Ryan Cos. Begins JEA Headquarters Project

JEA Headquarters. Image courtesy of Ryan Cos.

Ryan Cos. has broken ground on JEA’s new headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla. The 153,000-square-foot project kicked off via a virtual groundbreaking ceremony involving representatives from the developer as well as from JEA, local government and CBRE.

Wells Fargo is providing nearly $63 million to finance the project, set to deliver in early 2022, according to Yardi Matrix. JEA will lease the building at 225 Pearl St. N. for a 15-year period upon completion.

JEA has operated out of its current, 433,000-square-foot headquarters five blocks away at 21 W. Church St. for more than three decades. “This is a long time coming,” said Paul McElroy, interim CEO & managing director of JEA, during the ceremony. “(Our current building has) finally reached the end of its life at this point in time as we know it.”

The new building will rise seven stories on the 1.9-acre project site in the heart of downtown, one block east of the Duval County Courthouse. The development is within half a mile of 6.2 million square feet of office space, Yardi Matrix shows.

The project, designed by Ryan Architecture + Engineering, is targeting LEED Gold certification upon completion. The structure will include an attached, 640-stall parking garage and street-level retail space. JEA will operate a customer experience center within the property, anticipating approximately 3,000 monthly visitors.