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23-505: The Auchter Company , Jacksonville's oldest general construction contractor, built the 542,000 ft Gulf Life Tower for the Gulf Life Insurance Company in 1966. It was designed by the notable architect, Welton Becket and KBJ Architects . When completed in 1967, it was the tallest precast, post-tensioned concrete structure in the world. It remained Florida's tallest for five years until Miami's One Biscayne Tower

46-513: A bridge project in the early 1920s. At the time, construction in Florida was booming and Auchter saw an opportunity because Jacksonville was "The River City" and Auchter knew bridge construction. He received Florida engineering license #375 in 1922, and initially concentrated on bridges and overpasses, founding the George D. Auchter Company in 1929. George Sr. died in 1974 when George Jr. was running

69-472: A ship. A normal crew was 60 men. AFDLs displaced 1,200 tons and could lift 1,900 tons to take a ship out the water for repair. AFDLs were built as one piece, open at both ends. AFDLs had a crew of 30 to 130 men, living in a barge alongside the AFDL. Used to repair small crafts, PT boats and small submarines, all AFDs were reclassified AFDL after the war in 1946. One Maritime Plaza One Maritime Plaza

92-423: Is an example of a suspended structure . The building gets structural support from the central core and the external vertical beams, which leaves a more open internal space. There are two tapered columns on each side of the building. Cross beams connect the vertical columns to create a skeleton which allows the cantilevered floors. The concrete grid on the outside of the building is the only support needed to hold up

115-668: Is an office tower located in San Francisco's Financial District near the Embarcadero Center towers on Clay and Front Streets. The building, built as the Alcoa Building for Alcoa Corporation and completed in 1967, stands 121 m (398 feet) and has 25 floors of office space. The surrounding plaza was finished in 1967. This is one of the earliest buildings to use seismic bracing in the form of external trusses and X-braces. In December 2018, Google signed

138-1007: The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute went through the arduous process of selecting the Seven precast concrete "Wonders". Their choices were: the Department of Housing and Urban Development Headquarters in Washington, D.C.; Gulf Life Tower in Jacksonville; Disney World Monorail in Orlando, TransAmerica Pyramid in San Francisco; Aurora Justice Facility and Municipal Center in Aurora, Colorado; Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida; and

161-648: The Blue Cross-Blue Shield Parking Structure in North Haven, Connecticut. According to an Architecture article in Time Magazine , "(the) Gulf Life, placed in a shoddy, chaotic part of Jacksonville, is a tonic for its area, acts as an organizing beacon. And the bold Alcoa building …makes a positive contribution to San Francisco. Both buildings thus achieve excellence." The Auchter Company The Auchter Company

184-647: The National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars . In 2006, the team of Perry-Mccall Construction Inc. and the Auchter Company bid on the new Duval County Courthouse . They were initially awarded the contract, but when it was discovered that the Auchter Company had financial troubles, the contract was withdrawn. In an attempt to retain the contract, Perry-Mccall Construction purchased the Auchter Company on March 26, 2007. Jacksonville's General Counsel rejected their plan because

207-529: The US Navy. He later sold the company to the Glass family. Dave Auchter, one of the founder's grandsons, later became a company executive. For the war effort built pulpwood barges , floating repair drydocks , and concrete ships . After the war, he continued in civil construction and high-rise projects. Wishing to retire, George Auchter Jr. sold the company to an investor group in 1981. He died in 1986. One of

230-483: The University of North Florida and joined The Auchter Company in 1995. Jeff Glass, Wilbur's other son, started with the company in 1978. In 1993 Wilbur made both of his sons partners in ownership. Jeff retired in 2004 and Brad later went on to become president. In 2000, another of George Auchter's grandsons, Dave Auchter, became Director of Corporate Development after working as media director for World Golf Village and

253-547: The building on October 31, 2014 to CFLC Replace LLC in Glen Allen, Virginia for $ 29.0 million. The building was sold on December 1, 2016 to LCP Riverplace LLC in Glen Allen, Virginia for $ 53.4 million. The building was sold on December 22, 2021 to 1301 Riverplace Owner, LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut for $ 73.2 million. The structural system consists of precast concrete floor plates and a poured concrete core. The building

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276-455: The building was 24 years old and no longer a class "A" property. Several prospective buyers looked at the building, but the property stayed on the market for more than two years. For tax reasons, American General was desperate to sell during 1993 and accepted a cash offer of $ 9.0 million from Gate Petroleum . Shortly thereafter, Gate began a multimillion-dollar renovation of the entire building and renamed it Riverplace Tower . Building occupancy

299-454: The business. The Auchter Company did design and engineering work for both on-site construction and pre-construction pieces shipped worldwide. It built office buildings, factories, bridges, warehouses, resorts, churches, museums, residential projects, hospitals, and power generating stations. The company built Jacksonville International Airport, military bases, courthouses, and jails. To support World War II, it built floating repair drydocks for

322-556: The company into retail service, such as Gate Petroleum convenience stores and three big-box Target stores in the North Florida area. In 1999, the Auchter Company moved its headquarters to a First Coast Technology Park on the University of North Florida 's campus. The new 3.36 acre headquarters helped build the company's relationship with the university. Glass's son, Brad Glass earned a degree in business administration from

345-598: The investors was Wilbur H. Glass Jr., whose father Wilbur H Glass Sr had been President of the Auchter Company for 14 years. Glass Jr also had a civil engineering degree, having joined the US Army as a field engineer in 1957. He worked at the Auchter Company, initially as a project manager and became a vice president in 1979. Glass bought out the other investors in 1993, and kept the Auchter Company name. The company continued its tradition of building Jacksonville's major works and expanded to other Florida locations. Glass also moved

368-405: The new company did not bid on the project. The merger was terminated, and on December 31, 2007, Auchter closed its doors. The Auchter Company built Auxiliary Floating Docks, Light (AFDL) for the US Navy. They were also called Auxiliary Floating Docks (AFD) . AFDs were 288 ft long, had a beam of 64 ft (20 m), and draft of 3 ft 3 in empty and 31 ft 4 in (9.55 m) flooded to load

391-405: The structure, leaving the interior completely available for use. Each of the exposed beams consist of fourteen precast units held together with high strength post-tensioned steel cables. The beams cantilever 42 feet from the columns as they taper upward and inward. The color of the concrete façade comes from White quartz sand and white cement bonded to the surface. The Gate River Run Hall of Fame

414-633: The war the shipyard closed in February 1946. The company went on to build many buildings and bridges until it was sold on March 26, 2007, to Perry-McCall Construction, Inc. George David Auchter was born on January 6, 1889, in Jersey City, New Jersey. The oldest of three children, his father was an engineer. Auchter also trained as an engineer at Rutgers College and was living in Red Bank, New Jersey , when his employer sent him to Florida to work on

437-538: Was 40% when the sale closed; within two years from the completion of the renovation, it had soared to nearly 95% and the building was restored to its former prominence. The banner sign at the top of the building originally displayed "Gulf Life" in 1967. After Gulf Life was acquired by American General in 1991, it was changed to "SouthTrust", and the structure was known as the SouthTrust Building . When SouthTrust and Wachovia merged in 2005, "Wachovia" signage

460-667: Was constructed in 1972. It was Jacksonville's tallest for eight years until the Independent Life Building (now the Wells Fargo Center) was built in 1974. As of 2023, Riverplace Tower is the fifth tallest building in Jacksonville. Gulf Life Insurance Company was merged into American General Life of Houston in 1991 and the Jacksonville Gulf Life Tower was unneeded and destined to be sold. American General wanted $ 30 million, but

483-650: Was established in 1929 in Jacksonville, Florida , by George D. Auchter. The company was among Florida's oldest general construction contractors and built many of Jacksonville's civil and corporate buildings, including the City Hall. and ranked among the top design/build firms in the US. The Auchter Company also helped build ships needed for World War II , as part of the US Navy 's Emergency Shipbuilding Program . After

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506-531: Was established in 2002 and is permanently located on the concourse level. Memorabilia from the event, which began in 1978, is on display, and a five-minute video gives visitors an overview of the race. Plaques for each of the 12 persons inducted into the HOF are on display. Savour is a public restaurant located on the second floor of the tower, and it offers an excellent view of the river and northbank through its glass, north-facing wall. In honor of its 50th anniversary,

529-708: Was installed, but it was removed January 22, 2011. Since 1968 until its closure in 2016, the University Club of Jacksonville occupied the building's top floor. There were approximately 1,300 members: business executives of both genders; older, long-term associates; and young professionals. The private club was available to members and their guests, or ClubCorp affiliates. The facility was a hub for networking and entertaining clients, as well as providing conference rooms and offices for conducting business in private. The club also offered two full service athletic facilities; one co-ed and one for men only. Gate Petroleum sold

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