The Southbank Medical Pavilion at 841 Prudential Drive, a 22-story building next to Baptist Medical Center, is set to be listed for sale. Beginning next week, the property—covering nearly eight acres of riverfront Southbank land—will be on the market. The sale package includes the tower, a parking garage with more than 1,000 spaces, and two buildable parcels that have prompted speculation about future housing, medical facilities, or hospitality projects on what is seen as some of the last major developable land near the hospital. Building workers said the news came as a surprise and raised concerns about job security and lease stability under a potential new owner.
Site Details And History
The listing covers about 7.9 acres and a roughly 493,000-square-foot, 22-story office tower that dates to the 1950s, along with a 1,024-space parking garage. According to Jax Daily Record, the building was constructed in 1955 for Prudential Insurance Co. and has since carried names including Eight Forty One and the Aetna Building. Atlanta-based ShareMD paid about $67 million for the property in 2020.
What Developers Are Eyeing
Transwestern's listing agent is marketing the site as a "crown jewel" because of its position next to the hospital and its potential to be repositioned or redeveloped for medical, senior living or residential uses. As reported by Action News Jax, the broker says one parcel could support a 99,000-square-foot multi-story building while the other could support about 48,000 square feet, and any buyer would inherit the existing leases. The broker and market watchers say the property's tight proximity to Baptist makes it especially attractive for health-care operators looking to grow outpatient services.
Tenants And Local Reaction
The tower houses a mix of clinical tenants and office users, including One Call and Baptist Health, and is reported to be about 94 percent occupied, a level that could restrain any near-term conversion plans by an incoming owner. According to WJCT, One Call consolidated its Jacksonville offices in the building in 2018. News4Jax reports that the current ownership completed significant clinical conversions after acquiring the asset, which has helped keep vacancy low.
What Comes Next
Commercial listings for the site emphasize pad approvals and present the parcels as ready for medical or mixed-use development, giving investors a choice between owning land next to a major hospital or a mostly leased medical tower. A LoopNet listing for 841 Prudential Drive highlights an entitlement-ready pad site and features an approved two-story, roughly 48,000-square-foot building in its marketing materials. The eventual buyer will likely be making a strategic bet on Jacksonville’s growing population and the continued development of hospital-adjacent projects on the Southbank.
