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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: YOUR INSIGHT
THE MATHIS REPORT
Law firm moves aheadRecord with plans Daily to consolidate offices in suburbs Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
JACKSONVILLE
“We are proceeding. Even with COVID-19, we’re on track,” says Kevin Cross, managing partner of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman.
JACKSONVILLE
BY MAX MARBUT
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Undeterred by the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman is consolidating its Downtown and Ponte Vedra Beach offices and moving to the suburbs. The law firm plans to move in mid-June to Building 300 at 10151 Deerwood Park Blvd. “We are proceeding. Even with C OV I D -1 9, we’re on track,” said Kev i n Cross, managing partner. The firm has about 100 attorneys in Cross eight offices in the eastern U.S., including 12 attorneys in Jacksonville. Lippes Mathias entered the Northeast Florida market in 2017 when the Ponte Vedra Beach office opened with one attorney, partner in charge Christopher Walker. It merged in April 2019 with the Holbrook Akel firm and its offices Downtown at Wells Fargo Center. Moving to a suburban office park was a strategic and geographical decision. “It’s centrally located to better serve the firm’s clients who are Downtown and at the Beaches and
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
Sun-Ray reviewing Mandarin site lease Ash Properties submits engineering plans to renovate old Kmart into multitenant building.
Special to the Daily Record
Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman plans to move into a 14,000-square-foot space in Building 300 at 10151 Deerwood Park Blvd. The law firm is consolidating from offices Downtown and in Ponte Vedra Beach.
in St. Johns County,” Walker said. The 14,000-square-foot space is designed to allow the firm to expand by bringing more attorneys into the Jacksonville office, which has clients throughout the state. “That’s been our plan since we entered the market,” Cross Walker said. The space at Deerwood, which is under construction, has 23 offices, 15 workstations, five conference rooms, a large workroom, four breakout work areas, an IT room and a collaboration space for meetings and presentations. When the firm began designing
the space and the technical infrastructure for the office months ago, no one foresaw the global pandemic and its impact on business and society. Walker said Lippes Mathias has long been dedicated to working with the most up-to-date technology. The office is fully wired for teleconferencing and doing business digitally. “We’re a tech-savvy firm,” Walker said. Even before the pandemic, the firm’s clients were beginning to use more teleconferences instead of face-to-face meetings. “They like skipping the travel expense. I think it’s going to stay the norm,” Walker said. SEE LAW FIRM, PAGE 2
KEEPING CLOSE – FROM A DISTANCE On May 4, the state began a phased reopening of some busineses shut down to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The Daily Record is reporting on small local businesses as they confront the challenges of social distancing and financial hardships brought on by the pandemic and its aftermath.
Ash Properties submitted civil engineering plans with the city to convert the closed Kmart and garden center at 9600 San Jose Blvd. into a multitenant retail building. Sun-Ray Cinema remains a prospective tenant for a multiscreen theater. Co-owner Shana DavidMassett said May 5 the cinema is reviewing a proposed lease. “We are so grateful that over a year of negotiations is continuing fruitfully,” she said. She said a timeline is not clear. Co-owner Tim Massett said “this pandemic has interrupted things a bit.” “I’m sure the city’s process will help clarify that,” said Shana David-Massett. Sun-Ray Cinema, an independent two-screen theater in Five Points, announced Sept. 28 on its Facebook page it would expand with a five-screen theater in the Mandarin building. Jacksonville-based civil SEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
The Bread & Board launches online store The Bread & Board restaurant, based in Five Points with plans for Town Center and a marketplace at the Downtown VyStar campus, announced May 1 it launched an online store. The Bread & Board Provisions marketplace at order.thebreadandboard.com will sell the Jacksonville-based company’s in-house baked breads and meats served as sandwiches or sandwich boards as well as fresh and gourmet goods. The items are available for pickup or by delivery within a 5-mile radius of Bread & Board’s 1030 Oak St. location. Hours are 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
VOLUME 107, NO. 121 • EIGHT SECTIONS