WEDNESDAY August 25, 2021
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Demolition contractor wants to implode Berkman Plaza II
THE MATHIS REPORT
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Pece of Mind Environmental says it expects to file an amended permit application with the city this week.
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
Implosion is now the safest way to demolish the Berkman Plaza II, the contractor tearing down the 18-story structure said Aug. 23. Pece of Mind Environmental Inc. President Steve Pece said his team plans to file an amended permit application with the city by Aug. 27 to implode the unfinished 14-year-old building at 500 E. Bay St. Structural concerns found Aug. 19 halted demolition work. The city temporarily closed a section of Bay Street and the Northbank Riverwalk around the Berkman II on Aug. 20 until the area was deemed safe. “At this point, based upon our experience and the recommendation of our structural engineer, the safest way to finish the demolition will be to implode it,” Pece said. Pece of Mind is drafting the implosion procedure for the Berkman and safety plans for the surrounding structures. Pece said it will take three to four weeks to prepare the Berkman II for implosion after the city approves the amended permit. It will take about two months to remove the rubble and the work should be finished by the end of the year, he said. Jacksonville Riverfront Revitalization LLC paid $5.503 million for the property April 21 through PB Riverfront Revitalization of Jacksonville LLC from former owner 500 East Bay LLC and intends to redevelop the site. SEE BERKMAN, PAGE 2
JACKSONVILLE
Special to the Daily Record
Crews work to stabilize the Berkman II over the weekend. The demolition contractor was using a high-reach excavator with a boom arm to take down the building at 500 E. Bay St. Downtown. Pece of Mind Environmental Inc. now wants to implode the building.
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
Home Depot to open delivery center in NW Jacksonville The Home Depot wants to open a delivery center in Northwest Jacksonville after it builds-out the facility in Perimeter West Industrial Park at northeast Interstate 295 and Pritchard Road. Plans call it The Home Depot MDO Facility, for market delivery operations. A spokesperson for Atlantabased The Home Depot said the center “is part of our strategic investment in our supply chain network to offer same day/ next day delivery to 90% of the United States.” The statement said the home improvement retailer is not sharing further details for now. The city is reviewing a permit application for FCL Builders Inc. to build-out 66,990 square feet of space for the facility at 4345 Perimeter Industrial Parkway Plans show a $1.67 million construction cost. Nelco Architecture Inc. of Alpharetta, Georgia, is the architect. FCL Builders is in Itasca, Illinois. The space is in a 155,820-square-foot building that Atlanta-based Rooker developed in 2019. Plans show the remaining almost 90,000 square feet of space is available for lease, represented by the JLL commercial brokerage.
KMATHIS@JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
Jacksonville area unemployment drops to 4.5% Jacksonville’s unemployment rate fell in July with two local counties having some of the lowest jobless rates in the state. The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area fell from 5% in June to 4.5% in July, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity reported Aug. 20. Duval County’s rate fell from 5.4% to 4.9% last month, but the other four counties in the metro area had lower rates. St. Johns County fell by 0.4 percentage points to 3.6%, giving it the second-lowest jobless rate among Florida’s 67 counties. Nassau County, which fell by 0.5 points to 4.0%, was the fourth lowest. Clay County fell by 0.4 points to 4.2% and Baker County fell by 0.3 points to 4.7%. The payroll count jumped by 35,300 to 727,200, still below the pre-pandemic level of 732,000.
VOLUME 108, NO. 198 • ONE SECTION