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Northeast Florida Roundup
Jax NAP adds Seaborn Networks as one of its 130+ tenants
SPOTLIGHT
Direct Access
Jax NAP, a telecommunications carrier facility in Jacksonville, has added Seaborn Networks — which makes undersea fiber-optic cable systems — as one of its more than 130 tenants.
“It’s really adding a big utility from continent to continent as far as connectivity is concerned,” says Mark Marques, co-owner of Jax NAP.
Seaborn was attracted to Jacksonville because it has fewer current systems and cables than other locations in the Southeast and also because Jacksonville provides a direct route west to Texas, a major telecommunications hub, and north to Atlanta, another large hub.
By adding Seaborn, Marques says internet and voice connections between Jacksonville and South America will be faster and more stable, and the addition of another fiber-optics cable company makes Jacksonville more attractive to other data centers, wireless customers and fiber-optics cable companies.
“It will not only attract businesses that want to do business with South America, but it will also attract businesses that want to be on the edge of the internet,” he says.
Marques says the addition of Seaborn and the Pacific Caribbean Cable System in 2015 has started a shift in how telecommunications traffic accesses the southern part of the United States. Companies discover that going via sea “is quicker because there are fewer mountains and fewer networks to hit,” Marques says. “It’s a direct shot from Jacksonville to New York or Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, or even Central America.”
REAL ESTATE
- Vidya Herbs has purchased a 20,000-sq.-ft. building in Bunnell for $2.65 million. An India-based herbal extraction company, Vidya Herbs says it will bring 80 to 100 jobs to the region with an average salary of $42,000.
- Ally Financial is buying the two office buildings it had been leasing from Boca Raton-based Crocker Partners on Jacksonville’s southside. The $49-million purchase includes a five-story, 129,000-sq.-ft. building and a four-story, 117,000-sq.-ft. building.
- Regency Centers has filed for an environmental resource permit for its development in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville. Plans include a 39,200-sq.-ft. Publix, which will be above a one-story garage, a 1,400-sq.-ft. liquor store, a 10,100-sq.-ft. retail building and an 8,200-sq.-ft. retail building.
COMMUNICATIONS
- Palm Coast Data, a magazine subscription fulfillment service that was once Palm Coast’s biggest employer, plans to lay off as many as 150 by August and close its Commerce Boulevard office. The company says it will keep 250 employees in Palm Coast. Some employees may continue to work from home, but the company is looking for a new office in the city.
ENVIRONMENT
- The Alachua Conservation Trust has purchased 254 acres on the Sante Fe River. With the $1.4-million purchase, two springs located where the river and Olustee Creek meet will be preserved.
HEALTH CARE
- Baptist Health has named David Rice senior vice president, chief medical officer and chief quality officer. Rice will oversee clinical quality, patient safety and performance improvement.
- Flagler Health and UF Health plan to “explore a collaboration” on a 40-acre medical campus in St. Johns County.
PUBLISHING
- After closing briefly, Folio Weekly was bought by Boldland Press. It will become an entertainment weekly called Folio 2.0.
RETAIL
- Jaguar Power Sports will add seven to 10 jobs when it relocates to Jacksonville’s southside this month. The motorsports vehicle and power equipment company will have enough space to add an outdoor showroom.
- Enterprise Rent-a-Car has laid off more than 100 workers from its Gainesville Damage Recovery Unit.
SPORTS BUSINESS
- Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry has requested the city allot $2.2 million for repairs and upgrades to TIAA Bank Field, the Jacksonville Jaguars home stadium. The project was proposed to ensure compliance with the NFL’s minimum broadcast and safety standards.
- The Jacksonville Jaguars have reversed a decision to play two home games in London in 2020. It would have been the first team to play two games outside the U.S. in one season.
COVID-19 UPDATE
- The Ocala Horse Alliance has established an emergency fund so that horse owners can feed their animals during uncertain economic times. Horse owners who use the Emergency Feed Fund for Horses are given vouchers for feed and hay from Ocala-based Berretini Feed Specialists, partners in the program.
- Several restaurant owners in Marion County met in May to explore creating a restaurant owners association. The restaurateurs discussed COVID-19-related challenges, including rising food prices, social-distancing considerations and finetuning take-out order systems.
- The board of directors of the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce has recommended dissolving. The organization is funded by membership dues, advertising and events, which have been affected by COVID-19, the chamber says. The next step is for the full chamber membership to vote on the proposal.
- Nationwide Insurance in Gainesville is one of five in the country that will make working from home permanent on Nov. 1. In mid-March, the company’s more than 800 employees were forced to work remotely over health concerns.
- The Jacksonville Historic Naval Ships Association has delayed a decision on the USS Orleck pending a final inspection in Port Arthur, Texas. Once the decommissioned warship has undergone a dry-dock inspection, the association will either tow the ship to Jacksonville, where it will serve as a museum, or it will be salvaged.
Read more in Florida Trend's August issue.
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