The group demolishing the unfinished Berkman Plaza II Downtown paid $5.503 million for the property April 21, according to a deed recorded Aug. 11 by the Duval County Clerk of Courts.
The buyer was PB Riverfront Revitalization of Jacksonville LLC, a company controlled by developer Jacksonville Riverfront Revitalization LLC.
The seller was 500 East Bay LLC, according to Park Beeler, who is co-manager of Jacksonville Riverfront Revitalization.
The 18-story Berkman II was planned as a riverfront condominium at 500 E. Bay St. Work stopped on the structure in 2007 when a parking garage next door collapsed, killing one construction worker and injuring several others.
Beeler announced in April that his group purchased the Berkman for about $5.6 million with plans to replace it with a mixed-use residential project.
At the time, Beeler said the money for the purchase was in escrow and the development company would not file the deed until the city removed its demolition order on the property.
The Aug. 11 filing is the first time official sale documents were made available to the public.
In an email Aug. 11, a spokesperson for the city said the demolition order and condemnation of the building and property still are active and will not be lifted “until the structure has been completely removed.”
Beeler said Aug. 11 filing the deed was a management decision by the company’s partners.
Pece of Mind Environmental Inc., the project demolition contractor, started removing the structure with a high-reach excavator July 15 and began clearing loose debris from the site in April.
Steve Pece, president of Pece of Mind, said in July the demolition will take three to four months.
State Division of Corporation filings show attorney Alexander Cvercko of Cvercko & Associates listed as PB Riverfront’s registered agent.
Beeler said attorney Wayne Flowers of Lewis, Longman & Walker has replaced Cvercko since the Berkman purchase in April.
Cvercko represented former Berkman II owner 500 East Bay Principal Jim Bergman in a lawsuit against the city from October 2020, alleging the city’s move to condemn the high-rise in August 2020 violated due process.
Beeler’s group is working with KBJ Architects on plans for a 26-story tower and mid-rise building with 293 residential units and a 537-space parking garage for the property.
The project, temporarily named 500 East Bay, will have 249 apartments, 40 townhouses and four penthouses.
In a news conference at the Berkman on April 28, Beeler said the project also proposes 50,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space that will wrap around the building and a 20,000-square-foot grocery store and pharmacy facing Bay Street.
Riverfront Revitalization estimates the project will cost $130 million to $150 million.
Jacksonville Riverfront Revitalization is managed by JRR Management Partners, led by Brian Wheeler, the owner of GGI Tapestry LLC and a former Genesis Group partner; Beeler, F3 Global Solutions managing member and a former executive at The Charter Co.; and Chris Young, president of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Biotech Restorations Holdings LLC.