Irma doesn’t change Brown & Brown building plans in downtown Daytona Beach

Sept. 22--DAYTONA BEACH -- As Hurricane Irma blasted through downtown in the predawn darkness Sept. 11, one Beach Street business after another filled with the murky water of the Halifax River as it topped its banks.

When the sun rose, very few businesses didn't have at least a few inches of water inside their shops. It's been a nightmare for merchants, some who might not be able to keep their doors open because of the lost business and repair costs.

None of that is rattling J. Hyatt Brown. The chairman of the board for Brown & Brown, Inc. said his insurance company's plans to build a new 10-story headquarters on the north end of Beach Street are as solid as they were before the ferocious storm hit.

He even sees a plus in the floodwater for his $25 million project.

"It's actually providential because you can tell the amount of water that came up based on the debris line on the fence," Brown said.

The company always planned to build the proposed new office tower above ground level. Now, Brown said, they have a better idea how much fill to add and how high the first floor needs to be.

The insurance giant went public Sept. 1 with its plans to build a new world headquarters on a vacant 10.5-acre lot just north of Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard. The company's intention is to keep employees in the Brown & Brown building on Ridgewood Avenue, and add about 600 new employees at the new riverfront building.

Brown said everything is still on track to go before the City Commission Oct. 4 to ask for financial incentives for the project, and to also ask the County Council for the same during its Oct. 5 meeting. Final approval of those assistance packages, which have not been revealed, will be sought at the city Oct. 18 and the county Oct. 19.

If all goes as hoped, employees could be at their new desks in their new building by the end of 2020.

Brown said his company is talking to the project engineers about how high will be high enough for the building foundation. He said about four feet of fill could be added to the vacant site, which for decades was the home of car dealerships. More dirt will be added on top of the four feet if necessary, he said.

"Our plan all along was to raise the first floor. This just crystallizes it," Brown said.

There will also be a strong roof and hurricane-resistant windows on the insurance company's new office tower.

"It will be built to last," Brown said.

He'll draw on the experience he gained overseeing construction of the Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art, which was built next to flood-prone land just west of Nova Road. Extra soil had to be trucked in for that building to rise above the floodplain as well.

The museum houses paintings the Browns donated that represent the world's largest collection of Florida art, so that building was constructed to withstand just about anything Mother Nature can dish out. The two-year-old museum came out of Irma undamaged, Brown said. He plans to put up another building just as strong now.

"We're proceeding according to our game plan," Brown said. "We didn't slow down a bit. We'll just keep on keeping on."

That's great news for the Beach Street businesses hoping for a big boost from the hundreds of new employees who will flood onto their road in a few years.

A "For Sale" sign hangs above Carl's Speed Shop, a custom motorcycle and repair shop directly next door to the vacant property Brown & Brown wants to build on. Diane Morrow and her husband Carl, who have owned the business for 21 years, say they're excited about the new opportunity the future development could bring to the riverfront corridor. However, as they look to sell their business and ease into retirement, the couple, in their 70s, see an opportunity for their business.

They'd like to see the insurance company buy the adjacent 25,000-square-foot space.

Ben Parra, co-owner of Tia Cori's Tacos on north Beach Street, can't wait for all the hungry stomachs that will be a short walk from his restaurant. He's already planning to nearly double his seating from 80 to about 150, expand into the building next door and try to secure a liquor license.

"I had kind of heard it was still a go, but I wasn't really sure," said Parra, whose eatery managed to reopen the day after finding a few inches of water inside his two buildings. "That'd be great if it happens. That would be awesome."

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