Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will move its Jacksonville office with roughly 1,000 employees from downtown to the Southside suburbs in 2026.

Citizens announced Friday it picked an building at 8787 Baypine Road as the future home of its Jacksonville operations. The building was previously used by Florida Coastal School of Law before the college closed.

The prospect of Citizens leaving downtown where it has been for a decade spurred appeals by Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, JAX Chamber and business leaders for it to stay.

Jacksonville has a high vacancy rate for office space, and that has intensified competition among landlords across the city. Downtown revitalization hinges on boosting foot traffic that will support street-level stores and restaurants, so the loss of a large employer like Citizens would be a setback.

Citizens moved more than 1,000 employees into EverBank Center in 2015 , but its current lease in the office tower will expire in 2026.

When Citizens initially sought proposals for office space in July, the solicitation focused on a portion of the Southside and didn't include downtown. But Citizens later decided to reboot the search by giving building owners in downtown an opportunity to make proposals as well.

The state created Citizens Property Insurance Corp. in 2004 as a non-profit government entity that acts as an insurer of last resort for property-owners unable to get insurance in the private market.