Last year, Citizens Property Insurance signed a full-building lease for the 231,021‑square‑foot office building at 8787 Baypine Road in Deerwood Center. The headquarters relocation stands as one of Jacksonville, Florida's most influential transactions of 2025, catalyzing economic activity in the Southside region.
Citizens, a not-for-profit, tax-exempt government entity established in 2002 to act as the state's insurer of last resort, providing property insurance for eligible Florida property owners who cannot find coverage in the private market, selected the former Florida Coastal School of Law building owned by Cleveland-based Boyd Watterson Global as its future Jacksonville headquarters. The relocation brings roughly 1,000 employees to the Baymeadows-Deerwood Center area, positioning the lease as a major driver of daytime population, local spending and renewed momentum for one of Jacksonville’s most prominent office corridors.
The lease also stands out as a case of successful adaptive reuse. Transforming a former law school campus into a next‑generation headquarters required an estimated $8 million to implement Citizens’ relocation objectives, which included safety, efficiency and enhanced emergency‑response capabilities.
Through close coordination among all parties — landlord representatives Brad Chrischilles of Foundry Commercial and Daniel Wagnon of Structure Commercial Real Estate, and tenant representatives David Hulsey and Oliver Barakat of CBRE — the team navigated logistical, design, permitting and operational hurdles to secure a 10‑year lease. The lease was chosen by an independent panel of industry professionals within the market as the winner of a 2026 CoStar Impact Award.
About the project: The five-story office building offers modern infrastructure, a lakeside campus setting, abundant parking and proximity to retail, hospitality and major transportation routes, elements that helped attract Citizens as it sought a secure, centralized and operationally resilient location. The property features a fitness center, a cafe with outside seating and a lakeside boardwalk.
What the judges said: "The overall space commitment, the term and the potential boost to the submarket with the promise of roughly 1,000 employees," set this deal apart," said Rick Hall, commercial appraiser of St. Johns County Property Appraisers.
They made it happen: Landlord representatives Brad Chrischilles of Foundry Commercial and Daniel Wagnon of Structure Commercial Real Estate, along with tenant representatives David Hulsey and Oliver Barakat of CBRE.