Preparing for a move by a major Downtown employer, the city issued a permit March 11 for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to build-out space in Baymeadows at a project cost of almost $7.5 million.
Tenant Contractors Inc. of Jacksonville is the contractor for the work on all five floors of the former Florida Coastal School of Law building at 8787 Baypine Road, west of Interstate 95 between Butler Boulevard and Baymeadows Road.
The city issued a permit Nov. 4 for Tenant Contractors for interior demolition at a project cost of $258,665.
Meskel & Associates Engineering PLLC of Jacksonville provided private plan review.
Jacksonville FL IV FGF LLC of Chicago bought the Baymeadows building for $13.5 million in 2022.
On March 12, 2025, the board of the state insurer gave final approval to move its offices from its space in the 30-story EverBank Center at 301 W. Bay St. to the former law school building in Baymeadows. The school closed in 2021.
The 10-year lease is with Chicago-based Boyd Watterson Asset Management through Jacksonville FL IV FGF LLC.
Citizens will lease about 214,998 square feet of office space and 5,000 square feet of warehouse space.
The lease rate is $24.94 per square foot. There are two five-year renewal options.
Citizens chose the Baypine Road site March 7, 2025, in a competitive bidding process that drew six other proposals, including for the Bay Street building.
The five-story, 231,867-square-foot building was developed on the 9.7-acre site in 1990 for AT&T Universal Card Services Corp. It also has a parking garage.
Citizens’ pending move comes at a time of high vacancy in Downtown office buildings, mainly driven by work-from-home policies that prompted employers to downsize workplaces.
Industry market reports show that as of year-end 2025, office vacancy rates on the Downtown Northbank ranged up to almost 29.5%.
The vacancy rate could rise if EverBank leaves Downtown.
Jacksonville City Council is being asked to review a request to provide EverBank with nearly $10 million in public funding to remain in its Downtown Jacksonville headquarters – the same building.
The Downtown Investment Authority board voted Feb. 18 against recommending approval of $9.8 million over 10 years to entice EverBank to stay at its offices.
EverBank says it requested the incentives to offset a cost differential in operating Downtown versus in a suburban office location.
Citizens employs about 1,000 people Downtown. EverBank’s Downtown workforce numbers 800.
In 2015, Citizens signed a 10-year, $41.7 million lease for space at 301 W. Bay St. At that time, the Daily Record reported that Citizens was consolidating offices and moving 1,038 jobs into about 232,000 square feet of space.
Miami-based Amkin West LLC acquired the 301 W. Bay St. building in 2014 for $47.4 million.
With its lease there set to expire in June 2026, Citizens launched an invitation to negotiate in August 2024 seeking a space outside of Downtown in South Jacksonville. The insurer did not act on that invitation and instead released a new one Dec. 19 seeking space in South Jacksonville or Downtown.
Tallahassee-based Citizens was created by the Florida Legislature in 2002 as a not-for-profit tax-exempt government entity to provide property insurance to Florida homeowners insurance policyholders unable to find coverage in the private market.
CBRE Corporate Services and CBRE Senior Vice President Oliver Barakat represented Citizens Property in the site negotiations.
Brad Chrischilles, principal and Jacksonville director of Foundry Commercial, represented the landlord of the Baymeadows building.