Major architectural firm closes it doors in Jacksonville, FL – a sign of the times

Major architectural firm closes it doors in Jacksonville, FL – a sign of the times; reprographers are not the only ones suffering from the depression that’s affected both the A/E/C Industry and the Reprographics Industry.

What awful news this is. Jack Diamond, the gentlemen mentioned in the article that appears below, was one of our customers when I was with NGI. Jack is, to put it very simply, an amazing person. One of the most outgoing people I’ve ever met. They refer to him as “Mr. Jacksonville,” but people who’ve had the privilege of knowing Jack could equally refer to him as Mr. Personality (as is the case with his wife as well.)

'Mr. Downtown' Jack Diamond's architectural firm closing
By David Bauerlein of the Florida Union Newspaper, Jacksonville, FL

The curtain is falling on the Jacksonville architectural firm headed by Jack Diamond, a civic leader known as "Mr. Downtown" for his support of revitalizing the city's core and designing its skyline.

Diamond, 65, said Wednesday that Rink Design Partnership Inc. faces severe financial problems. He said signing up new projects in the coming months would reverse the firm's fortunes, but fellow partners do not want to borrow more money to keep the firm going until there is a turnaround.

"This is the worst stress that I've been through in 40 years in Jacksonville and 30 years as a leader of various organizations," Diamond said.

The partnership will wind down in "an orderly and responsible manner" and use its assets to repay creditors, said Gardner Davis, an attorney for Diamond. The firm will continue working with clients to finish ongoing projects, and work with contractors to minimize disruptions, Davis said, adding that it will probably take 60 to 90 days for the wind-down period.

Davis said the recession caused "tremendous stress for every aspect of the construction industry. All the firms are reconfiguring and reengineering to prosper in a very changed business environment."

Diamond is senior principal of Rink Design Partnership. The other principals are Glenn Dasher, Craig Davisson and Tom Hurst, according to the firm's Web site. Hurst declined comment. Other principals could not be reached for comment. Diamond said Rink Design employed about 60 people at its peak. But layoffs have eliminated most of those jobs. The office was locked and deserted Wednesday except for a few executives. A recorded telephone message greeted callers.

Diamond has been chairman of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, the University of North Florida Foundation, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, the YMCA of Northeast Florida and Visit Jacksonville. He was a founder of JaxPride, a nonprofit that promotes beautification of the city. He helped found the Non Group, an informal organization that worked behind the scenes. When that group disbanded in February, he became one of 50 members of its successor organization, the Jacksonville Civic Council, formed to advocate solutions for long-term issues facing the city.

According to his official biography, he was responsible for the design of several downtown buildings - the Prudential Insurance Co. office complex, the SunTrust Tower, tthe federal courthouse, and the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. He also has worked on renovations to Trinity Church in New York City and construction of the Alachua County Courthouse.

Ed Austin, when he was Jacksonville's mayor, called him Mr. Downtown in the early 1990s when Diamond helped shape River City Renaissance, a $230 million package that contained several downtown projects. More recently, Diamond served on a task force that recommended moving the convention center from its LaVilla location to a downtown location.

Diamond said Rink Design Partnership ran into cash-flow problems. "We owe a lot of people a lot of money," he said. He declined to provide a figure for the amount owed, saying attorneys and accountants will be making that assessment. Even paying the lease for office space at Riverplace Tower became a problem as the firm fell several months behind on those payments, he said. The coming demise of Rink Design Partnership has been accompanied by disagreements about what course the firm should take. Diamond said some partners favored declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate the firm, which caused worried clients to call with concerns that the firm was going bankrupt. Davis said bankruptcy isn't an option. "There is no need for or benefit from bankruptcy," he said.

Diamond said he was able to get a line of credit that would have provided money for the firm to continue for a few more months while seeking more projects. He said he is seeing signs of economic recovery in the construction industry and intends to remain an architect with a firm in his own name.