The Downtown Investment Authority's budget for the upcoming fiscal year does not include any money beyond $200,000 for the salary and benefits for incoming CEO Aundra Wallace.
Office space is filling up in Jacksonville with the Downtown vacancy rate at its lowest mark in 10 years and an about 5 percent vacancy rate in the large office parks in the Butler/Baymeadows corridor.
However, new construction has not followed the decrease in vacancy leading to a supply problem that could hurt the city in its efforts to attract large companies.
Citywide, there are nine blocks of Class A space larger than 20,000 square feet with only two of those that have more than 100,000 square feet, according to data from CoStar.
The blocks of space are at:
8800 Baymeadows Way West with about 58,000 square feet
4887 Belfort Road with 30,000 square feet available
10375 Centurion Parkway North with about 48,000 square feet
10401 Deerwood Park Boulevard with about 145,000 square feet
12926 Gran Bay Parkway with about 46,000 square feet
12740 Gran Bay Parkway West with about 30,000 square feet
1 Independent Drive (Wells Fargo Center) with about 21,000 square feet
50 North Laura Street (Bank of America Tower) with about 93,000 square feet
9000 Southside Boulevard with about 328,000 square feet
Buddy Register, a senior director of office leasing with Cushman &Wakefield, has brokered his share of large blocks of space including representing Citizens Property Insurance in a 230,000-square-foot move that saw the company consolidate its Jacksonville operations. He said that while having so few large blocks of space isn't ideal.
"The issue of having smaller blocks of space pretty much precludes us from having someone come in that needs space immediately," he said.
Chuck White, a Jacksonville broker with Prime Realty, said that many of the larger users of office space in Jacksonville have expanded. He pointed to Deutsche Bank, the global financial services company, that now leases about 350,000 square feet.
"Demand has caught up," he said. "And it's not because demand is hot."
Derek Gilliam
Reporter
Jacksonville Business Journal
Contact: Chuck White at 904.515.2556 cwhite@primerealtyinc.com
