INNOVATION

Contract Reviews Made Easy

Reviewing contracts for legal purposes takes a lot of repetitive attention to detail. The use of artificial intelligence at the law firm Foley & Lardner makes that type of review easier, according to Jacksonville-based partner Chanley Howell.

Howell helped lead customization of technology from the U.K.-based company ThoughtRiver to provide AI-based contract review both in-house and for clients to use on their own. Its program, Foley Equipped, launched in June.

The use of Foley Equipped provides more consistent contract review. In Howell’s experience, it also speeds up the contract review process by about 20% to 30%.

AI is used a fair amount in the legal profession, particularly with mergers and acquisitions and larger litigation cases, Howell says.

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Santa Fe College in Gainesville is planning to open a charter high school in August. Funds for the Santa Fe College Academy of Science and Technology will come from the Building Florida’s Future program.
• SkillStorm in Jacksonville is partnering with the University of Tampa to provide training that can help meet the hiring needs of technology companies. Skill- Storm hires, trains, certifies and places IT employees. SkillStorm and UT are forming an accelerator program and an emerging tech program.

RELOCATION

• Solace Cremation, a Portland, Ore.-based cremation company, has opened its East Coast headquarters office in Jacksonville.

TECHNOLOGY

• Lake Parime, a U.K.-based digital infrastructure company, will open its hardware repair and manufacturing facility in Jacksonville’s Northside neighborhood. Its first phase will create 50 jobs.

TOURISM

• Beaches Oktoberfest returns to Jacksonville Beach on Oct. 7-8, after a nearly three-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The World Golf Hall of Fame is relocating from St. Augustine to Pinehurst, N.C. The new hall of fame location will be part of the Golf House Pinehurst project, which will include a research and innovation facility, a visitor center and office space for the U.S. Golf Association.
• Amelia Island was voted No. 10 on Travel+Leisure magazine’s best islands in the continental United States.
• The St. Johns County commission has approved a $5.4-million improvement project for the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall. The funds will go toward expanding balcony seating as well as other improvements. Construction may begin as early as late 2023.

REAL ESTATE

• The Millennium Business Center on Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville has been sold for $7.15 million. The 35,200-sq.-ft. shopping center was purchased by a private investor.
• Electric vehicle maker Cenntro Electric Group has leased a 12,000-sq.-ft. showroom on Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville. Cenntro specializes in light- and medium-duty autos for the government and corporations. The showroom will be Cenntro’s flagship retail store in the U.S.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

• Jacksonville-based Stellar has completed the design-build of a $360-million, 411,500-sq.-ft. poultry plant in Fredericksburg, Pa. Stellar designed the plant for Bell & Evans, an animal-welfare-focused chicken hatchery. Unlike traditional hatcheries that can deprive chicks of light, food and water for up to three days — nutrients the chicks absorbed in the egg keep them alive — the Bell & Evans facility is designed to provide for chicks immediately after hatching, Stellar says.

BANKING

• Chris Kalin will be the new North Florida regional market president for PNC Bank. He replaces Brian Bucher, who is retiring this month.

NON-PROFITS

• Feeding Northeast Florida has two new executives. Ben Peek is the CFO, and William Carnegie is the COO.