A new office tower for JEA coming soon?
We've recently learned that the downtown campus the Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA), once gleefully proclaimed a Christmas present to JEA, is now viewed as a crumbling albatross. To rid itself of the imposing liability, the JEA is moving forward with study to determine if it should retrofit, move, or demolish and rebuild their 19-story downtown headquarters. If we view this situation outside of the JEA's perspective, the resolution becomes quite clear.
The Charter Company's 1980's fall from grace did not turn out to be a negative for everyone. It ended up with the JEA getting a sweetheart deal when it purchased Charter's former headquarters complex at 21 West Church Street for $8 million. JEA's Chairman Joseph Coleman told the Florida Times-Union that the December 1988 purchase was "a super, win-win deal". City Finance Director Bernie Shainbrown went as far as to call it a "real Christmas present and a tremendous benefit to the city.
The discussion taking place today should not surprise anyone familiar with the history of downtown Jacksonville's development. Our skyline was largely built by corporations and public entities that have expanded or developed new modern operations as they've grown over time. The growth of the defunct Independent Life and Accident Insurance Company during the mid-20th century is a great example of this phenomenon. In 1955, Independent Life expanded their downtown corporate operations by developing the 19-story Independent Life Building, 233 West Duval Street in 1955. Fifteen years later, it found itself out of space and resolved its growing pains by building what is now the 37-story - 535-foot-tall Wells Fargo Center in 1974.
According to 1988 interviews with JEA's director Royce Lyles, JEA would move 300 workers into the complex and that it would meet the needs of the JEA for at least the next 20 years. Well 20 years is quickly approaching and the building now houses 758 employees, more than double what was initially envisioned.
Complicating the situation, despite acquiring the building for $5 million less than its 1988 appraisal value, JEA openly admits it has not properly maintained the structure. Already dealing with industry declines in electric and water sales and President Obama's Clean Power Plan, the JEA is now faced with having to replace the critical systems it has not maintained, such as elevators, plumbing and fire protection systems. With this in mind, JEA is spending $1 million to consider their next move:
1. Demolish the tower and build a replacement
2. Renovate the tower
3. Build a replacement on another site
This six-story structure, now housing JEA's customer service center, was designed to structurally support two additional floors when built in 1962.
One more fact to toss into this dilemma. No matter the choice, the JEA expects the estimated cost to run between $40 to $50 million. So, without spending $1 million in cash, let's take a larger perspective than just the JEA's needs to eliminate two of these options from realistic consideration:
1. Demolish the tower and build a replacement
What's the point of spending millions to demolish a structurally sound 19-story tower because you don't want to replace systems like elevators, only to spend millions more on a new tower... with new systems... like elevators?
On the surface, this option would make more sense if the site was located in Midtown Manhattan. However, this is downtown Jacksonville and property values aren't nearly as high. Based on 2014 property records, JEA's buildings and the 1.88 acres they are sitting on, are assessed at a combined $15.9 million.
In addition, much of the underutilized property in downtown is already owned by the City of Jacksonville or another local independent agency. Why spend millions to demolish a perfectly sound building in order to spend millions building a new structure of similar size on the same site?
Simply building a replacement structure elsewhere (Option 3), preferably on already owned public property, is a far cheaper option to consider. The overall cost would become even cheaper if JEA then sold the existing structure to the private sector... even at a dramatically reduced rate!
In the end, this option may be the craziest one to consider out of all.
2. Renovate the tower
The JEA converted the first floor of the former 180,000-square-foot J.B. Ivey's store into a customer service center.
Just because your car may need new tires and a paint job doesn't mean its time to send it to the scrapyard. On the surface, renovating the aging downtown operations center certainly makes sense. However, the JEA believes the structure is a safety hazard because it has an underground parking garage, making it a possible target for a bomb in a vehicle. Another problem JEA has with the structure is that the parking garage on has 513 parking spaces for its 758 employees.
The former Purcell's store and parking garage with Hemming Park in the background.
So we have a structurally sound building that actually already has 513 spaces of its own, including covered underground parking? This structure may not be adequate for an entity such as JEA, but the items being mentioned are extreme amenities in any downtown setting, including Jacksonville's.
Thankfully for downtown revitalization, this complex wasn't designed to be a heavily fortified security zone for a public utility. Originally known as Downtown Center, its actually one of the few large collection of buildings adequately designed to accommodate an interesting mix of commercial uses.
Designed by NYC firm Ketchum & Sharp and developed as a joint venture between the May Company and S.S. Jacobs Company, Downtown Center was intended to be a $15 million mixed-use project featuring two major retailers, dedicated parking facilities and an office complex. The first store to open was a 25,000-square-foot Purcell's Women's Store in 1962. It was joined by a six-story, 180,000-square-foot J.B. Ivey & Company department store. Anticipating future growth, Ivey's was structurally designed to accommodate two additional floors.
The lobby of the Universal-Marion Building
The crown jewel of Downtown Center was the $12 million Universal-Marion Building. At the time, the 268' tall, 19 story tower was the tallest building on the Northbank and second tallest in the city. The building housed the Internal Revenue Service, law and insurance offices. The Universal Marion Company was the largest tenant. Founded by Louis Elwood Wolfson, a Wall Street financier and eventually the owner of the 1978 American Triple Crown winner 'Affirmed', Universal Marion owned the Miami Beach Sun and Jacksonville Chronicle newspapers and made movies through a subsidiary.
Inside the Ember's. Courtesy of the Jacksonville Public Library Special Collections Department
A year later a 250 seat restaurant, The Ember's, opened on the 18th floor. Live Maine Lobsters were flown in from Booth Bay, Maine every Friday, which stayed open until 12:30am daily. Rotating 360 degrees every 1.5 hours, it was said to be the largest revolving restaurant in the world.
A retail galleria shopping mall was once proposed as a part of the 1971 Downtown Master Plan to connect May-Cohens (now city hall) with Ivey's and Purcell's. The former Ivey's and Purcell's buildings are a part of the Universal-Marion complex the JEA is considering demolishing.
So what does a moment of downtown nostalgia have to do with the JEA's decision? For a downtown core still lacking available big box retail space one block from Hemming Park, it means everything. Perhaps the best option for structurally sound buildings specifically designed for uses that downtown desperately needs, isn't a fortified maximum security zone. Especially considering the location still likely won't meet the 21st century needs of the JEA, even after a $50 million upgrade.
Minus the overhead street awning, the original use of JEA's headquarters complex was similar in layout to Kendall's (Miami) Dadeland Station complex.
3. Build a replacement on another site
Could this end up being an opportunity to enhance another underutilized block of downtown Jacksonville?
Going back to Option 2, the JEA relocating and returning the old mixed-use urban retail complex back to the tax rolls in the heart of the Northbank isn't a bad outcome. It's not unrealistic to assume that the JEA may be in need of operational improvements that will help it efficiently run for the next 20-30 years. Given the amount of dead zones, surface parking lots and underutilized public property, it also would not hurt to see a new development rise in the heart of the city.
Despite not having enough spaces for JEA's needs, a structurally sound +500 space parking garage with potentially 25,000 square feet of big box retail space at a key Northbank intersection is an amenity worth utilizing.
Last, if the JEA is going to end up spending $40 to $50 million regardless of the option selected, they might as well spend it on the one that is most suitable for their needs and downtown's as a whole.
Spending a lot of cash isn't required to see how things could play out in a manner that best benefits both the JEA and downtown's Northbank. Go ahead and reserve the cranes. If we're lucky, perhaps something within walking distance of an existing Skyway station can be found. We might as well kill two birds with one stone by sending a few extra riders the Skyway's way!
One of several underutilized areas of downtown, adjacent to the Skyway.
Editorial by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com