Aetna has a decision to make — one that might have the insurance giant leaving Downtown.
It can keep its 840 employees and possible expansion on the Southbank or pack up and move to a suburban site once its lease expires Aug. 31, 2017.
As it stands, the suburban option might be more lucrative.
There is a “substantial” financial gap between the two offers, according to a city report. It’s one Downtown Investment Authority CEO Aundra Wallace said comes in at around “a few million.”
Wallace for months has been working with Aetna building landlord GV-IP on a possible solution to keep the company on the Southbank.
“They’ve made it clear they’re looking for the best offer from landlords,” said Wallace.
He said Aetna isn’t looking for city incentives, which has meant working with the landlord on a package to help offset costs. The landlord could then make a better offer to Aetna.
A previous offer from DIA was a $1.5 million Recapture Enhanced Value grant, which is a percentage of property taxes rebated to a company after increases in property taxes from improvements.
Wallace said the building brings in about $900,000 on the tax rolls, about $500,000 of which DIA could be used toward a REV Grant. As a result, he said, the highest DIA could go would be in the $2.4 million range over a 10- to 12-year period. Anything more wouldn’t be feasible.
Even with that factored in, the gap between Downtown and the suburbs was still millions off, Wallace was told by landlord Jason Isaacson, president of IP Capital Partners that owns the building.
Isaacson in an email declined comment, saying the company doesn’t typically comment on tenants.
Aetna spokesman Walt Cherniak in a statement acknowledged the company is exploring its options, which is part of its lease-maturity process. He went on to say the company would comment on details once a final location decision has been made.
Aetna has been Downtown in the 22-story building that bears its name since 1999. The building at one point was the tallest in Florida when it was developed in 1955 for the Prudential Insurance Co. of America. IP Capital Partners bought in in 2013.
Past city reports said Aetna seeks to boost its job numbers by as much as 300 as part of any deal. Wallace said that expansion is one of the reasons the DIA would be willing to provide incentives, as he believes in spending such funding on recruitment and expansion rather than retention.
Wallace said one of the reasons the public side can’t be more creative is that it can’t offer a Qualified Targeted Industry grant for the created jobs, as they fall below the required salary range .
He doesn’t want to see the company leave and boost vacancy rates on the Southbank.
However, with the DIA’s assistance essentially at its maximum, “the landlord has to make a business decision” on what to do.
It wouldn’t be prudent on the public side to continue to fill such a large gap, he said, despite the potential loss.
“It really puts DIA in a tight position,” said Wallace.
He expects a decision “any day now.”
(904) 356-2466