Jacksonville Business Journal - July 16, 2007.
So. Florida developer plans $45M office condo campus.
by: Christian Conte
Staff Writer
SOUTHSIDE -- A South Florida commercial developer is venturing north to Jacksonville to build a $45 million office condominium campus.
Weston-based Global Group Investment Inc. plans to break ground in August on Gateway Professional Campus, at Gate Parkway and Burnt Mill Road.
The 15.5-acre site will include nearly 180,000 square feet of space divided into eight, two-story buildings that will start at $235 per square foot for first-floor units and $240 per square foot for second-floor units.
Commercial Jacksonville, a Cushman & Wakefield alliance company, represented Global Group Investment in its acquisition of the land and will sell the units, which range from 1,200 square feet to 23,732 square feet.
"This project has perfect timing," said Commercial Jacksonville Associate Director Chris Gremley. "Jacksonville has a 12 percent vacancy rate right now, rental rates are increasing, and with interest rates reasonably low, there's probably not going to be a better time to buy than now."
Gateway Professional Campus is one of six projects Global Group Investment is developing. The others are in Boca Raton, Wellington, Sarasota, Tampa Bay and
Windermere. Since it was established in 1997, Global Group Investment has developed nine commercial office condo projects that are marketed toward medical professions, attorneys and other office professionals, and one retail project, with funding from private foreign and domestic investors.
Gremley approached the developer with the idea of building in Jacksonville. It took more than a year to choose a site and prepare it for the project.
Commercial Jacksonville CEO Chuck White said it is a centralized location. "It's got everything: easy access to the interstate, and it's bordered by upscale residences for people who want to live and work in Jacksonville."
Jacksonville-based England-Thims & Miller Inc. will engineer the project, Hunton Brady Architects PA in Orlando is the architect and Rieker & Associates Inc. in Orlando is the contractor. The project is expected to be done in May 2008.
Global Group Investments Managing Partner Chip Dinneen said the company is considering the possibility of future developments in Northeast Florida. "We'll certainly do multiple locations, as long as the market demands it."
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