Is Oakleaf getting Wawa and Aldi?; convenience store also opening Wilson Boulevard location


  • Government
  • Share

Two more Wawa locations have surfaced on plans in West Jacksonville — one that identifies the chain and another that indicates it could accommodate one of the gas station and convenience stores.

Plans for Wawa, already with four sites confirmed for its North Florida entry, were submitted to the city for a 3.22-acre site at 6787 Wilson Blvd. in Westside.

The Ferber Co. of Ponte Vedra Beach is listed as the developer for that Wawa, which wants to build on three parcels that will be assembled into one.

Meanwhile, a preliminary site plan for the tentatively named Oakleaf Corner shopping center in the growing Argyle and Oakleaf area of Southwest Jacksonville raises questions whether Wawa, as well as Aldi, might be opening there, too.

That site drawing doesn’t specify Wawa, but there’s room for one, as well as an Aldi and other retailers.

“I cannot tell you any specific names because of confidentiality agreements,” said Oakleaf Corner property owner and developer Kevin Carpenter.

While no tenants are identified, that plan shows the 11.6-acres site for Oakleaf Corner at northeast Argyle Forest Boulevard and Old Middleburg Road could comprise seven parcels.

Carpenter said more than half of the parcels are “already spoken for.”

He said site work most likely would break ground toward the end of the year and he expects to see some tenants in place by the second or third quarter of 2017.

Of the parcels on the site plan, one is designed as a grocer, another as a pharmacy with a drive-thru, two are fast-food parcels, another is an auto-service center and two others don’t show a use.

The Cantrell & Morgan real estate firm lists the property on its website, along with the preliminary site plan.

Carpenter said there is flexibility in combining or splitting interior parcels if necessary, and he said the site plan as posted is not current based on his tenant descriptions. He declined to detail how it has changed.

As posted, the plan shows a pharmacy on an almost 1.8-acre corner parcel at Argyle Forest Boulevard and Old Middleburg Road. However, Wawa typically seeks high-traffic corners with a signalized intersection like that on the plans.

Pennsylvania-based Wawa intends to open in Northeast Florida with at least five locations by the end of 2017. The four previously identified sites are in EastPark, East Arlington, The Crossing at Town Center near St. Johns Town Center, and in Clay County.

In June, Wawa said it had six locations under contract and more under review. The Wilson Boulevard site is the fifth identified, and Oakleaf could be the sixth.

The company said it wants to open up to 30-40 stores in Northeast Florida.

Wawa’s standard size is 6,119 square feet and the five identified sites are from 1.9-3.22 acres.

Wawa spokeswoman Lori Bruce said by email Wawa is looking at many sites in the market, “and will continue to do so,” but did not confirm Oakleaf.

Cantrell & Morgan CEO Chris Morgan said Tuesday the Oakleaf Corner property would be available on ground leases, meaning the commercial and retail users would lease the land but be responsible for constructing their buildings.

He declined to identify any potential tenants.

Aldi, a discount grocer expanding in the area, operates stores similar to the size of what appears to be a 16,400-square-foot grocer shown on site plans.

Dave Rinaldi, Aldi Haines City Division vice president, said in an email it is too early to confirm any details about a possible Oakleaf store, or two other Aldi locations publicly identified as the Town Center Promenade near St. Johns Town Center and along Normandy Boulevard.

Aldi operates three stores in the area — Southside Boulevard near The Avenues and in Middleburg and St. Augustine.

The existing and two confirmed Jacksonville stores are 12,000 to almost 19,000 square feet in size.

While fans of Trader Joe’s wonder whether the popular store with one local location at Jacksonville Beach might be opening a second site, those stores are smaller on average than the site plan shows.

A Trader Joe’s spokeswoman said Wednesday a site at Oakleaf Corner is not in the company’s two-year plan. She said the average Trader Joe’s is 10,000 to 15,000 square feet.

By the way, Aldi and Trader Joe’s were founded by brothers in Germany, but a disagreement led one to rename his business Aldi Nord and other Aldi Sud — north and south. Both have stores in the U.S., where Aldi Sud operates as Aldi’s and Aldi Nord as Trader Joe’s.

The Oakleaf Corner preliminary site plan also shows an interior roadway that would allow a proposed right in/right out access along Argyle Forest Boulevard.

Along Old Middleburg Road, there is a proposed right in/right out as well as an intersection at an existing signal.

Carpenter said his development group would build the interior infrastructure. There is no contractor for the site work yet. The engineer is England, Thims & Miller Inc.

LTI Property Oakleaf 5 LLC bought the site in July 2014. The company is led by Carpenter and Scott Miller, both local businessmen. Carpenter also is president of Jacksonville-based Advantus Corp.

The site is across Old Middleburg Road from Oakleaf Town Center, a 750,000-square-foot open-air regional shopping center anchored by SuperTarget, Kohl’s and The Home Depot.

While Oakleaf Corner is used in the Cantrell & Morgan marketing material, Carpenter said a final name has not been decided.

[email protected]

@MathisKb

(904) 356-2466

 

Sponsored Content

×

Special Offer: $5 for 2 Months!

Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning business news.