A $4.35 million incentive package to retain a code-named company headquartered in Downtown Jacksonville is on its way to the Jacksonville City Council after being approved Oct. 16 by the Downtown Investment Authority.
The DIA board voted 8-0 in favor of the incentives for Project Blue Sky, which according to authority documents is a company interested in relocating within Downtown.
The Jacksonville Daily Record reported Oct. 9 that Haskell, the Jacksonville-based global architecture, engineering, construction and consulting company, matches the description of Project Blue Sky.
The board passed the incentive package without comment. It was included on the consent agenda after being approved unanimously in committee.
Haskell is based at 111 Riverside Ave. in the Brooklyn district of Downtown. It also leases space at the Gates of Riverside office building at 245 Riverside Ave.
The company reported that it has 650 employees in its Downtown space.
DIA documents say Project Blue Sky has committed to “retaining 650 jobs from within the local area to be located and working primarily on-site in Downtown Jacksonville.”
The company also plans to create 150 jobs with its relocation, the DIA says.
DIA CEO Lori Boyer told the DIA Strategic Implementation Committee on Oct. 15 that the company was being recruited “by a number of locations inside and outside of Jacksonville.”
The incentives package comprises:
• A Recapture Enhanced Value Grant of up to $2.3 million. A REV grant is a refund on ad valorem tax revenue generated by a new development. The grant for Project Blue Sky is based on 75% of the increased real and personal property taxes generated at the project site over 15 years.
• A City Training Grant of $1.3 million based on $2,000 each for the 650 jobs. The training would take place over two years and the payoff made over four years.
• A Target Industry Employment Grant of $750,000 based on $5,000 per job for the 150 added positions over up to five years at the stated salary and location.
Steve Kelley, the director of Downtown real estate and development for the DIA, told the DIA Strategic Implementation Committee on Oct. 15 that the City Training Grant and Target Industry Employment Grant would be paid through the city budget and would be administered by the Office of Economic Development.
The DIA reported that the company planned to invest $20 million in capital improvements for its relocation and $10 million for computer equipment and office furniture.
The average salary of the created jobs, exclusive of benefits, is listed at $118,000.
Haskell built its three-story, nearly 120,000-square-foot building on 3.15 acres in 1986. Including garage space, base and balconies areas, the size increases to more than 230,000 square feet.
The company sold the building for $20.9 million in May 2008. It is now owned by 111 Riverside Ave. LLC, led by Jacksonville property investor Irving G. Snyder Jr.
The Daily Record reported that industry standards for office space call for 200 square feet per employee, meaning 650 jobs would need about 130,000 square feet and an additional 150 jobs would need 30,000 square feet. Combined, that would translate to Project Blue Sky requiring at least 160,000 square feet of space.
“I can confirm we are in lease discussions regarding our headquarters. As we have done for many years, we continue to explore options to consolidate our growing operations to best support our employees and the clients we serve around the globe,” Haskell Vice President Dave Auchter told the Daily Record.
“We will also continue to honor the confidential nature of these efforts,” he said.
The incentive request doesn’t identify a new location, but a building that would accommodate those needs is 701 San Marco, the former Prudential building at 701 San Marco Blvd.
The website for the property, 701sanmarco.com, says 170,000 square feet of space is available in the building.
The Prudential Insurance Co. of America sold the 14.5-acre property in September 2022 to Bradford Allen San Marco LLC for $70 million. Bradford Allen Investment Advisors is based in Chicago.