Drew Dixon
A huge government agency with reach throughout much of Florida is apparently being told to vacate its offices in downtown Jacksonville.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District is being told to get out of the facilities, located in the Prudential Building on the South Bank in the city’s urban business district.
Action News Jax is reporting that the federal agency, which houses 800 employees in that building, is falling under the ax of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), overseen by President Donald Trump advisor Elon Musk.
Action News reporter Jake Stofan says he obtained an internal email circulated in the Jacksonville offices of the U.S. Army Corps explaining that the agency has until Aug. 31 to find a new location.
Florida Politics has requested comment from Army Corps officials in Jacksonville and they have not responded.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s Office issued a carefully worded statement
“The administration is reaching out to see if there is an opportunity to fill vacant office space downtown should this lease termination go through,” said Deegan’s spokesperson Phillip Perry. “We will closely monitor the situation given that some of the federal announcements have been pulled back after a negative impact is determined or the courts intervene. The City of Jacksonville will do everything we can to keep our existing office tenants in downtown while attracting more.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District is responsible for a huge amount of maritime and nautical projects for much of Florida. Their projects range from beach restoration for miles of shorelines and navigational projects from the Atlantic Coast to the Gulf Coast of Florida.
The Action News reporting shows Army Corps officials in the Jacksonville office acknowledge they don’t know where they would relocate their offices to.
While DOGE may be seeking to reduce government spending, the closure of the downtown offices of the Army Corps could have an immediate and far-reaching impact on the local economy.
Multiple mayoral administrations in the city have been seeking to build up business interests in the city’s urban core. Without the Army Corps located downtown, that could rock the downtown economic base.
Deegan is already trying to juggle and retain Citizens Property Insurance Corp. near the North Bank of downtown Jacksonville. Citizens is the state-appointed nonprofit insurance carrier that provides coverage for residents who have been dropped by commercial insurance companies.
Citizens officials have been complaining for more than a year that downtown is too crime ridden and poses too much of a threat to more than 1,000 employees who work out of the EverBank building along Bay Street. Citizens officials have openly considered moving the company and its workers to more friendly buildings in Jacksonville’s suburbs, far from the inner city.
Both Jacksonville’s government officials and JAXChamber leaders have been actively trying to convince Citizens officials to stay in the urban core.
The loss of the Army Corps workers coupled with the departure of Citizens employees would be a major setback to the plans of many city leaders who see downtown on the verge of an economic and cultural turnaround.
One comment
Paul Passarelli
March 4, 2025 at 11:43 am
Democrat leaders of urban shit holes always interpret changes using the following language:
” … would be a major setback to the plans of many city leaders who see downtown on the verge of an economic and cultural turnaround.”
They refuse to see the circularity. The down towns are crime ridden, which causes the only economic producers to want to flee for the safety & comfort of their employees.
This is why I remain steadfastly opposed to low income housing subsidized by government funds. It almost *NEVER* causes a general improvement in the urban downtown. The few exceptions are when the city center incurs gentrification, which the Democrat leaders then lament, as excluding the low income population.
Well, duh.
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