Downtown is home to Jacksonville’s tallest buildings, three Fortune 500 Companies, nearly 8 million square feet of commercial office space, more than 2 million square feet of government buildings and a robust collection of historic and mid-century architecture. In the past year, FIS (fintech) and JEA (electric authority) both opened new headquarters in Downtown.
Commercial lease rates are holding steady while vacancy rates are driven by larger-than-normal swings in occupancy as many firms opted for increased flexibility and a couple of large Downtown tenants put space on the market in the past year. To incentivize use of Downtown’s commercial building stock, the DIA offers a Commercial Revitalization Program to provide funds to tenants for new leases involving existing office space as a way to offset parking costs, while the City provides Business Infrastructure Grants/Loans to attract economic development by providing access to capital for infrastructure improvements to commercial businesses that increase the tax base.
