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A 19-story office tower in Jacksonville that once served as JEA’s headquarters has changed hands for $1 million, far below prior valuations tied to the property. The tower, originally completed in 1963 at a construction cost of $100 million, was acquired by a group led by Live Oak Contracting. The buyers are taking on a building that will require significant upgrades but see an opportunity to reposition the asset with a new mix of uses.
According to the buyers’ plans, the property is slated for a comprehensive redevelopment into a mixed-use project. The proposed program includes 180 residential units, rooftop amenities, office space, and ground-floor retail and restaurant uses. The plan would shift the building from its historic role as a single-tenant corporate headquarters to a blend of residential, office, and street-activating commercial space.
The pricing reflects conditions that extended beyond standard appraised value. The Jacksonville Business Journal reported that an appraisal requested by JEA valued the tower at approximately $15 million, while the Duval County Property Appraiser assessed it at about $30 million. Those figures, however, did not capture the capital needed to modernize and reposition the aging structure.
Estimates for renovating the property are substantial, ranging from $65 million to $78 million. Those projected costs help explain why the ultimate sale price came in well below the earlier valuation figures, as any buyer must budget not only for acquisition but also for a major reinvestment in the building. The gap between appraisal values and transaction price underscores the financial impact of deferred capital expenditures on older office assets.
Carrying the property has also been expensive for JEA. Maintaining the building cost the utility $3.7 million across Fiscal Years 2023 through 2025. Those ongoing expenses, combined with the looming capital requirements for a full-scale renovation, framed the context for the disposition.
With its new ownership group and a mixed-use concept that introduces residential units and active ground-floor commercial space, the tower is positioned for a very different role in Jacksonville’s urban fabric. The transaction highlights how older office buildings with significant capital needs can trade at a steep discount to prior appraisals when substantial redevelopment work is required.
The post Live Oak Contracting Buys Former JEA Jacksonville Tower for $1M, Plans Mixed-Use Redevelopment appeared first on CRE Market Beat.
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