It’s big — 850,000 to 1 million square feet.
It’s a targeted industry — distribution, which fits the city and JAX Chamber’s sought-after logistics companies.
It’s in a targeted area — AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center, city-owned property in West Jacksonville that formerly was part of a naval air station.
It’s secretive — not only confidential, but not even code-named yet in public documents.
Hillwood Investment Properties Senior Vice President Dan Tatsch understands the interest.
“A transaction like this would be significant for the Jacksonville market,” Tatsch said Tuesday.
Whatever it is, the deal appears to be moving along. According to Tatsch, the prospect responded to a proposal from Hillwood during the second quarter, which ended June 30.
Tatsch said he can’t provide more details until Hillwood files its second-quarter report with the city, due at the end of September. Even then, he might not be able to say much, “depending on the client’s decision regarding disclosure.”
He said the plans have been submitted to the prospect and not publicly.
As the city’s master developer of AllianceFlorida, Hillwood must file quarterly activity reports. Hillwood said it received and responded to a Request for Proposal from a broker representing the prospect during the first quarter, which ended March 31 and whose report was filed last week.
That proposal included hard cost estimates from Hillwood’s general contractor that were incorporated into a project budget. Hillwood said it hired a civil engineering consultant to lay out an 850,000-square-foot facility that could be expanded to about 1 million square feet.
Kirk Wendland, executive director of the city Office of Economic Development, said Tuesday through a city spokeswoman he had no additional information that can be shared at this time.
A JAX Chamber representative said Tuesday the group declines comment.
Hillwood’s master development property is at Cecil Commerce Center Parkway and Normandy Boulevard, south of Interstate 10.
AllianceFlorida has several available sites targeted for large users and did not identify any specific one for the confidential prospect. It likely would need about 70 acres at least, if history is a guide.
More than a dozen parcels offer at least 70 acres, according to a master development plan.
To compare the needs with existing companies at AllianceFlorida, the Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC distribution center was built at 1.03 million square feet on about 68 acres.
The FedEx Ground Package System Inc. center, about 300,000 square feet, is on 46 acres.
One of the newest AllianceFlorida projects is GE Oil & Gas, which occupies a 510,000-square-foot valve-manufacturing plant on 40 acres.
The size of the confidential project mirrors that of another large Jacksonville deal widely believed to be Amazon.com. That structure is planned on 155 acres in North Jacksonville at 12900 Pecan Park Road, just north of Interstate 295.
It is designed as a multilevel building with a footprint of 855,000 square feet and total enclosed space of 2.4 million square feet.
The unidentified prospect wasn’t the only project included in Hillwood’s first-quarter report.
Tatsch said in the first-quarter report and again Tuesday that Hillwood is waiting for a response from a proposal made in the fourth quarter of 2015 for a prospect needing 500,000 to 1 million square feet of distribution space.
He said it was not unusual for companies to take time to analyze proposals.
Tatsch said Hillwood also is designing its next speculative building, which is due for completion by mid-September 2017. He said it would be 400,000 square feet.
The structure is planned on 36 acres east of the Saft facility. Hillwood likely won’t file plans until the fourth quarter.
Hillwood is required by its city contract to regularly build space. The GE Oil & Gas center had been designed as a 400,000-square-foot speculative structure that was adjusted to a 510,433-square-foot tilt panel warehouse when a tenant became involved.
Banyan Bay apartments sold
Fairfield Residential Co. of San Diego sold the Banyan Bay apartments on Friday for $37 million to Aspen Square Management Inc. of Massachusetts.
Banyan Bay comprises 336 units among 17 buildings on 26.4 acres at 1700 San Pablo Road S. It was built in 1997. The price works out to $110,119 a unit.
CBRE Executive Vice Presidents Brian Moulder and Dhaval Patel represented the seller.
Fairfield sold the property through Fairfield Mariners Club LLC. Aspen Square bought it through two limited liability companies –– Jacksonville Kendall LLC and Jacksonville Bronco LLC. Aspen Square is based in West Springfield, Mass.
Aspen Square also owns Bella Terraza apartments at 355 Monument Road in Regency and Lakewood Village at 1542 Arcadia Drive in the Lakewood area.
Moulder said he did not know of a new name for Banyan Bay, which he said will be renovated inside and out.
Baymeadows Commons demolition making way for Walmart
Demolition was approved Tuesday for a former gym and some additional space at Baymeadows Commons for construction of a Walmart Neighborhood Market.
Realco Recycling Co. Inc. will demolish 46,463 square feet of space at the shopping center for the redevelopment.
The work involves Building 18, which is a former Bailey’s Powerhouse Gym. Bailey’s relocated nearby.
Walmart applied for a construction permit in June to build a $5 million, almost 42,000-square-foot store.
Baymeadows Commons, at 9550 Baymeadows Road, comprises almost 79,000 square feet of retail space.
That will decrease with the new Walmart.
Previously filed plans show the center would be a little more than 74,000 square feet with the Neighborhood Market.
Remaining would be the new Walmart, 8,000 square feet of retail space next to the store, Chili’s Grill & Bar and more than 19,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space in another building.
It will be the seventh Walmart Neighborhood Market in the area. The markets are grocery stores operated by Walmart and a quarter of the size of a Supercenter.
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