Ryan Cos. Tops Out JEA Headquarters Project

JEA Headquarters. Image courtesy of Ryan Cos.

Less than a year after breaking ground on JEA’s new headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., Ryan Cos. has laid the final beam for the 153,000-square-foot office building. The project, which also landed a $62.9 million construction loan from Wells Fargo in July 2020, is expected to complete construction in the second quarter of 2022.

Located at 225 Pearl St., the seven-story office is a build-to-suit project for JEA, the area’s not-for-profit utility company that will lease the space for an initial term of 15 years. Apart from the Class A office space, the building will include 9,325 square feet of street-level retail and a seven-story parking garage that can accommodate 630 spaces. The utility company is also planning to operate a customer experience center out of the new headquarters.

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Ryan Cos.’ design of the office building drew inspiration from the area’s bridges and industrial history and features large windows and open floorplans that are meant to promote collaborative meeting spaces. The new headquarters was also designed to achieve LEED Gold certification and WELL Building standards.

New Downtown Home

Ryan Cos. served as the developer, architect of record and builder for JEA’s new headquarters, Scott Stenman, vice president of construction at Ryan Cos., told Commercial Property Executive. The company used its in-house capital markets team to finance the project and will use its real estate management team to manage the office building when it’s complete.

JEA will be moving out of its previous headquarters located nearby at 21 W. Church St., which the company has said will be marketed for sale and possible redevelopment. According to JEA, the company has been planning for a new corporate headquarters for several years to address business continuity but wanted to have a project that met its headquarters needs in a cost-effective manner.