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Jacksonville a top 10 city for affordable retirement
February 7-13, 2019
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JACKSONVILLE
Record & Observer COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT JACKSONVILLE
Field for new FSCJ president down to 12
Record & Observer CONTINUED CONFIDENCE Record & Observer The search committee will next narrow list to 8-10 for interviews.
JACKSONVILLE
BY SCOTT SAILER
E-commerce expansion
JACKSONVILLE
Fulfillment centers, like the two operated by Amazon.com, are helping drive economic growth in Jacksonville.
EDITORIAL RESEARCH DIRECTOR
What experts are saying OFFICE MARKET
Florida State College at Jacksonville’s presidential search committee narrowed the list of candidates to 13 on Wednesday. FSCJ spokeswoman Jill Johnson said one candidate withdrew Wednesday afternoon. The 16-member FSCJ Presidential Search Committee contracted with Washington, D.C.based AGB Search firm to narrow the 74 applications that were submitted by Jan. 31. The search committee will contact references and narrow the list to eight-10 semifinalists by Feb. 20. Those candidates will be scheduled to visit Jacksonville on March 18-19. The finalist interviews and selection will be determined April 1-10, according to the search committee timeline. The campus will host those candidates. Then, the search committee will present a list of candidates, unranked, to the board of trustees, which is scheduled to meet April 9. The position came open May 31 with the retirement of former President Cynthia Bioteau. Lawyer Kevin Hyde, a partner with Foley & Lardner, serves as the interim president but did not apply for the permanent position. He said he will stay on for the transition. The 12 finalists include candidates from seven states, with five from Florida.
Record & Observer “2018 was a transformational year for Jacksonville. The office sector has grown in a careful and calculated fashion and the limited new speculative construction introduced has been met with enthusiasm.” Avison Young MULTIFAMILY MARKET City of Jacksonville photo
Developer, broker reports show strong market. BY KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
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acksonville’s job and population growth and low unemployment rate are keeping commercial and multifamily real estate developers and brokers busy. The area’s major commercial brokerage firms reported fourth-quarter conditions that indicate 2019 likely will be more of the same. CBRE reported that job, population growth and business expansion “will continue to increase demand” for office and warehouse space. Factors include the growth in e-com-
merce centers, such as Amazon.com’s two fulfillment centers and one being built for Wayfair Inc.; manufacturing like JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd.’s solar-panel plant; technology startups; health care-related businesses; and the apartments and retail space being built to serve the growing population. In its opening comments, NAI Hallmark reported that while there is some slower movement, the Jacksonville market continued trending upward. “We expect to see some fluidity in the early months of 2019; however consumers and business owners in Northeast Florida are optimistic for the year,” it stated.
“The 2019 pipeline is poised for a recordsetting year. Factors such as strong population growth, employment growth, and rising median income levels continue to drive demand.” Colliers International INDUSTRIAL MARKET “Healthy market activity created positive momentum during the year, dropping the overall vacancy rate to a historic low of 2.3%.” Cushman & Wakefield
MORE FROM THE MARKET REPORTS, PAGE 8
Mathis Report: 5.11 Tactical store at Town Center in review PAGE 4 The Cawton Report: Gov. DeSantis keeps incentives in budget PAGE 7 OBSERVER MEDIA GROUP
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THE MARBUT REPORT
Florida Coastal seeks nonprofit status School may add college partner. PAGE 16 VOLUME 1, NO. 36 • ONE SECTION