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CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: YOUR INSIGHT
THE MATHIS REPORT
‘Baptism by fire:’ NewRecord Ackerman COO Daily starts job at the beginning of crisis Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
JACKSONVILLE
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
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Vestcor to demolish bank for apartments
“It forced me to jump in,” Vicki Reich says.
BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
Ackerman Cancer Center COO Vicki Reich did not have a typical onboarding process her first day on the job March 9. She and the team at Ackerman Cancer Center were planning their response to COVID-19, figuring out how they could continue providing care to their patients safely. “Pretty much out of the gate,” Reich said. Before the end of her first week, Mayor Lenny Curry declared a state of emergency for Duval County and made more executive orders in the days that followed. “I’m disappointed it happened for any of us, I would have rathered it didn’t happen at all,” she said. “But it forced me to jump in. Not just start and get my toes wet, but dive in.” Reich came to Ackerman from Charlotte, North Carolina, where she served in leadership roles at Atrium Health. The majority of her time was spent working in radiation oncology. The facility put Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines into place and checks everyone’s temperature and screens them at the door, while implementing extra cleaning and sanitation and allowing one visitor per patient at a time. It involved constant communication among the team, she said. Reich said she wanted to make sure all employees had their voices heard and could offer their ideas about how to keep patients safe.
The Lofts at Murray Hill will comprise 117 units, with 91% set aside for residents meeting income guidelines.
Special to the Daily Record
Ackerman Cancer Center COO Vicki Reich started her job March 9. On March 13, Mayor Lenny Curry declared a local state of emergency because of COVID-19.
KEEPING CLOSE – FROM A DISTANCE On May 4, the state began a phased reopening of some businesses shut down to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The Daily Record is reporting on small businesses as they confront the challenges of social distancing and financial hardships brought on by the pandemic and its aftermath.
SEE REICH PAGE 2
Jacksonville-based Vestcor Inc. intends to demolish the former Bank of America office in August on Edgewood Avenue and start construction of the Lofts at Murray Hill apartments. Ryan Hoover, president of Vestcor’s TVC Development Inc., said May 14 he expects construction to be completed at year-end 2021. He estimates a total investment of almost $25 million. “We are still a year from starting to lease units,” he said. The 117-unit Lofts at Murray Hill will be developed at 840 Edgewood Ave. S. It will provide 11,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Hoover said it will include resident amenities that include a fitness center, game room, hospitality room, internet cafe and a four-row, 24-seat movie theater to show videos of residents’ choices at movie nights. The Lofts will comprise 17 studio, 58 one-bedroom and 42 two-bedroom units. SEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY The Jacksonville Daily Record will not be published Monday because of the Memorial Day holiday. It will resume publication Tuesday. VOLUME 107, NO. 133 • ONE SECTION