FIS seeks conceptual design approval for $145 million headquarters in Brooklyn
Posted by Carlos Renteria on
Fidelity National Information Services Inc. is asking the Downtown Development Review Board to approve the conceptual design for its proposed $145 million world headquarters in Brooklyn.
Project architect Gensler submitted updated renderings and site information for the board to review at its Jan. 9 meeting.
Documents prepared by the DDRB show that FIS intends to build a 205-foot-tall, 12-story office tower at 323 Riverside Ave.
In addition to 1,603 parking spaces, plans call for 3,600 square feet of mixed-use office space in the development’s eight-story parking structure along Riverside Avenue.
DDRB staff recommends the board approve the conceptual design.
The development is on 5.71 acres. A majority of the headquarters will be built on a 4½-acre parking lot currently owned and used by insurer Florida Blue. Hines, a privately owned global real estate firm based in Houston, is the project’s development manager.
The DDRB will meet at 2 p.m. in the Lynwood Roberts Room at City Hall, 117 W. Duval St.
Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer said Dec. 18 she will file legislation with City Council to give FIS 16,971 square feet of surplus land from the Forest Street realignment in exchange for 130 public parking spaces in the parking garage.
A 21-foot-wide urban open space along the garage’s Forest Street side will have public seating, according to the DDRB summary, and other undetermined features. Gensler representatives call the space the “Garden Walk.”
The design also shows St. Johns River views and access corridors on Forest and Dora streets. Developers allowed for a 137-foot corridor on the Forest Street side of the project and a 46½-foot river access point on Dora Street.
Before FIS representatives return for final review, DDRB staff asked FIS and Gensler to provide a detailed landscaping plan as well as proposed dimensions for the building overhangs to ensure it meets the 40% pedestrian shading requirement in the city’s Downtown Design Zoning Overlay code.
Gensler and FIS also will have to show where public art will be placed in the urban open space. DDRB wants to see details for a proposed green wall on the parking garage.
FIS Chairman, President and CEO Gary Norcross and Gov Ron DeSantis announced the project Nov. 1. It will add the 300,000-square-foot headquarters Downtown and create 500 jobs.
FIS has been in Jacksonville for more than 15 years. Because of its $43 billion July 31 acquisition of Worldpay Inc., it needs more space.
FIS provides technology for financial institutions and Cincinnati-based Worldpay provides financial services. The combined company will have more than $12 billion in annual revenue and 55,000 employees worldwide in 40 countries. It has clients in 110 countries.
As part of a $29.9 million incentives deal with the city and state, Fortune 500 company FIS will retain its 1,216 Jacksonville employees. Norcross said its three Jacksonville facilities will be consolidated into the new headquarters, expected to be completed in June 2022.
By: Mike Mendenhall
From: Jaxdailyrecord