Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida will move its headquarters from downtown Jacksonville to the WareWorks Skilled Trades Institute in EastPark at Town Center, near Beach Boulevard and Interstate 295. The move will place the nonprofit alongside a workforce-development partner that operates Trade Career Centers at five of the organization’s teen clubs.
President and CEO Paul Martinez confirmed the relocation in an Aug. 19 email to the Jacksonville Daily Record, saying the organization expects to move about 60 days after the city issues a building permit for renovations at 11711 Marco Beach Drive.
The city is reviewing a permit for 3rd Little Pig Construction of Jacksonville to build out about 6,006 square feet in the two-story office and industrial building. The estimated project cost is $87,000. Plans call for a CEO office, staff offices, cubicles and related workspace.
Until the permit is issued, the nonprofit is leasing its current space at 10 S. Newnan St. in the Downtown Duval building on a month-to-month basis.
A partnership already in motion
WareWorks has installed Trade Career Centers at five Boys & Girls Clubs teen centers across Northeast Florida, giving teenagers hands-on experience in plumbing, electrical work, HVAC, welding and other skilled trades.
On July 13, about 80 ninth- through 12th-grade Boys & Girls Clubs members participated in the Be Pro Be Proud Mobile Learning Lab at Orange Park High School. The lab offered simulations and activities involving welding, commercial driving, crane operation, electrical work and other careers.
WareWorks CEO Karen Bowling said in an Aug. 19 email that the institute welcomes the nonprofit, citing the existing partnership between the two organizations.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida operates 59 clubs in Alachua, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties, serving more than 5,500 young people each day. Its local footprint includes the McKenzie’s Beaches Club.
The building and its backers
Jacksonville native Chris Ware purchased the 135,000-square-foot property Jan. 27 through Marco Beach LLC for $12.5 million. The building was formerly the headquarters of Venus Fashion Inc.
Ware expanded a single Johnstone Supply franchise into more than 40 HVAC and refrigeration wholesale locations through The Ware Group. During a January 2026 tour of the facility, he described the workforce gap that motivated WareWorks.
“My customer was the contractor. And the contractor had to have technically trained service techs so they could install the products we sold them properly,” Ware said. “So it was in our best interest to support trade schools, because our contractor needed those people.”
Bowling resigned as Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s chief administrative officer in October 2025. She initially joined WareWorks as chief development officer and now serves as CEO. WareWorks is nearing completion of a 3,000-square-foot culinary teaching kitchen paired with 5,500 square feet of event space at the same facility.
