Duval County School Board revisits plan to sell Southbank property, relocate headquarters
JJacksonville

Duval County School Board revisits plan to sell Southbank property, relocate headquarters

  • September 8, 2026

DCPS weighs 2 new offers from developers, considers 4 relocation sites

File photo

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County Public Schools is revisiting plans to sell its Southbank headquarters and relocate district operations.

The School Board is scheduled to hold a workshop to discuss two offers for the riverfront property and four potential locations for a new headquarters. No vote is scheduled.

Bainbridge Communities has offered $15.5 million for the property, while Ashco has offered $15.6 million, according to district officials.

The offers come after a previous deal with Chase Properties collapsed earlier this year. The School Board had approved a $17.2 million sale to the company, which planned to build hundreds of apartments and condominiums, along with about 200,000 square feet of retail space.

District leaders have discussed moving the headquarters for more than 20 years. They say selling the property could provide money for other district needs.

The locations under consideration include:

Office space in the Midtown office park that houses the Schultz Center, where the district already has space;

Part of the former Regency Square Mall;

A new building on Jacksonville Transportation Authority-owned land downtown; and

The Prominence Parkway office park in the Southside, where the district planned to move before the previous sale fell through.

Superintendent Christopher Bernier has said relocating the headquarters remains a priority. The move would also open the Southbank property to potential redevelopment.

The workshop is expected to provide more information about the district’s preferred buyer and possible relocation site.

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.

About the AuthorsBriana Brownlee headshot

Briana Brownlee is excited to call Jacksonville home and join the News4JAX team. She joins us from Southwest Florida, where she reported at Fox 4 News in Fort Myers. Before making it to the Sunshine state, she got her start in Rapid City South Dakota as the morning reporter and later transitioned into the weekend Sports Anchor.

Jesse Hanson headshot

Jesse Hanson earned his BA in communications from UNF in 2014 while working as a freelance videographer in Jacksonville. He began work at Channel 4 News in 2016 and has since been an integral part of bringing stories to life on The Morning Show.

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