JEA Board of Directors Votes Ryan Companies US, Inc. to Enter into Final Negotiations for New HQ

2019-04-02

JEA Board of Directors Votes Ryan Companies US, Inc. to Enter into Final Negotiations for New HQ

Board Will Vote on Final Lease After Outstanding Issues Resolved

Jacksonville, FL (April 2, 2019) – Today, JEA’s Board of Directors selected 325 West Adams Street as the site for JEA’s procurement team and third-party advisers to negotiate final terms with Ryan Companies US, Inc. to develop JEA’s new headquarters.

This selection comes after a six-month, comprehensive, qualitative and quantitative evaluation in which JEA’s procurement team worked in close partnership with CBRE, a full-service real estate services firm, and the largest company of its kind in the world. The overall purpose of the development of the new headquarters is to enhance JEA’s business continuity and to improve organizational effectiveness, resulting in business strategies and daily operations that will ultimately better serve the customers and employees of JEA.

“Throughout the entire headquarters identification process, our goal was to find the best value for JEA, its employees, its customers and the community,” said Alan Howard, JEA’s Board Chairman. “I’m proud of the organized manner in which we evaluated each location’s merit using JEA’s customer, financial, community and environmental value measures as our guide. This is a transformational opportunity for JEA and the Jacksonville community it serves. The Board looks forward to reviewing the final negotiated lease.”

In the past 10 years, JEA has spent more than $8 million to maintain its 52-year-old downtown headquarters. As the 10th largest community-owned utility in the U.S. and the largest in Florida, a modern corporate facility is critical for JEA to realize its mission to provide the best service by becoming the center of its customers’ energy and water experience.

In October 2018, on behalf of JEA, CBRE released an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) inviting interested parties to submit responses for the relocation of JEA’s corporate headquarters.

The process continued as follows:

• January 8, 2019: Responses to solicitation were received.
• January 22, 2019, JEA Board Meeting: Announcement of short-listed three firms that, after preliminary evaluation through JEA’s procurement process, best met the criteria to move forward as a potential new headquarters development site.
• February 5, 2019, JEA Special Board Meeting: Representatives from short-listed firms presented site locations and building concepts.
• March 11, 2019: After continued negotiations, short-listed firms submitted their Best and Final Offers:
  • Lot J, Bay Street - Jacksonville 1-C Parcel One Holding Company
  • Kings Avenue Station - Kings Avenue Station P3, LLC
  • 325 West Adams Street - Ryan Companies US, Inc.

“With the conclusion of this very deliberate and meticulous process of selecting a site and potential development partner for JEA’s new downtown headquarters, we will continue to look to provide a new headquarters for JEA that will save our customers several million dollars compared to the status quo of remaining in the existing building.  Additionally, it will provide a stable base of operations for JEA employees while allowing us to focus 100% on serving our customers. The JEA Board vote reflects the company’s commitment to driving all four (4) of JEA’s Corporate Measures of Value – Customer Value, Financial Value, Environmental Value and Community Impact Value,” said Aaron Zahn, JEA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

Based on the specific criteria set forth in the ITN and highest number of points accumulated on the final score sheet, Ryan Company’s 325 W. Adams Street site was chosen as the location to move forward into the final negotiations stage. JEA has been long dedicated to the economic development of Jacksonville’s urban core. This move to a site deeper within the city’s civic core, as well as its close proximity to public transportation further highlights JEA’s commitment to the growth of downtown and its customers. The Ryan Company’s proposal and site also offers the shortest turnaround time from design to occupancy allowing JEA employees to move into its new headquarters and transformative space.

About JEA: JEA is the largest municipal electric utility in Florida and one of the largest water and sewer utilities in the nation providing electric, water and sewer service to residents and businesses in northeast Florida. 

About CBRE Group, Inc.:  CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE: CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2018 revenue). The company has more than 90,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through approximately 480 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. www.cbre.com.

About Ryan Companies US, Inc.:  Operating since 1938, Ryan Companies US, Inc. is a national leader in commercial real estate. Ryan has built a national reputation for large-scale and sophisticated mixed-use developments and both large and small corporate built-to-suit projects.

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