to support trade schools, because our contractor needed those people.”
Instead of starting a trade school, which he believed would be redundant, Ware said he began exploring the idea of being a facilitator to help students find pathways into the schools and training mid- or late-career trade people to become instructors.
“I have no agenda other than I want to create a seamless process to train a student to be in a trade,” he said.
Discussions about his idea led to a meeting with Bowling, who resigned from her city position in October 2025, the two began developing a plan to support the area’s trade schools and augment their work. Bowling’s roles before joining the city included vice president of jobs and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of North Florida.
‘Wraparound support’
Bowling joined WareWorks as chief development officer, a role in which she’ll focus on identifying market needs, shaping the nonprofit’s mission and driving its launch.
She described the organization as providing “wraparound support” and filling students’ needs at every step, from exploring a career in a trade to joining the workforce.
That could include holding career days to describe different trades to students, providing them with information on financial support and establishing “boot camps” in which students can attain hands-on experience in different trades to test their aptitude.
A conversation with JEA led to the city-owned utility hosting a meeting between Ware, Bowling and such organizations as UNF, the JAXUSA Partnership, Miller Electric and Florida State College at Jacksonville, which helped form the concept for WareWorks.
Bowling said that because the building is so well outfitted, WareWorks could start easing into operations in as little as two months.
Bowling, who also served as chief administrative officer under former Mayor Alvin Brown, said she believes her experience in education, entrepreneurship, politics and government fits well with Ware’s vision for the organization.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be here and have this opportunity,” she said.