Florida Blue tower might become Sheriff's Office

[heights unknown]

Yeah, it would be a modern day example of redlining and highlight the problems of social and environmental justice. It would be more prudent to keep a smaller jail right where it is, than stick a new one in a historic Black neighborhood.

Yeah, it seems someone wants to always put Jails in the black neighborhood(s); I wonder what would happen if plans were announced to build a new Jail in San Jose? Or Mandarin? Or San Marco?

[marcuscnelson]

I thought I recalled hearing that JSO was looking for 360,000 square feet or so. Is that how much is available?

Also would this mean DCPS would have to call off their search (or somehow found the money for the JTA offer)? Or can the building fit both of them?

I was thinking the Universal Marion building could be a good fit, but I suppose if they find the BCBS space in Brooklyn sufficient that's okay too.

[Jax_Developer]

I thought I recalled hearing that JSO was looking for 360,000 square feet or so. Is that how much is available?

Also would this mean DCPS would have to call off their search (or somehow found the money for the JTA offer)? Or can the building fit both of them?

I was thinking the Universal Marion building could be a good fit, but I suppose if they find the BCBS space in Brooklyn sufficient that's okay too.

The total building is 550k SF or so & if 360k is the number... then the 80% does somewhat pencil out when you factor the net rentable area. I think the Florida Blue building is a better fit for them because of it's parking & accessibility. Always thought that they had an ideal site.

[jaxlongtimer]

I thought I recalled hearing that JSO was looking for 360,000 square feet or so. Is that how much is available?

Also would this mean DCPS would have to call off their search (or somehow found the money for the JTA offer)? Or can the building fit both of them?

I was thinking the Universal Marion building could be a good fit, but I suppose if they find the BCBS space in Brooklyn sufficient that's okay too.

From info I have seen, I am not convinced the DCPS can justify moving from where they are.  The only justification so far seems to be the political optics of not being on the river. 

Given how much is available to developers, currently, with nothing happening, I don't see the urgency for someone to replace their building with something more valuable.  They should stay put, update the building, and can look again in 15 or 20 years.  Maybe Jax will be different then and it makes more sense to look at other options.  But, this being Jax, don't count that either  .

[marcuscnelson]

It’s official.

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/politics/government/2024/02/28/whats-next-for-moving-the-duval-county-jail-out-of-downtown-city-council-recidivism-mental-health/72765801007/

JSO decides to move forward with Florida Blue office space

JSO will request that City Council approve a lease in the coming months that would move the agency’s headquarters from the downtown Police Memorial Building to the Florida Blue tower in the Brooklyn neighborhood.

The agency began working with the city’s Real Estate Division earlier this year to explore existing potential office space to relocate the police headquarters after deciding it would be more cost-effective to lease a space than to build an entirely new facility.

JSO signed a lease with the health insurance headquarters last year to move specific offices to the tower, utilizing about three floors of space and paying over $1.17 million annually, not including parking.

If JSO moved entirely to Florida Blue at 532 Riverside Ave., it would utilize about 80% of the building.

“Seeing the cost of new construction and then listening to the experts in the field, that's where it really kind of turn for us and flip the light switch say ‘Hey, this is a real viable option for the rest of the placement of the building,’” Sheriff's Office Director of Police Services Larry Schmitt said Tuesday.

City attorneys within the Office of General Counsel are negotiating a lease agreement, which will have to be approved by City Council, Boylan told the Times-Union.

He anticipated between negotiation, renovation of the building and moving personnel, the move would take around a year. He advised JSO attendees Tuesday to begin planning how the Police Memorial Building could be used, once vacant, to help problems in the jail.

He suggested turning the building into an on-site infirmary to cut down the cost of transporting the incarcerated population to UF Health, but he also speculated it could be used as an area for corrections officers.

Presumably this means the end of DCPS’s ability to move into the building, which limits their options to the new construction next to the JRTC or choosing to not relocate at this time.

[thelakelander]

He anticipated between negotiation, renovation of the building and moving personnel, the move would take around a year. He advised JSO attendees Tuesday to begin planning how the Police Memorial Building could be used, once vacant, to help problems in the jail.

He suggested turning the building into an on-site infirmary to cut down the cost of transporting the incarcerated population to UF Health, but he also speculated it could be used as an area for corrections officers.

I wonder if they are reviewing how to reuse the Police Memorial Building as a short term or long term use? An on-site infirmary doesn't sound cheap or something worth spending millions on for a five year life span.

[jaxlongtimer]

He anticipated between negotiation, renovation of the building and moving personnel, the move would take around a year. He advised JSO attendees Tuesday to begin planning how the Police Memorial Building could be used, once vacant, to help problems in the jail.

He suggested turning the building into an on-site infirmary to cut down the cost of transporting the incarcerated population to UF Health, but he also speculated it could be used as an area for corrections officers.

I wonder if they are reviewing how to reuse the Police Memorial Building as a short term or long term use? An on-site infirmary doesn't sound cheap or something worth spending millions on for a five year life span.

With JTA's autonomous vehicles passing by this building I am just shocked  that JSO is moving.  Surely, there will be a line out the door for tenants wanting to be on this new transit line so they can be the first in the world to experience JTA's revolutionary accomplishment. LOL.

Seriously, could this building be a candidate for being part of UF's planned campus here?  It is secure, well located, iconic in design, likely built to institutional type standards, etc.  Surely, the students would love to ride the JTA boondoggle if no one esle will.

[marcuscnelson]

Seriously, the building is nowhere near any of the sites that UF has indicated any interest in. They seem to desire a mostly continuous campus, and this site doesn’t really fit that at all. I’m sure that transit access is a complete nonfactor for JSO’s decision making, and while that’s a failure of policymaking, it’s hard to blame JSO for deciding not to take the U2C seriously.

To speak to lake, the bigger question is potentially whether JSO is factoring the DIA’s convention center dreams into their decisionmaking at all. Lori Boyer’s dream a few years ago of downtown land values skyrocketing enough for land deals to cover the costs seems pretty safely dead, and with signature projects dropping like flies while the cost of a new jail skyrockets it seems likely that the late Curry ambitions will have to be reconsidered given the economic realities.

[jaxlongtimer]

Seriously, the building is nowhere near any of the sites that UF has indicated any interest in. They seem to desire a mostly continuous campus, and this site doesn’t really fit that at all. I’m sure that transit access is a complete nonfactor for JSO’s decision making, and while that’s a failure of policymaking, it’s hard to blame JSO for deciding not to take the U2C seriously.

Marcus, not sure if you realize I was making light of the AV project and never thought JSO took this or any other transit into account. 

As to UF, it appears JSO's site is in the midrange of the geography they are rumored to be looking at so I would not say this is "nowhere near any of the sites UF has indicated interest in."  If they are looking all around this site, then the geographic location should work.  Now, is the building and grounds it sits on suitable?  I don't know and that is the question I was posing, or at least wondering, if it is worth a gander.

Regarding a convention center, where is the City going to find $1B for the jail, $1B for the stadium and $.5 to 1B maybe for a convention center plus much more for septic tanks, deferred road maintenance, garbage fee deficit, resiliency.... etc.*  And, we still have Curry's "kick the can down the road" underfunded pension liability.  So, I think we see eye to eye here.

*This makes spending hundred of millions of the gas tax on U2C even more ludicrous given more pressing needs in the City.

[Charles Hunter]

A good article in today's Jax Today about the competing needs for City money.  https://jaxtoday.org/2024/02/28/what-else-could-proposed-stadium-money-buy/?omhide=true

[marcuscnelson]

Marcus, not sure if you realize I was making light of the AV project and never thought JSO took this or any other transit into account.

You said seriously, not me. 

As to UF, it appears JSO's site is in the midrange of the geography they are rumored to be looking at so I would not say this is "nowhere near any of the sites UF has indicated interest in."  If they are looking all around this site, then the geographic location should work.  Now, is the building and grounds it sits on suitable?  I don't know and that is the question I was posing, or at least wondering, if it is worth a gander.

Regarding a convention center, where is the City going to find $1B for the jail, $1B for the stadium and $.5 to 1B maybe for a convention center plus much more for septic tanks, deferred road maintenance, garbage fee deficit, resiliency.... etc.*  And, we still have Curry's "kick the can down the road" underfunded pension liability.  So, I think we see eye to eye here.

*This makes spending hundred of millions of the gas tax on U2C even more ludicrous given more pressing needs in the City.

I don't think that's how this kind of search looks. If UF are looking at several different sites, a site between those options isn't necessarily going to be a fit, especially if it'd mean separating facilities from the rest of campus.

Again, it seems fairly obvious that the Curry-era scale simply isn't able to survive Deegan-era realities. This administration seems much more interested in looking for money elsewhere, especially given the relative generosity still coming from Washington, but even then there's only so much money out there, and someone has to realize the harsh truth. The stadium deal could very well get value engineered somewhat (with the entertainment district already separated out), a jail potentially broken into phases, convention center (correctly) evolved into a Hyatt expansion, so on and so forth. There are ways for this city to get smart about how it invests that people on this site have been talking about for years now, that plenty of other cities have done and seen great success from, and if Deegan wants to succeed will probably need to learn from. Hopefully she has the chance to do that.

[thelakelander]

I can confirm that the jail isn't and never will be an option in the UF search.

[jaxlongtimer]

Marcus, not sure if you realize I was making light of the AV project and never thought JSO took this or any other transit into account.

You said seriously, not me. 

The sentence referencing transit included a grinning emoji and ended with an LOL.  "Seriously" applied to the next paragraph which talked about evaluating if JSO's current HQ's could work for UF.

I can confirm that the jail isn't and never will be an option in the UF search.

I wasn't talking about the jail but JSO HQ's.

Folks, please read my posts more carefully  .  Thank you!

[Charles Hunter]

I can confirm that the jail isn't and never will be an option in the UF search.

But ... a ready-made dormitory!!   

[Charles Hunter]

Marcus, not sure if you realize I was making light of the AV project and never thought JSO took this or any other transit into account.

You said seriously, not me. 

The sentence referencing transit included a grinning emoji and ended with an LOL.  "Seriously" applied to the next paragraph which talked about evaluating if JSO's current HQ's could work for UF.

I can confirm that the jail isn't and never will be an option in the UF search.

I wasn't talking about the jail but JSO HQ's.

Folks, please read my posts more carefully  .  Thank you!

Online conversations really need a "sarcasm" font!