Danis Construction has begun preparing the 5,400-square-feet space on the first floor of downtown's Barnett building that will become a Chase Bank branch. The contractor is now prepping floors so construction can begin in January, project manager Brian Tellier told the Business Journal. Construction is expected to take six to eight months at an expected cost of $1.5 million. Chase will also join the skyline with a sign atop the Barnett building, which has been renovated for $53 million. The Barnett…

Ravella at Town Center, a 306-unit apartment community built last year, has sold for $67.4 million, a Jacksonville record. Its per-unit price, about $220,000 is also a record. Missouri-based The Michelson Group purchased the property at 4674 Town Center Parkway, its first acquisition in Florida. The property was sold and developed by Texas-based Stanmore Partners. Walker & Dunlop's Brian Moulder and Dhaval Patel brokered the sale. The sale continues a strong 2019 for the Jacksonville market. The…

Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United Airlines since 2015, is leaving the position in May and will be replaced by J. Scott Kirby, currently president at United. Munoz will transition to the role of executive chairman of the board of directors of United Airlines Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: UAL), the airline's Chicago-based parent company. The company announced the moves on Thursday morning. "With United in a stronger position than ever, now is the right time to begin the process of passing the…

First Baptist Church has hired CBRE's Cliff Taylor, Joe Ayers and Oliver Barakat to broker the sale of 11.3 acres of contiguous property it owns downtown. The First Baptist property comprises six city blocks and houses three parking garages. The church's total downtown holdings have an estimated market value of more than $53 million, according to the Duval County Property Appraiser; the church is keeping 182,000 square feet of the 1.5 million square feet it owns. The church announced in September…

Each year, the Jacksonville Business Journal selects the individual whose business activities have had the greatest impact on the First Coast. This year, we'd like your help in doing so. In the attached poll, pick the individual who most shaped 2019 locally — for good or bad.

It’s dubbed a “jungle” primary system. And the Florida Republican and Democratic parties want no part of it. Now, the Florida Supreme Court will decide whether a proposed constitutional amendment that would overhaul the state’s primary-election system will go before voters in November 2020. Justices heard arguments Tuesday about the proposed amendment, which would allow registered voters to cast ballots in primary elections regardless of party affiliation. The two candidates getting the…

The new Nassau County medical office, at will open Dec. 6, and start accepting patients then. The UF Health office will offer comprehensive health services, including urgent care, family medicine, imaging, lab services, obstetric and gynecology, pediatrics and psychiatry. Dentistry will also become available in early January. The building is 40,000 square feet of office and medical space. The office is using a patient-centered model focused on prevention and early diagnosis. The facility is…

Patriot Transportation acquired Danfair Transport, a Georgia-based trucking company, in November. "We are very excited about this acquisition as it fits nicely into one of the most stable market areas in our network and provides an opportunity to grow with some new customers in other markets we serve," Patriot Transportation said in a financial statement released Wednesday. Danfair has a total revenue of $2 million in 2018, compared to roughly $108 million in total revenues for Patriot in 2019,…

Jacksonville's bike share program is in the wind. Despite approving the program and identifying a bike share partner, VeoRide Inc., in February, Downtown is no closer to seeing a program. The service was expected to launch in March, if all negotiations went well. The Jacksonville Transportation Authority received requests for proposals from five companies, including Lime, Inc. and created a short list of three before finally landing on VeoRide. "As far as I know, the city is still reviewing…

Jacksonville saw 11 commercial real estate sales of at least $1 million close since Nov. 22, with sales totaling about $48.3 million. Investment came from California, Texas, Ohio and Florida. Lighthouse Jax LLC, an affiliate of California-based The Lighthouse Group, purchased the Beauclerc Bay Apartments at 9047 San Jose Blvd for $9.3 million on Dec. 2. The property was previously purchased in April for $6.8 million. Texas-based 5821 San Juan Avenue LLC purchased 5821 San Juan Avenue for $7.8 million…

The man was struck and killed at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Ellis Road.

City Councilmen Rory Diamond and Ron Salem wrote a letter to JEA CEO Aaron Zahn on Thursday, informing him that the bonus plan appeared to be an "attempt to enrich JEA employees and executives" at the expense of ratepayers that has evoked outrage among the council.

The Navy’s new USS John F. Kennedy is being christened Saturday.

Neptune Beach police have a program to foil porch pirates — have that holiday package delivered to its headquarters, then pick it up there.

KYIV, Ukraine — President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was in Ukraine on Thursday, reviving the efforts that landed him and Trump in the impeachment inquiry now roiling Washington.The inquiry was triggered by a July 25 phone call in which Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son and also a discredited conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. Trump denies [...]

We surveyed the City of Jacksonville and staffs of its independent authorities and constitutional officers to determine the highest paid public employees in consolidated government. These are the top 20. None of the elected executives were its top earners, but we included their salaries at the end of the list.

A Wednesday afternoon shooting at West 15 and Barnett streets left one man dead and a woman seriously injured, police said. The couple had been engaged exactly four week’s earlier.

BOSTON — Members of the family that own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma say they will push to reverse Tufts University's decision to strip their name from campus facilities and programs.Daniel Connolly, an attorney for several members of the Sackler family, issued a statement Thursday saying the school's decision is based on "unproven allegations about the Sackler family and Purdue.""We will be seeking to have this improper decision reversed and are currently [...]

NEW HAMPTON, Iowa — John Kerry, the former secretary of state and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, endorsed Joe Biden for president on Thursday, buoying the former vice president's argument that his international experience should be a deciding factor for voters in 2020."I've never before seen the world more in need of someone who on day one can begin the incredibly hard work of putting back together the world Donald Trump has smashed apart," Kerry said in a statement. [...]

Despite a judge telling school board members there’d be news last month, all things half-cent sales tax-related seem quiet, meaning voters likely won’t see the referendum on ballots until next November.

A 20-year-old woman is behind bars on multiple DUI charges after an investigation into a May 17 crash on I-95 led to her arrest, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Welcome to Florida Time, a weekly column about Florida history: from the Fountain of Youth and Walt Disney to the Miami Riots, the extent of Jim Crow, the mermaid at Weeki Wachee Springs, the moon landing and more. This week, we discuss Civil War forts.

WASHINGTON — Four Border Patrol agents didn't follow department rules when they opened fire in two separate incidents along the U.S.-Mexico Border, both involving agents shooting at drivers who were trying to speed away, a review board has found.The two cases were among seven shooting incidents reviewed by the National Use of Force Review Board. Most of the agents in the seven cases were found to be compliant with the border agency's use of force policy, according to case [...]

The grants are to help individual artists “emerge to the next level of their artistic careers,” according to the The Community Foundation of Northeast Florida.

A student has the right to use the bathroom that corresponds to his gender identity, a lawyer told a federal court Thursday, arguing that the issue is about the right of transgender students to "equal dignity."

At the nonprofit Children’s Christmas Party of Jacksonville and the J.P. Hall Children’s Charities Christmas Party in Clay County, volunteers distribute donated toys, bicycles and other gifts to children who might otherwise not receive any holiday cheer.

Here's a roundup of recent Jacksonville building permits and property transactions.

This is not a joke: JEA executives are using an odd and secret term to discuss the sale process.

Joanne Rogers, wife of Fred Rogers of PBS fame, was born in Jacksonville. A Call Box reader wants to know more about her life here.

A Call Box reader wants to know how to make the old-fashioned chocolate fudge that appeared on the Hershey’s cocoa tin cans decades ago.