JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Adams Street between Laura and Hogan streets in downtown Jacksonville will remain closed until 12:01 a.m. Monday.
Crews are installing the Chase Bank sign on top of the old Barnett National Bank building.
“There is a crane on-site, lifting the new rooftop signage up to the roof. It will be illuminated about 20 stories above the ground floor,” explained Steve Atkins, the owner of the Barnett building and principal and managing director of SouthEast Development Group. “Historically, you could see the Barnett bank name on top of the building and the end caps displayed time and temperature.”
Atkins purchased the Barnett building in 2013 and began construction on the 94-year-old high-rise in 2017.
“Right now, we have the first six floors as commercially oriented. We have the University of North Florida based in here — on the fourth and fifth floor. The Jacksonville Business Journal is on the mezzanine — the second level — and we are opening JPMorgan Chase Bank here in the next few weeks,” Atkins said. “Everything else above the sixth floor is residential, multifamily. We have 107 multifamily units, which, at this point, are 100% occupied.”
Two months ago, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, is when the Barnett building reached capacity with residential tenants.
“It certainly has been challenging. Projects like this are not easy. It’s a historic preservation project, aside from being a public-private partnership with the city of Jacksonville, so it comes with a number of different challenges,” Atkins said. “Restoring properties like this that are close to 100 years old are difficult. You discover things along the way you weren’t expecting, and those are things you have to address in order to make sure everything is completed properly. You have to meet a certain standard from the National Park Service in order to be able to receive historic tax credits, which is one of the primary ways we financed the project.”
The building’s anchor tenant, JPMorgan Chase Bank, will occupy 6,000 square feet on the ground level.
“Chase is very excited to do business downtown and, of course, have their name prominently displayed in the Jacksonville skyline with rooftop signage on top of the building,” Atkins said. “We will be delivering the space to them on Sept. 8.”
A 2020 renovation, coupled with the originality and charm of the historic banking hall from 1926, will complete Chase’s flagship location in the region. From one historic bank to another across the street — the former Florida National Bank, also known as the Marble Bank, will be reborn into a restaurant and bar.
“A lot of people will recognize the Laura Street Trio,” said Atkins, who is working closely with the city to preserve and redevelop the space. “It’s really a privilege to work on a project like this as a native Jacksonvillian, someone who grew up here and watched downtown kind of change and, in some cases, not change in a positive way. To be able to be part of the progressive new downtown with restoration and preservation of historic properties we have here that can’t be replaced —once they’re gone, they’re gone — it really helps to the fabric of our community. And to be able to watch downtown evolve and grow over the past few years, which I think will continue to happen, it is very rewarding.”
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“There is only one downtown in every city. And, for Jacksonville, you have to keep in mind this is not just our downtown for Jacksonville proper, but it is the cultural center for the whole North Florida region, so downtown is incredibly important and that we continue to focus in investing in downtown in a way that receives a glow or halo effect for our entire community,” Atkins said. “I am determined to see this one gets done the way it should be done, as well as the future projects we have on the table.”
Atkins said he hopes to begin work on the Laura Street Trio early next year and anticipates that project will take two years.