FRIDAY July 16, 2021
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Berkman II demolition begins Daily Record
Chief city attorney Jason Gabriel is resigning He is taking at job in the Jacksonville office of law firm Burr & Forman.
THE FIRST CHUNK
Demolition crews used an excavator July 15 to remove the first piece of the unfinished Berkman Plaza II tower Downtown at 500 E. Bay St. It took about 10-15 minutes to remove the piece.
Following delays, a high-reach excavator will take down the building JACKSONVILLE one piece at a time.
Daily Record Daily Record
BY MIKE MENDENHALL & MAX MARBUT STAFF WRITERS
JACKSONVILLE
Jason Gabriel is resigning as the city of Jacksonville’s chief general counsel for a job with the national law firm Burr & Forman. In his resignation letter to Mayor Lenny Curry on July 6, Gabriel said his last day will be Aug. 7 and that he has accepted a private sector position. Gabriel said in an email July 14 that he will work in Burr & Forman’s Jacksonville office. Gabriel said the Gabriel firm has a “big footprint” in the Southeastern U.S. According to its website, Burr & Forman has 19 offices and employs 350 attorneys with a focus on business law in financial, health care and manufacturing areas. “This was an excellent opportunity at an excellent firm in the private sector (that) came up that I could not pass up,” Gabriel said. The Florida Times-Union first reported Gabriel’s resignation July 13. Deputy General Counsel Jason Teal will lead the city Office of General Counsel until Curry names Gabriel’s replacement, according to city Director of Public Affairs Nikki Kimbleton. The city charter requires the mayor to convene a selection panel after Gabriel’s last day to seek candidates and recommend a hire. Gabriel’s salary is $229,325 per year. SEE GABRIEL, PAGE 2
BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
JACKSONVILLE
Photos by Katie Garwood
The first piece of the unfinished Berkman Plaza II structure came down July 15, the initial step in a demolition process that’s expected to take three to four months. Jacksonville Riverfront Revitalization LLC co-managing member Park Beeler said in the next few days, demolition crews will inspect the high-reach excavator before resuming demolition next week on the 500 E. Bay St. structure. Mechanical issues with the machinery delayed the demolition on July 9. Pece of Mind Environmental Inc., the demolition contractor, needed replacement parts for the excavator. Demolition crews have been clearing and preparing the site for demolition for the past two months. Debris will be removed from the site throughout the demolition process, Beeler said. Although the traditional method of demolition will take longer than an implosion, District 7 City Council member Reggie Gaffney said it is the safest method. The building has been vacant since 2007, following the collapse of a parking garage that killed one and injured others. “One of the things the administration and myself wanted to make sure didn’t happen was that no more accidents happen here,” he said in a news conference at the site. “This is why the process is taking so long and going so slow.” Gaffney said seeing the building come down is “the first step SEE BERKMAN, PAGE 2
Dun & Bradstreet paid $76.5M for Town Center Two Dun & Bradstreet Inc. paid $76.5 million on June 30 for Town Center Two, its new global headquarters office in Jacksonville. The company announced the purchase June 30 but did not disclose the price. The deed was recorded July 15 with the Duval County Clerk of Courts. The 218,700-square-foot building is on 14.38 acres at 5335 Gate Parkway across Butler Boulevard from St. Johns Town Center. Dun & Bradstreet bought the property from Jacksonville Town Center 2 Propco LLC, part of TPG Real Estate of San Francisco.
VOLUME 108, NO. 170 • ONE SECTION