City and business leaders said Monday the deal to bring 1,500 EverBank Financial Corp. employees Downtown is the start of a long-awaited revitalization that was stalled during the recession.
“Today marks a new beginning,” City Council President Stephen Joost said at the news conference announcing that Jacksonville-based EverBank signed a lease for nine floors at the former AT&T Tower 301.
“Today is not the end of the deal, but the beginning of the revitalization of Downtown,” he said.
Joost and several others spoke at the tower, which was renamed EverBank Center as part of the deal.
EverBank will relocate 1,500 employees from the Southside into nine floors, comprising about 270,000 square feet of space, in the Downtown tower at 301 W. Bay St.
EverBank Chairman and CEO Rob Clements said the transition will happen in phases, starting in May. The signage of the building will be changed about the same time, he said.
City and state incentives to bring EverBank Downtown called for the company to move 1,000 jobs Downtown and create 200 more. However, the announcement indicates EverBank will bring 500 more jobs Downtown in addition to creating the additional positions.
Just before he left office, former Mayor John Peyton introduced an economic incentives deal between EverBank and the City under the Qualified Industry Tax Refund program.
Under the refund agreement, the City will provide $420,000 and the state will provide $1.68 million to EverBank after the company creates the 200 jobs. It will also receive $300,000 in state training funds.
Another piece of legislation will give EverBank $2.75 million to offset the $26.5 million that the bank said it will pay in moving costs from the suburbs to Downtown.
Combined, the deal will provide $5.15 million to EverBank. Both pieces of legislation were approved by Council in June.
EverBank officials said the company would file for construction permits Wednesday and sign the agreement with the City in the next couple of days. The building owner had taken out a permit to clear the space in October, although the demolition application and plans did not identify a tenant.
Both the City and state incentives agreements had been extended and EverBank was nearing the Thursday deadline to execute the deal with the state.
The decision to relocate “was not an easy one and involved a long and diligent evaluation,” Clements said Monday.
“As a company, we inherently believe in using a disciplined approach for the decision-making process,” Clements said. “That’s why I feel confident in telling you today this is the right decision for EverBank just as I know it’s the right decision for the City of Jacksonville.”
There were a couple of outside factors that contributed toward the deal being done.
Clements said parking for the 1,500 employees was “arguably the one issue our employees were most sensitive about” but that sufficient employee parking that is safe, convenient and free was found.
Building representative Pamela Smith said the Water Street public parking garage and three private lots in the area provided enough spaces.
“We have plenty of parking Downtown,” she said. “It’s a matter of managing it.”
A decision to relocate the Greyhound bus station, which is near the building, also was a consideration and Clements said EverBank officials were “optimistic that would be a reality.”
The Downtown Development Review Board granted final approval Dec. 15 for the terminal’s design on a site near the Osborn Center.
Clements said he also envisioned that the move will help attract more businesses and people Downtown, which Mayor Alvin Brown also addressed.
“This will renew our faith and support entrepreneurs and business leaders in Jacksonville,” Brown said.
“Downtown is going to be a destination, one of the hottest places to have your business and grow your business,” he said.
Clements thanked Brown for his leadership and vision during the deal, and both Brown and Clements praised Peyton for initiating the deal during his last weeks in office.
Downtown Vision Inc. Executive Director Terry Lorince also spoke enthusiastically about the deal.
“I’ve never been more optimistic about the future of Downtown as I am today,” she said.
She said the move of 1,500 workers to the area will increase the Downtown workforce by 8 percent, which will help neighboring businesses.
EverBank provides banking, mortgages and investment services nationwide, operating through standard banking offices and through its Direct Banking division, by telephone, mail and the Internet.
EverBank reports that its roots stretch back to 1961, although the current company was formed in 1994 as Alliance Mortgage Co., which became a significant mortgage originator and servicer.
It has nearly $12.5 billion in assets, $9.9 billion in deposits and about 2,400 employees.
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