Critical to Citi’s operations, Jacksonville office completes $50M makeover (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Residents would be hard pressed to find a Citigroup Inc. logo in Jacksonville. Even so, the First Coast is a critical backbone for the largely digital national bank.
That lack of visibility in Northeast Florida is misleading as it has about 4,000 employees locally. This region is the bank’s third-largest U.S. site outside its New York headquarters.
Operating on a hybrid schedule, much of local leadership has spent recent months moving into Citi’s new Southside office, opening this week after a $50 million renovation (photo above).
“Make no mistake, this location is a cornerstone of Citi’s operation,” said Vickie Behan, the bank’s Jacksonville site head. “Even though we don’t have branches here, the work that we do touches millions of Citi clients every day.”
Citi (NYSE: C) established itself locally nearly 30 years ago when the group acquired AT&T Universal Card. Over time, it’s cemented itself as a strategic location both for its access to talent and business environment.
Added to an array of back office operations, Jacksonville spearheads the bank’s fraud operations, a division also led by Behan.
For years, Citi has operated from three buildings at 14000 Citicards Way, near Baptist Health Medical Center South. But the bank sold its Jacksonville campus, leasing back the one building.
Technically, the multi-million-dollar renovation is a downsizing as it consolidates work space. Construction was planned to span approximately 230,000 square feet, a spokesperson told the Business Journal last year.
Behan called it “right sizing” because its hybrid work schedule means fewer employees are in the office, lending more of a focus on investment in what the space offers.
“We affectionately sometimes call it the Four Seasons of the Citi locations,” she said, “because it is absolutely a beautiful space.”
Externally, Citi has less face time with its clients than other major banks, but customers often are being served by someone based from Jacksonville.
Its headcount locally is already substantial — landing it among the area’s largest employers — and local leadership plans to continue growing.
“This renovation is an investment in our colleagues and their workplace,” said Edward Skyler, head of enterprise services and public affairs at Citi. “From enhanced technology to thoughtfully designed collaboration spaces, every element was built to high standards to create the best possible experience for our people.”