Global financial-services giant Deutsche Bank anticipates at least a $5 million investment in the Southside business park it leases.
That comes as it completes moving about 1,000 jobs to a nearby building from other suburban space.
The remodeling and relocation unite the Germany-based bank’s Jacksonville operations along Gate Parkway, bringing the almost 1,800 full-time employees closer together for efficiency and expansion.
“We are committed to expanding our presence in Jacksonville and these renovations will help accommodate our growth,” said Leslie Slover, regional head for Deutsche Bank in Jacksonville and Cary, N.C., in a statement.
Slover said the changes will give the bank the ability to increase its local capacity, help consolidate its workforce and build a more cohesive operation.
Deutsche Bank leases about 350,000 square feet of space, comprising the five-building, 200,000-square-foot Meridian Business Park at 5022 Gate Parkway and a three-story, 150,000-square-foot building at 5201 Gate Parkway.
It announced the 5201 Gate Parkway lease in November to consolidate from a Belfort Road location and to allow for growth.
The first floor offers a cafeteria, gym, a health and wellness center, and meeting space. A business license was issued recently to the Health Center at Deutsche Bank Jacksonville at the structure’s address.
The health center is open to all Deutsche Bank employees in Jacksonville. It offers on-site medical care, including urgent care and flu shots.
At Meridian, construction plans show a $4 million interior renovation at Building 300 and a $1 million remodel to Building 400.
Deutsche Bank intends to renovate 25,715 square feet at Building 300, which has a little more than 33,000 square feet of usable area, into event space and a café.
That project includes a large event space with a projection screen, conference room and pre-function area along with a kitchen and a large dining room that also appears to offer space for private meetings.
The event space is designed for occasions such as town hall gatherings and will support both campuses. The cafeteria will provide similar amenities to those at the 5201 building.
At Building 400, which is Deutsche Bank’s main office and visitor entrance at the park, about 5,700 square feet of the more than 49,000-square-foot building will be remodeled for a reception area and vestibule, meeting space, open office and more.
Gilbane Building Co. is the contractor. Completion is expected in February.
The Jacksonville office opened in 2008 and has grown to become Deutsche Bank’s largest U.S. operation outside of New York.
A city development agreement and legislation adopted in October call for Deutsche Bank to create 350 more jobs by the end of 2017 and to invest $23 million in tenant improvements, technology, infrastructure, furniture and fixtures. The 5201 lease was soon announced.
It was the fourth incentives package approved for the bank since it opened in Jacksonville.
Deutsche Bank is not a retail bank in Jacksonville. Instead, it performs functions such as its sales and trading business, corporate and investment banking, asset management, wealth management, information technology, finance, cybersecurity and anti-financial crime.
Blue Rock makes third major purchase
Blue Rock Premier Properties LLC, based in Tampa, said Monday it made its third major apartment-community purchase last week, totaling $137.4 million and almost 2,000 units since October.
Principal and owner Randy Ferreira said the group will invest about $3.75 million in interior and exterior upgrades to its latest purchase, the $24.6 million acquisition of The Reserve at Beach Boulevard.
The 360-unit project at 11990 Beach Blvd. is rebranded The Park at Levanzo. It was 95 percent occupied at the closing.
Blue Rock said it is led by Ferreira in partnership with Deerfield Beach-based Konover South LLC. Dhaval Patel of CBRE Investment Properties in Jacksonville brokered the off-market transaction, sold by LLJ Multifamily Ventures.
In February, Blue Rock bought a $48 million Jacksonville portfolio comprising the 284-unit Landmark at Hampshire Place and the 248-unit Landmark at Sage Commons. Those now are marketed as The Park at Potenza and The Park at Trapani, respectively.
In October, it paid $64.8 million for the 1,040-unit Madison at Bay Pointe, Madison at Savannah Oaks and Madison at Spring Woods. They have been marketed as The Park at Avellino, The Park at Marbella and The Park at Via Veneto.
Ferreira said Jacksonville will continue to be a major focus for Blue Rock this year and beyond.
“Blue Rock Premier Properties is aggressively pursuing select value-add product throughout Florida, with as many as 3,000 units in the pipeline for 2016 and beyond,” he said in a news release.
Its Florida portfolio exceeds 9,000 units in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa Bay and Fort Myers.
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