JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — DOGE budget cuts may soon hit Jacksonville’s urban core, as Action News Jax has learned that The Army Corps of Engineers informed employees they will be moving out of the Prudential office building on the Southbank at the end of August.
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The move appears to be connected to the Department of Government Efficiency’s nationwide push to downsize federal office space leases.
An internal email obtained by Action News Jax announced the cancellation of the Army Corps lease at the Prudential building located at 701 San Marco Boulevard.
“Currently, we do not have a new location as GSA has not yet identified another building for us to occupy. Finding a new location is a top priority, and the team is working diligently to meet the 31 August 2025 deadline,” wrote Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Bowman in the email.
We confirmed with the Army Corps of Engineers that it was informed the Government Services Administration intended to cancel its lease.
“At this time, we have no definitive directive to move through our chain of command and are awaiting additional information from the discussions,” said an Army Corps spokesperson in an emailed statement.
Just one day prior to the February 27th email, the official DOGE X account posted an update on federal lease cancelations of “vacant/underutilized” buildings.
In it, DOGE claimed roughly 440 leases have been terminated, saving taxpayers roughly $171 million.
“Still plenty of available office space for the current workforce,” the DOGE post added.
But according to the Army Corps of Engineers, 800 of its employees work at the Prudential building.
After learning about the lease cancellation, Councilman Joe Carlucci (R-District 5), who represents the Southbank, sent us a statement.
“We want to have as many businesses move to District 5 and Southbank as possible. That’s always the goal. And I believe Southbank has a lot to offer for that,” said Carlucci. “Although I understand, sometimes businesses have to make tough decisions and sometimes when 1 door closes another one opens. I also have full confidence in our folks at the Chamber and JaxUSA to help usher in a new business for this office space.”
The lease termination comes as city leaders are working to keep businesses from leaving downtown, including Citizens Property insurance, which will make a recommendation on whether to move its more than 1,000 employees out of the Everbank building this Friday.
“The fear of them leaving is real,” said Council Vice President and Chair of the Special Committee on the Future of Downtown Kevin Carrico (R-District 4) during an interview on the pending Citizens decision last Friday.
Carrico told Action News Jax there is a fear a snowball effect could emerge.
“We’re fearful that if they do leave that would maybe set a trend and others would follow and it’s a shame because of the good things that are coming downtown soon,” said Carrico.
Action News Jax reached out to the Government Services Administration asking why the decision to cancel the Army Corps lease was made and where employees may ultimately relocate.
We also reached out to the JAX Chamber and Downtown Investment Authority.
We’re still waiting to hear back from all of them.
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