FRIDAY August 13, 2021
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
DEVELOPMENT
‘We invested time and energy in Daily Record putting forward a best-in-class design’ JACKSONVILLE
Photo by Monty Zickuhr
Demolition crews were continuing to take down the Berkman Plaza II at 500 E. Bay St. on Aug. 11
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JACKSONVILLE
Berkman II bought for $5.5M on April 21
The unfinished 18-story Downtown building is being demolished to clear the property for development.
BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
Dasher Hurst Architects, features fabric sails, VyStar’s branded blue uplighting and 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The credit union bought the nearby 23-story VyStar Tower at 76 S. Laura St. in July 2018 for $59 million. It acquired an adjacent parking garage and is renovating a seven-story building it bought next door at 100 W. Bay St. with three restaurant concepts by The Bread and Board. Project contractor Danis expects the garage construction to be completed in 12 months.
The group demolishing the unfinished Berkman Plaza II Downtown paid $5.503 million for the property April 21, according to a deed recorded Aug. 11 by the Duval County Clerk of Courts. The buyer was PB Riverfront Revitalization of Jacksonville LLC, a company controlled by developer Jacksonville Riverfront Revitalization LLC. The seller was 500 East Bay LLC, according to Park Beeler, co-manager of Jacksonville Riverfront Revitalization. The 18-story Berkman II was planned as a riverfront condominium at 500 E. Bay St. Work stopped on the structure in 2007 when a parking garage next door collapsed, killing one construction worker and injuring several others. Beeler announced in April that his group purchased the Berkman for about $5.6 million with plans
SEE VYSTAR, PAGE 2
SEE BERKMAN, PAGE 2
Photo by Mike Mendenhall
VyStar Credit Union President and CEO Brian Wolfburg speaks at the groundbreaking Aug. 11 for the seven-story parking garage at 28 W. Forsyth St. Downtown. The project is expected to take a year to complete.
VyStar Credit Union breaks ground on its $22 million, seven-story, 807-space Downtown parking garage with 12,000 square feet of retail space. BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
When VyStar Credit Union decided to build and own an estimated $22 million, seven-story parking garage to support its
growing Downtown corporate campus, CEO Brian Wolfburg said the organization “didn’t want to build just any parking garage.” “Downtown Jacksonville is our home and we know investing in the infrastructure of Jacksonville will help it to prosper, will help it to grow,” Wolfburg said. “We invested time and energy in putting forward a best-in-class design.” Wolfburg and VyStar board members were joined Aug. 11 by city and JAX Chamber officials at a groundbreaking ceremony for the 807-space structure at 28 W. Forsyth St. The garage, which was designed by
Earth Fare returning Aug. 18 to St. Johns County Earth Fare scheduled a grand opening for 8 a.m. Aug. 18 in St. Johns County, returning to the Northeast Florida market after closing its three area grocery stores in February 2020. The natural, specialty and organic grocer will open at the Shoppes of St. Johns Parkway at 120 Shops Blvd. at County Road 210 West and St. Johns Parkway. The ribbon-cutting is 7:45 a.m., followed by specials and events. Grand-opening weekend is Aug. 20-22. The store opened in October 2019 and closed in February 2020, along with the rest of the chain, when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
VOLUME 108, NO. 190 • ONE SECTION