Riverplace Tower
| Riverplace Tower | |
|---|---|
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 Location within Central Jacksonville
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| Former names | Gulf Life Tower |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Architectural style | Mid-century modern |
| Location | 1301 Riverplace Boulevard Jacksonville, Florida, United States |
| Coordinates | 30°19′10″N 81°39′24″W / 30.319403°N 81.656541°WCoordinates: 30°19′10″N 81°39′24″W / 30.319403°N 81.656541°W |
| Construction started | 1966 |
| Completed | 1967 |
| Opening | 1967 |
| Owner | Gate Petroleum |
| Height | |
| Roof | 432 ft (132 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 28 |
| Floor area | 542,000 sq ft (50,350 m2)< |
| Lifts/elevators | 8 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Welton Becket |
| Architecture firm | KBJ Architects |
| Developer | Capital Partners |
The Riverplace Tower is a 28-floor office building on the south bank of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. At the time of its construction, it was the tallest building in the state of Florida and was the defining landmark in Jacksonville's skyline. On April 18, 2012, the American Institute of Architects's Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places as the Riverplace Tower / Formerly Gulf Life Tower.
The Auchter Company, Jacksonville’s oldest general construction contractor, built the 542,000 ft2 "Gulf Life Tower" for the Gulf Life Insurance Company in 1966. It was designed by the notable architect, Welton Becket and KBJ Architects. When completed in 1967, it was the tallest precast, post-tensioned concrete structure in the world.
It remained Florida's tallest for five years until Miami's One Biscayne Tower was constructed in 1972. It was Jacksonville's tallest for eight years until the Independent Life Building (now the Wells Fargo Center) was built in 1974. In 2007, 40 years after its construction, Riverplace Tower was still the 5th tallest building in Jacksonville.
Gulf Life Insurance Company was merged into American General Life of Houston in 1991 and the Jacksonville Gulf Life Tower was unneeded and destined to be sold. American General wanted $30 million, but the building was 24 years old and no longer a class “A” property. Several prospective buyers looked at the building, but the property stayed on the market for more than two years. For tax reasons, American General was desperate to sell during 1993 and accepted a cash offer from Gate Petroleum for substantially less than their asking price. Shortly thereafter, Gate began a multimillion-dollar renovation of the entire building and renamed it Riverplace Tower.
Building occupancy was 40% when the sale closed; within two years from the completion of the renovation, it had soared to nearly 95% and the building was restored to its former prominence.
The banner sign at the top of the building originally displayed "Gulf Life" in 1967. After Gulf Life was acquired by American General in 1991, it was changed to "SouthTrust", and the structure was known as the SouthTrust Building. When SouthTrust and Wachovia merged in 2005, the "Wachovia" signage was installed, but was removed January 22, 2011.
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