(CSX distributed the following press release on March 20.)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Corporation and CSX Transportation announced today that their downtown Jacksonville headquarters will undergo an exterior upgrade beginning later this month.
The building’s exterior will be covered with a beige elastomeric coating. For the most part, the material will be applied over the blue and green tiles now in place. Kenneth Smith Architects and Advanced Coating and Caulkings of Jacksonville have been awarded the contract to perform the work. The recoating will begin next month, should be completed in about a year, and will cost less than $1 million.
“This great City has welcomed our corporate headquarters and continues to foster an environment for CSX and our employees to prosper. We want our building to be a proud part of Jacksonville’s welcoming, progressive and contemporary image in time for the Super Bowl and into the future.” said Michael J. Ward, CSX Corporation’s chairman and CEO.
The 500 Water Street building was built in 1960 as headquarters for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, when it relocated to Jacksonville from Wilmington, NC. The building cost $13 million to build. It contains 475,000 square feet of space and is supported by 1,956 concrete piles along 500′ of riverfront. The new coating will be applied over the building’s 976 spandrel panels of glass tiles.
CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., owns one of the largest rail networks in the United States. CSX Transportation Inc., and its 34,000 employees provide rail transportation services over a 23,000 route-mile network in 23 states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces. CSX Corporation also provides intermodal and global container terminal operations through other subsidiaries.