CSX Corp. continues to invest in its Jacksonville facilities.
Pending building permits show Jacksonville-based CSX wants to invest almost $102,500 into renovations of its data center at 6425 Southpoint Parkway and $85,000 into interior demolition of the first- and second-floor coffee shop and café at the Downtown headquarters.
“The company is implementing plans to maximize our use of CSX-owned facilities and to modernize them to provide a better-quality work environment and help strengthen our organizational alignment by co-locating work groups to improve efficiency,” spokesman Rob Doolittle said Thursday in a statement.
In Southpoint, at Butler Boulevard and Interstate 95, property records show CSX owns three buildings totaling 68,306 square feet.
They’re on 22.8 acres at 6425 Southpoint Parkway. The permit shows CSX wants to renovate 4,600 square feet in a Data Center building.
Duckworth Construction Co. is the contractor.
Doolittle said CSX also continues to occupy some leased space in Southpoint at 6800 Southpoint Drive.
He said the Data Center will be renovated to accommodate additional employees relocating from the Southpoint location.
Downtown, Auld & White Constructors is the contractor for the coffee shop and café project at the 500 Water St. headquarters building.
Interior demolition involves 19,820 square feet on the first and second floors. The permit applications and plans say the tenant improvements will be sought separately.
Doolittle said some functions are being consolidated and additional employees will be assigned to the headquarters building. He said the company is enhancing the kitchen equipment and physical layout of the employee cafeteria.
He said CSX also will add a small concession space and collaborative spaces in the main lobby area where employees can buy coffee, snack items and sundries.
CSX previously sought a permit for a $1.85 million project to renovate its executive and administration offices on the 15th floor. The city is reviewing the plans.
“These efforts and others to come are part of the overall facilities program that CSX is implementing to accommodate the business’ changing requirements in the Jacksonville area,” Doolittle said.
He said the projects “represent an investment in CSX’s future as a major Jacksonville employer, and the work is being competitively contracted with local firms as part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the local economy.”
CSX has cut jobs since Hunter Harrison’s plans to run the company surfaced in January.
News broke Jan. 18 that Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. CEO Hunter Harrison was leaving that job early and negotiating to become CEO at CSX.
CSX’s plans to cut 1,000 management jobs, with many in Jacksonville, surfaced Feb. 21 after the company announced Chairman and CEO Michael Ward and President Clarence Gooden would retire May 31.
Harrison was hired in March as CEO.
CSX has been leasing two additional Southpoint office buildings at 6735 and 6737 Southpoint Drive S., but terminated its lease effective March 2018 as part of a company initiative to operate more efficiently and reduce overhead costs.
Colliers International has been marketing those structures for lease as a corporate office campus. Together, they provide 275,229 square feet of space.
Doolittle said the CSX management team continues to review its operations and make changes to improve efficiency, safety and customer service.
“We are also investing in the facilities in the Jacksonville area to accommodate the changing office and technology needs of our employees,” he said.
