JULY 30 TO AUGUST 5, 2026 | JAXDAILYRECORD.COM
BUSINESS & LEGAL NEWS IN BAKER, CLAY, DUVAL, NASSAU AND ST. JOHNS COUNTIES
A TOWERING INFLUENCE
INSIDE
Built for the largest bank in Florida and as Jacksonville’s tallest high-rise, the original Barnett Center needs a new anchor as financial powerhouse Bank of America downsizes Downtown while investing in the suburbs.
THE MATHIS REPORT
Jaguars to launch ‘sales experience center’ PAGE 4
JAXPORT
Work to raise power lines near JaxPort’s Blount Island takes off PAGE 3
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Opened in 1990, the 42-story high-rise at Forsyth, Laura, Bay and Hogan streets is being marketed by Cushman & Wakefield as Jax Tower at 50 North.
BY KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR AT LARGE
W
hen Jacksonville’s tallest Downtown tower was built in 1990, the CEO leading the charge didn’t see a need to consider putting a name on top. Barnett Banks Inc. built the 42-floor, almost 730,000-square-foot structure that rises to its pointed pyramid obelisk at 50 N. Laura St. in the city’s core. “Charlie Rice said this is such an iconic building that it doesn’t need a name on it,”
said Bill Nicholson, who worked with Rice, the former chairman and CEO of Jacksonvillebased Barnett, which was Florida’s largest bank. “Naming rights were never as important as they Nicholson were on other buildings,” Nicholson said, noting that the names of other banks and financial centers Downtown might be visible on tower tops during Monday Night Football when the Jacksonville Jaguars
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play at EverBank Stadium. “Nobody said, ‘Hey, that’s the Bank of America building, it just doesn’t have a sign.’” Charles E. Rice Jr., known as Charlie, worked with Barnett for three decades Rice and led it from 1979 to 1998, when it was acquired by NationsBank, which then merged with Bank of America. SEE TOWER, PAGE 10
THE BASCH REPORT
Cracker Barrel once had high hopes for Maple Street The company hoped Maple Street would complement the main brand by serving a younger demographic. Maple Street grew to 70 restaurants in early 2025 before Cracker Barrel began closing restaurants. PAGE 6
CITY GOVERNMENT
City could offer up to $8M in incentives for Corner Lot hotel The development would include around 119 rooms, 300 parking spots and retail space. PAGE 14
LAW AND THE COURTS
Federal court seeks applicants for magistrate judge The deadline to apply for the seat in Jacksonville is Sept. 3. PAGE 12
VOLUME 113, NO. 38 | TWO SECTIONS | PUBLISHED SINCE 1912