The Northeast Florida Builders Association (NEFBA) has announced the acquisition of a 43,024-square-foot building located at 4932 Sunbeam Road in Jacksonville’s Sunbeam neighborhood. This facility will serve as the new home of NEFBA and the NEFBA Workforce Education Center, marking a significant milestone in the association's mission to strengthen and grow the construction industry’s workforce in Northeast Florida.
“For over 50 years, NEFBA has provided Northeast Florida with a high-quality, industry sponsored, construction trades apprenticeship program,” said 2025 NEFBA President Seth Kelley. “This new facility represents a transformative opportunity for our association to support the program and our apprentices, with a state-of-the-art facility while simultaneously expanding our program into additional workforce development areas.”
Since its founding in 1973, the NEFBA Apprenticeship Program has graduated thousands of apprentices and currently trains 460 apprentices in four trades: electrical, HVAC, plumbing and carpentry. The program generates an impressive $20 million in local economic impact annually, and apprentice wages have risen by 50% over the past decade, reflecting the growing value of skilled trades in the community.
To fund the renovation of the property NEFBA is launching the “Together We Build” Campaign. This initiative seeks to raise funds to create what will be crucial, hands-on educational spaces featuring construction labs, a dozen classrooms, a 300-person auditorium and administrative offices.
“We’re not just building a facility, we’re building for the future, for the benefit of our apprentices and the greater overall construction industry here in Northeast Florida,” added Kelley.
For information on how to participate and contribute, contact build@nefba.com.
