The renovation and rehabilitation of the former Independent Life building received conceptual approval Thursday from the Downtown Development Review Board.
St. Augustine-based Augustine Development Group bought the 19-story former Independent Life and Accident Insurance Co. home office building at 233 W. Duval St. Downtown in early October for $3.7 million, according to WJCT News partner the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Bryan Greiner, president of Augustine Group, said Oct. 10 that his group plans to invest about $28 million into the 64-year-old, 180,000-square-foot building.
Plans presented Thursday by Dasher Hurst Architects include 140 market-rate apartments on the second through 18th floors, a grocery store on the 21,000-square-foot ground floor and in the basement, and a rooftop terrace with a pool, a lounge and a sushi and seafood restaurant on the top floor.
The restaurant and grocery store will be leased to a private operator. Downtown Investment Authority Redevelopment Coordinator Lori Radcliffe-Meyers said Thursday the site also will have 41 surface parking spaces.
KBJ Architects designed the building, which was completed in 1955. Independent Life relocated its offices in 1975 to what is now Wells Fargo Center, and the Jacksonville Electric Authority acquired the Duval Street building in 1976.
JEA moved from the building in the 1990s.
An expanded version of this story that includes two additional rendering views, a map and a potential renovation timeline is at JaxDailyRecord.com.
