Northern St. Johns County is on track to get its Bass Pro Shops and 1,600 acres of stores, housing, hotels, offices and entertainment in one of the largest developments in Northeast Florida.
Jacksonville-based Gate Petroleum Co. and Gatlin Development Co. unveiled plans today for Durbin Park, designed along Interstate 95 at the Florida 9B/County Road 2209 interchange under construction.
“Unique to Northeast Florida, Durbin Park will be a distinct destination where individuals and families can live, work, shop and be entertained all within a park-like setting,” said Gate President John Peyton in a news release.
Gate said Durbin Park is one of the largest, most diversified mixed-use developments in Northeast Florida. The company owns the land.
It is designed for about 2.4 million square feet of retail space, 2.8 million square feet of office space, 999 multifamily housing units and about 350 hotel rooms.
The full project is planned over four phases.
“There’s a lot of energy right now focused on St. Johns County that can bring positive constructive growth to the area residents while making substantial contributions to the county’s financial resources,” said Ken Wilson, president of GL National, a division of Gate Petroleum Co.
Gatlin, a real estate investment company, will lead the retail development as Gate’s joint venture partner.
The first phase is an 80-acre parcel west of the interchange. It should open in the second quarter of 2018.
It will include about 700,000 square feet of retail space anchored by at least three big-box retailers, described as a home-improvement center, membership club and department store. Plans also show a Gate convenience store.
Bass Pro Shops will be in the second phase, planned east of the interchange and next to I-95. The store announced in 2012 it would open a Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World by mid-2014, but that was delayed.
The second and part of the third phase will be an approximately 1.5-million-square-foot lifestyle center with stores, a theater, commercial space, multifamily development and a 150,000-square-foot Bass Pro Shops.
That should follow the first phase by a year to 18 months, meaning it could be completed in 2019. It has not been named.
Wilson said the lifestyle community will include high-end retailers, hotels, residential and office space in an urban-style design. It will provide the services close to workers and residents for their convenience.
Plans also show signature restaurants, a woodland preserve and an entertainment area with a theater, an event lawn with a video wall and a Ferris wheel and merry-go-round.
The rest of the third phase and the fourth will be an office park.
The Shopping Center Group will be the leasing agent for the retail space. The group represents many area retail developments, including the Town Center Promenade near St. Johns Town Center.
Gate said the design is a landscape of extensive green space, walking trails, lakes and family entertainment offerings.
Gatlin, led by founder Frank Gatlin III and his son, Frankie Gatlin IV, moved its headquarters to Jacksonville a year ago from South Florida.
“In my 40 years in the development industry, I have never seen a project with as much potential as Durbin Park,” Frank Gatlin said in the release.
He said the large amount of land and the topography will allow the company “to create a destination that features abundant shopping options, dozens of dining experiences and exciting, family-fun entertainment offerings” with a backdrop of lakes and green space.
Wilson said Gate and Gatlin are applying for zoning and engineering. He said in working with the Florida Department of Transportation and St. Johns County, their joint goal is to open the first phase of Durbin Park the day the new interchange opens.
The interchange is scheduled for completion in summer 2018. It connects northwest St. Johns County to I-95. County Road 2209 is St. Johns Parkway.
Within Durbin, the main street of Peyton Parkway will circle throughout the property and tie onto Race Track Road.
St. Johns County Administrator Michael Wanchick said Durbin Park is the culmination of years of effort between the county and Gate.
“Not only will it provide convenient retail and office opportunities currently not available to St. Johns County residents, it will also help keep sales tax dollars local and support countywide programs and services,” he said in the release.
In January, Gatlin talked about the first phase and said he was targeting a discount department store and the home improvement center and membership club for 450,000 square feet of space. The remaining space was targeted for restaurants, small shops and outparcels.
At that time, he estimated a first-phase investment of $125 million.
Of the 1,600 acres, he said then that about 600 could be developed for building sites. The remainder is lake, wetlands, road right-of-way and green space.
“The question mark that looms in our economic market adds urgency to our efforts,” Wilson said.
He said no one involved “wants to miss the rewards of this economic cycle.”
Gate was founded in 1960 by Herbert H. Peyton. The current president is his son.
Gate’s diversified industries include retail convenience stores in four states, fleet and fuel services, real estate, hospitality and construction materials.
Gate Hospitality owns and operates the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, The Lodge and Club in Ponte Vedra, Epping Forest Yacht and Country Club in Jacksonville, and The River Club in Downtown.
Gate Lands developed commercial and residential land including Deerwood Park, Southpoint Office Park, Kendall Town Center and Deerwood Center.
Gatlin, founded in 1976, is privately held with experience in residential, hotel and retail shopping center developments. It has developed more than 20 million square feet of retail shopping space across the country.
Area projects include five area Walmart Neighborhood Markets and Collins Plaza, anchored by Walmart Supercenter.
Wilson said he didn’t know “if the tired phrase ‘a win-win’ has ever been more appropriately applied to anything Gate has previously developed.”
He said the first phase is “only a small beginning” of what could resemble Gate’s efforts with Deerwood Park in Southside and the resulting growth that followed.
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