Citizens Insurance worker, security guard attacked by downtown homeless; Expanding moving search

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Citizens Property Insurance, a major downtown employer is still exploring all options to leave its current location at the EverBank Center, as safety concerns Action News Jax first reported have become public.

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Action News Jax Ben Becker has obtained an internal incident report from Citizens Insurance that says both a worker and a security guard were attacked by a homeless man in October.

According to the report a Citizens worker says the man was making “shooting sounds” and “was pointing his hand in the shape of a gun and grabbed his shirt which was startling/scary,” and got into a “physical fight” with a security guard.

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Action News Jax first reported in August that Citizens was considering leaving downtown. Sources at the time said it was because of safety concerns regarding the homeless, including workers who have been threatened and harassed.

Citizens have been at the Everbank Center on Bay Street since 2015, but it wants to shift more than 1,000 employees to the Southside

Becker also obtained an internal email that was sent out to employees on Wednesday about its plans to move out of downtown.

The company said it rejected all bids submitted under its invitation to negotiate to procure office space for its Jacksonville location. “Only three bids were submitted, and one bidder subsequently dropped out, limiting competition and choice. Citizens also faced some public criticism in the form of claims that the ITN unfairly limited competition by excluding the downtown area,” the email read.

Both the Jax Chamber and Jacksonville Civic Council wrote a letter to the state encouraging Citizens to not move, describing it as a “devastating blow” for downtown Jacksonville.

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Photos: JAX Chambers & Jacksonville Civic Council

The email went on to say “As Florida’s insurer of last resort, and a not-for-profit governmental entity, Citizens must go above and beyond to maintain public trust and confidence in our business decisions. Because only two bids were ultimately under consideration, Citizens will reissue the ITN and broaden its scope to include downtown and other areas. Although a new ITN will be drafted to capture a broader area and promote more competition, properties located within the geographic area of the previous ITN remain eligible for consideration. Because the current office lease does not expire until June of 2026, reissuing the ITN will not delay the process of entering a new lease in whatever location is selected. In all events, when it comes to where Citizens offices are located, the safety and security of our employees will remain an important consideration throughout this process.”

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