The start date comes on the heels of a preleasing deal with Kemper Auto and Home, which has signed a lease to occupy 80% of Lakeside Five. Kemper will move its corporate headquarters from Belfort Road to the office site. All total, the Lakeside buildings are 95 % occupied, according to Flagler execs.

"We are very pleased to be partnering with Flagler Development on this new development," Joanne Mackey, vice president of operations at Kemper, says in a statement. "For the first time in more than six years all of our employees will be together in one building. The increased space, location and design of the building add up to a great fit for our 500-plus employee population."

Calls to Flagler Development Group for more information on the project--including development cost and rental rates--were not returned by deadline. Ross Carrier and Gary Cox of Flagler Real Estate Services are the leasing agents for Flagler Center. Curtis Loftin, of Beacon Realty Services, Inc. repped Kemper.

"At Lakeside Five, Kemper will have great visibility with interstate frontage and its employees will enjoy a building and working environment designed with amenities to support a productive workplace," Karl Hanson, vice president of Flagler Development Group, says in a statement. By virtue of the park's size and location, Flagler Center was designed to accommodate the present and future needs of companies like Kemper, seeking customized space with room to expand."

According to CB Richard Ellis' statistics for the Jacksonville office market, lease rates average $16.65 per sf in the first quarter, down 33 cents from the first quarter 2006 rate. CBRE puts the vacancy metro area's vacancy rate at 13.8%.

Flagler Development Group has also revealed that, due to increased office demand, it has begun the design stage of its next office development with Flagler Center. To rise just south of the Lakeside development, the new project will have approximately 300,000 sf of class A office space and front Interstate 95.

Flagler Center is off St. Augustine Road bordering I-95 and US 1. The 1,022-acre park has nine office and industrial buildings totaling nearly 1.04 million sf. The park hold entitlements to build 2.7 million sf of office, commercial and minimal industrial development, in addition to a 130-room hotel, according to Flagler's website.

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Preleasing Deal Pushes June Start for Lakeside Five

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