Colliers Urban Division in Jacksonville announced Feb. 12 that Starbucks will return to Downtown in a space in the Bank of America Tower.
On Instagram, the Urban Division announced that Starbucks would operate a ground-floor storefront at Bay and Laura streets in the 42-story tower.
“The addition of Starbucks to the Laura Street corridor is important to the pedestrian experience,” the post read. “Not only does it offer another option for downtown office users but it’s an established brand that is universally recognized by locals and people visiting our downtown.”
The post says the cafe also “starts the retail conversation up Laura Street.”
The Urban Division is led by Colliers Senior Vice President Matthew Clark and senior associates Sam Middlekauff and Olivia Steinemann.
Starbucks once had two stores Downtown, in The Jacksonville Landing and at 11 E. Forsyth St. It closed the Forsyth location in 2008 and the Landing shop in 2011.
The Landing has since been demolished. Lily's Asian-American Food is now at 11 E. Forsyth St.
Bank of America Tower is owned by New York-based Group RMC, which purchased it in 2020. CBRE Senior Vice President Oliver Barakat, who represents RMC for leasing of office space, referred a reporter to Clark when approached for details about the lease of the ground floor retail/restaurant space.
Messages to Clark were not immediately returned.
The lobby area of the tower is home to Ground Level Coffee and Akel’s Delicatessen, which operates the coffee shop.
Other coffee establishments along and near the Laura Street corridor include Urban Grind Coffee Co. at 45 W. Bay St.; Chamblin’s Uptown at 215 N. Laura St.; Setlan Coffee Co. on the ground floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, 333 N. Laura St.; and the St. James Cafe on the ground floor of City Hall, 117 W. Duval St.
Directly across from Akel’s, work is progressing on build-out of the Pour Taproom and Pizza Dynamo restaurant in the VyStar Credit Union garage at 61 N. Laura St.
A Google map search shows at least 20 Starbucks locations in Jacksonville.