JEA is looking to sell its former headquarters and adjacent properties, putting a piece of Jacksonville’s history on the market for redevelopment.
The city-owned utility has issued a request for proposal seeking bids for the properties, which include the 19-story office tower at 21 W. Church St. Built in 1962, that 347,811-square-foot structure was originally the Universal Marion Building and featured a revolving rooftop restaurant. JEA bought it in 1988.
Also included in the RFP is JEA’s former customer center, a six-story, 248,220-square-foot office building adjacent to the tower. The tower and customer center buildings share a below-grade parking deck with about 190 spaces, according to JEA.
Rounding out the RFP is the Adair Building at 421 Laura St., a parking garage with 500-plus spaces and street-level retail space.
Combined, the campus covers 2.47 acres.
The buildings are considered contributing properties in the Downtown Jacksonville Historic District as listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
JEA set an April 8 deadline to receive bids. The RFP states that respondents will be required to coordinate with JEA, the city of Jacksonville, the Downtown Investment Authority and other regulatory bodies “to develop the former HQ in a manner that best serves the community’s interests.”
JEA has set site visits for 9:30 a.m. and noon March 7 and March 12. Companies are required to give the utility 48 hours notice of the time and date they prefer to visit.
During a DIA-sponsored symposium in October 2023, the JEA tower was mentioned as a candidate for office-to-residential conversion.
The selection criteria for the RFP hint to that use, saying that respondents will be rated based partly on the economic benefits of their proposal in terms of such factors as capital investment, job creation and housing units.
Other selection criteria include purchase price and experience on similar development projects in Jacksonville or elsewhere.
Once the highest-ranked respondent is identified by an evaluation committee, JEA staff will negotiate a purchase and sale agreement with that party. Final approval of a purchase agreement would come from the JEA board of directors.
JEA moved its headquarters and Customer Solutions Center to seven-story building at 225 N. Pearl St. in April 2023.
