Daily Record Financial News &
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 108 • Three Sections
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
A century old and still going
Jacksonville International Airport
Perdue’s success began with trash can
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
Pec an Par k Roa d
A ir p o r t
Site of proposed distribution center
Du va l Ro ad
This story begins in 1914, when Steelcase Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich., was granted a U.S. patent for a low-cost, durable, fireproof wastebasket. At the time, it was an innovation. Eventually, the company started manufacturing a full line of office furniture. Chapter 2 came two years later, when R.W. Perdue founded a machinery and equipment company Downtown along Laura Street. Also in 1916, F.W. Woolworth Co. opened a “dime store” at the corner of Forsyth and Main streets. The latest chapter was capped Tuesday evening, when Perdue Office Interiors was recognized for the 100th anniversary of the company. Perdue President Vince McCormack said the company’s history from a century ago wasn’t really recorded. But it’s not outside the realm of possibility that R.W. Perdue was so impressed with the revolutionary trash can that he added some office furniture to his product line. McCormack started working at Perdue in 1986, part-time in the warehouse while he was in college. It became a full-time job and he began working his way up the company ladder. Perdue continued on Page A-5
Road
I-95
I-295
‘ We could really use this ’TV crime What $200M ‘Project Rex’ could do for North Jacksonville neighborhoods
By David Chapman and Karen Brune Mathis Staff Writers Project Rex is the kind of project North Jacksonville desperately craves. It’s an area close to some of the highest pockets of unemployment in the city. It also offers room to grow for industrial, retail and residential prospects. In exchange for more than $18 million of incentives, Project Rex’s 1,500 jobs and $200 million private investment for a fulfillment center — with specifications like those of Amazon.com Inc. — would be good for any part of town. But North Jacksonville might need it more than other areas like Southside or Downtown. “We could really use this,” said City Council member Reggie Gaffney, whose district includes the project Gaffney site that stretches along Interstate 295 at Pecan Park and Duval roads. “We desperately need jobs in that area.” Census tracts showing high unemployment rates bear that out. Within 15 miles south are large swaths of neighborhoods where unemployment rates are greater than 15 percent. The Jacksonville metropolitan unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent in February, an
Public
eight-year low, according to state records. Of the potential 1,500 new jobs, 500 would qualify for state incentives because of their high wages that average $50,000. The remaining 1,000 would be lower-paying jobs that could immediately help those seeking employment requiring fewer qualifications. Areas of the Westside, Northwest Jacksonville and beyond could reach the facility via bus in a relatively short amount of time. Plus, there have been discussions about the Jacksonville Transportation Authority possibly setting up dedicated lines for the employer, should the deal pan out. “It’s a big distribution center with entrylevel jobs,” said council member Bill Gulliford. “I really like that.” Gaffney’s support came with mixed feelings. When he was approached by city economic development officials over a month ago, they pitched using millions from the Jacksonville International Airport Community Redevelopment Area. Gaffney already had shown support for a number of lighting and sidewalk projects throughout the area, along streets like Biscayne Boulevard and Harts and Armsdale roads. In the battle of blight versus jobs, employment won him over. “It just made sense,” he said. It would make a lot of sense for real estate in the area, too. Whenever a developer turns 171 acres of Project continued on Page A-4
legal notices begin on page
B-1
reporter’s soft heart
By Carole Hawkins Staff Writer
Could it be Amazon.com?
The project summary for the Jacksonville proposal says the unnamed company has more than 20 years’ experience in the retail and e-commerce markets. Amazon opened online in 1995. The project summary also says the company employs more than 200,000 people worldwide. Amazon has 230,800 employees, according to its latest Securities and Exchange Commission annual report. Seefried Industrial Properties of Atlanta is identified in documents for the Jacksonville project. Seefried has developed 1-million-square-foot centers for Amazon.com in Richmond, Va., and Nashville, above.
Published
for
It was a good day for Vic Micolucci. An email had just gone out to the newsroom announcing the 28-year-old who’s covered tough crime cases from Lonzie Barton to Jordan Davis will become WJXT TV-4’s newest morning anchor. He wasn’t nervous about it, he said. He’s subbed in the position many times. And truthfully, he’s auditioned for anchor before. He’s not sure why he got the job this time. Micolucci shouldered his colleagues’ praise — “Hey, congratulations” and “We love this guy” Micolucci — with enough grace to make Miss America envious. He was “grateful and excited.” It was “just hard, hard, hard work, building my sources and getting out into the community.” He redirected attention back to his colleagues in the newsroom. Introduced them to his visitor. Talked up their good work.
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Workspace
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consecutive weekdays