JACKSONVILLE, FL – January 5, 2017 – After an extensive citywide search, Ernst & Young LLP (EY) has selected Crocker Partners’ Flagler Center business park in south Jacksonville to accommodate its growth needs, according to Josh Edwards, Crocker Partners vice president and regional asset manager.

 Ernst & Young LLP (EY), the provider of EY assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services in the US, will relocate its existing Jacksonville office and open a client service delivery center in a total of 45,181 square feet in two buildings:

• 15,759 square feet within Lakeside Two, a four-story, 112,306-square foot class A office building located at 12740 Gran Bay Parkway West
• 29,422 square feet within Lakeside Five, a five-story, 142,000-square-foot class A office building located at 12926 Gran Bay Parkway West

“EY has a strong presence in Jacksonville and we look forward to growing our presence and investing in our clients and the community with a dedicated space to house what will be approximately 530 people in our office.” said Mike Brennan, North Florida Offices Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP.

Avison Young’s Ross Carrier and Mark Montgomery, both Senior Vice Presidents, spearheaded the transaction on behalf of Crocker Partners, one of the Jacksonville market’s largest office space owners with 1.8 million square feet. CBRE’s Glenn Dyke, Executive Vice President, and Oliver Barakat, Senior Vice President, represented the tenant.

“Corporate America has long recognized Jacksonville as a hub for innovation and business growth, and beyond that ongoing appeal, the South I-95 corridor is seeing an unparalleled flurry of activity as businesses seek to lock down office space near the region’s talented workforce,” said Carrier.

According to Avison Young’s third quarter 2016 office market report for Jacksonville, the lack of new speculative construction coupled with the escalating price of commercially zoned land and improving tenant confidence, should continue to support a declining vacancy rate as well as incremental gains in rental rates, particularly for class A space, throughout early 2017.

“EY has a strong presence in Jacksonville and we look forward to growing our presence and investing in our clients and the community with a dedicated space to house what will be approximately 530 people in our office.” said Mike Brennan, North Florida Offices Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP.

Crocker Partner’s 9-building Flagler Center portfolio features 601,000 square feet of class A office space and 399,618 square feet of professional office space. The location provides fast access to I-95, U.S. 1, the new State Road 9B extension and south I-295, and the region’s fastest growing housing market. In addition to Flagler Center, Crocker owns the Prominence Office Park in Jacksonville’s Butler/Baymeadows submarket, and recently completed an $8 million makeover of that seven-building, 752,000-square-foot complex.

The space will incorporate the EY@Work model, which aligns EY people, technology and real estate initiatives to create workplaces and support work styles that truly reflect the culture and business atmosphere to which EY strives, and the exceptional service we bring to our clients,” said Bucky Feagans, Executive Director, Client Service Delivery Center, Ernst & Young LLP.