Safety concerns in Downtown Jacksonville driving out large local business

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Citizens Property Insurance is one of the largest employers in Downtown Jacksonville.

This entity has been at the Everbank Center on Bay Street since 2015, but it wants to shift more than 1,000 employees to the Southside.

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“I’m usually on the Southside, it sounds crazy but the safe side,” Jacksonville resident Teresa Smith said.

But Action News Jax’s Annette Gutierrez has learned from multiple sources that Citizens is looking to move because of safety concerns regarding the homeless, including workers who have been threatened and harassed.

Last week, Citizens only said in part that it was looking to “negotiate with vendors for Jacksonville office space that provides greater access in bad local weather conditions.”

ORIGINAL STORY: Insurance company Citizens considers leaving Downtown Jacksonville

JSO’s calls for service to the Everbank Center address show since 2021 that the area has received more than 230 calls. It’s unclear how many are related to the homeless but of those calls, about 25 of them dealt with either a suspicious or insane person.

The city appears to acknowledge safety and security is a problem.

In an emailed statement the city’s spokesperson said, “this speaks to the need for full funding of the comprehensive homelessness plan we have presented and proposed in the budget.”

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Smith said she has had issues with her safety here before.

“There are the homeless people who are doing drugs and might have some mental issues or whatever the case may be. I mean, I’ve had a run-in with one before -- it was kind of scary.

The city also said they are having discussions on potential opportunities for city support that will keep Citizens’ office downtown. Action News Jax reached out to Citizens but they were not able to provide a statement at this time.

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