Adams and Laura streets meet at the southwest corner where the Barnett, originally the Barnett National Bank Building, rises over downtown Jacksonville. Built in 1926, it rose to become Jacksonville’s tallest building at the time, surpassing the Heard National Bank Building. Its design came from the architecture firm Mowbray & Uffinger and it was commissioned for Barnett Bank.
It held that title until the building now known as the Aetna Building was constructed in 1954. By the late 1990s the Barnett had slipped into disrepair; restoration and redevelopment plans circulated through the 2000s but repeatedly fell through. A local group led by developer Steve Atkins bought the property, with a loan from Stache Investments, and on May 22, 2015 Stache Investments filed a complaint to foreclose, claiming it was owed almost $3.77 million as of December 5, 2014.
Atkins’ SouthEast Group later reacquired the building with help from The Molasky Group, and the restored structure, aided by KBJ Architects, is now home to the University of... The corner of Adams and Laura streets still anchors this restored building beside you.