{{Use American English|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = 11 East Forsyth | image = 11eforsyth.JPG | caption = | coordinates = {{coord|30|19|37|N|81|39|27|W|display=inline,title}} | locmapin = Florida#USA | location = Jacksonville, Florida, USA | built = 1926 | architect = Pringle & Smith | architecture = Chicago school <!--| added = January 4, 1989--> | added = December 23, 2003 | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | area = less than one acre | mpsub = {{NRHP url|id=64500102|title=Downtown Jacksonville MPS}} | refnum = 03001310<ref name="nris">{{NRISref |refnum=03001310|version=2010a}}</ref> }} '''11 East Forsyth''', formerly known as the '''Lynch Building''' and the '''American Heritage Life Building''', is a historic structure in Jacksonville, Florida. Originally developed by Stephen Andrew Lynch, as its current name suggests, it is located at 11 East Forsyth Street in Downtown Jacksonville.<ref name=PAYS>Witkowski, Rachel: [http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2006/04/10/focus5.html "Costly renovation of historic buildings pays off for city"] ''Jacksonville Business Journal'', April 7, 2006</ref> On December 23, 2003, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Vestcor invested more than $24 million to restore the building's exterior and transform the former offices into loft apartments, which tenants began to occupy during 2003.<ref name=PAYS />
==Construction== thumb|left|Lynch Building in 1938. The 17-story, {{convert|153000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} building originally contained commercial offices and was opened by entrepreneur and film pioneer Stephen Andrew Lynch.<ref name=Wood>{{cite book |title= Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage |last= Wood |first= Wayne |year= 1992 |publisher= University Press of Florida |isbn= 0-8130-0953-7 |url= http://www.jaxhistory.com/Jax%20Arch%20Herit/D-52.htm |access-date= September 27, 2011 |archive-date= April 6, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120406104532/http://www.jaxhistory.com/Jax%20Arch%20Herit/D-52.htm |url-status= dead }}</ref> It was designed by architects Pringle & Smith in 1926 in the Chicago School style. It was constructed with limestone, marble and a facade of brick; the top of the structure contained a capital of terra-cotta.<ref name=TRUST>[http://www.preservationnation.org/resources/case-studies/loan-funds/lynch-building.html "Lynch Building"] National Trust for Historic Preservation</ref> When it opened in 1926, it was Jacksonville's second tallest building, one floor less than the Barnett National Bank Building.<ref name=HELP /><ref name=STORY>Marbut, Max: [http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/downtowntoday.php?dt_date=2009-12-08 "The story behind one of Downtown’s historic buildings: The Carling"] ''Jacksonville Daily Record'', December 10, 2009.</ref>
The building was renovated in 1962 and renamed the '''American Heritage Life Building''' when it was utilized as home office of the ''American Heritage Life Insurance Company''. When the company built a new headquarters and left the downtown during the late 1980s, the structure was unoccupied for many years.<ref name=TRUST />
==Current use== Jacksonville developer Vestcor began a historic preservation of the building in 2002 after obtaining a $17.8 million, 1.5% interest, 20-year loan from the city of Jacksonville.<ref name=HELP>Hunt, David: [http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-12-30/story/downtown_housing_developer_asks_jacksonville_for_help "Downtown housing developer asks Jacksonville for help"] Florida Times-Union, December 30, 2009</ref><ref name=STORY /> The company restored many architectural features including polychromatic terra-cotta panels, decorative ceilings and steel panels.<ref name=VEST>[http://www.vestcor.com/apt-leasing-fl/11-east-forsyth "11 East Forsyth Apartments"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506061916/http://www.vestcor.com/apt-leasing-fl/11-east-forsyth# |date=2009-05-06 }} Vestcor Companies</ref> Elevators, HVAC, electrical, plumbing and other infrastructure was modernized and a six-story parking garage was constructed adjacent to the building. The second floor was converted into a large community club room, a fitness center and a media room. Modern amenities were added while respecting the historic integrity of the structure. The building was renamed to "11 East Forsyth" and 127 apartments were opened in 2003<ref name=STORY /> after $24 million and a year of construction.<ref name="PAYS"/> A Starbucks coffee bistro opened, but subsequently closed, leaving no tenants in the {{convert|4500|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of first-floor commercial space.<ref name=HELP /> left|thumb|Lynch Building & Main Street Bridge In late December 2009, Vestcor requested a modification to their loan terms, citing three years of operating losses at 11 East and their other renovated building, The Carling. The company asked for three years of interest-only payments plus low interest loans to potential tenants for the empty commercial space at 11 East.<ref name=HELP /> Three months later, the city approved the plan for principal deferral but took no action on tenant loans.<ref>Bauerlein, David (March 11, 2010) [http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-03-11/story/jacksonville_finds_it_too_costly_to_pay_business%E2%80%99s_employee_parking_as_i "Jacksonville finds it too costly to pay business’s employee parking as incentive"]. ''The Florida Times-Union''. Retrieved September 27, 2011</ref>
==See also== *Architecture of Jacksonville
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/FL/Duval/state.html Duval County listings] at [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com National Register of Historic Places] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061007062132/http://www.downtownjacksonville.org/content/?page_id=38 Downtown Jacksonville - Development]
{{Jacksonville attractions}} {{National Register of Historic Places in Florida}}
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Jacksonville, Florida Category:Residential skyscrapers in Jacksonville, Florida Category:Chicago school architecture in Florida Category:Northbank, Jacksonville Category:Architecture in Jacksonville, Florida Category:Residential buildings completed in 1926 Category:1926 establishments in Florida Category:Pringle and Smith buildings