Jacksonville CRE Market Jumping

JACKSONVILE, FL—What's going on in Jacksonville? Plenty. While Bank United expands into the northern Florida city Crocker Partners is investing in what it is calling an “extreme makeover” of the 752,000-square foot Prominence office park at Baymeadows Road and Interstate 95 and CNL Commercial Real Estate is bringing new blood on board.

Crocker also announced that the North America corporate headquarters of NGA Human Resources, a provider of payroll and HR services and software, leasing 70,000 square feet of office space to occupy by March, 2016.

“We're investing for the long-term to realize Prominence's full potential as one of Jacksonville's premier office parks,” says Crocker Partners vice president Josh Edwards. “Securing NGA's commitment validates that position.”

Capital improvements include a new main park entry with monument signage and extensive landscaping. Meanwhile, work is nearing completion on modernizing Building 100, the first of three office buildings slated for exterior and common area renovations. Work on Building 400, new home to NGA, will get underway in May, coinciding with the tenant improvements, followed by Building 500.

“Prominence offers some of the best-located and largest contiguous space available in one of Jacksonville's most sought-after submarkets,” says Edwards. “As the park rebranding and improvements take shape, companies are recognizing that Prominence is an ideal place to build their future. We're finalizing a full floor lease for Building 500, and actively working with prospective tenants for the entire 160,000-square-foot Building 200.”

Meanwhile, CNL expanded its presence in Jacksonville. The firm hired a Andrew Hawkins, a former partner of Transwestern in New York with 13 years of experience in commercial real estate. He will serve as senior vice president in the CNL Commercial Real Estate Jacksonville office. Hawkins is partnering with Brad Chrischilles and will be focusing on landlord and tenant advisory services.

Apparently, the commercial real estate activity in Jacksonville is turning lenders' heads. BankUnited, consistently ranked as one of the top regional banks in Florida and the nation, made its entrance into the Jacksonville market with the opening of a  commercial real estate and corporate lending office in Jacksonville's Central Business District.

BankUnited made its entrance into the Jacksonville market in April. The bank opened a commercial real estate and corporate lending office in the heart of Jacksonville's central business district. Thomas M. Cornish, state president of Florida for BankUnited, says, “During 2014, BankUnited's Florida division added $1.2 billion in new loan growth, and Jacksonville's strong, growing economy makes it an ideal market to expand our footprint throughout the state.”