Amazon.com hasn’t announced its fourth Jacksonville center, but continues to build it out.
The latest permit is for a $1 million tenant improvement at 4948 Bulls Bay Highway in the Westside Industrial Park.
A building-permit application filed Friday calls for Hitt Contracting of Atlanta to renovate space at the building for what it calls “Amazon Phase 3.”
Plans show 19,245 square feet of improvements for offices, including for HR and a general manager; open office space; storage; vending; training; and other functions, including a driver’s entrance and lounge.
The permit covers the office portion of the 237,053-square-foot warehouse that appears to be sortation center for the Seattle-based e-commerce retailer.
Amazon also applied to the city Friday for a Certificate of Use for the building.
On April 6, the city issued a permit for work at the Bulls Bay Highway location for structural support for roof-top units, dock-door details and trenching for utilities. Roof-top units are HVAC systems for commercial buildings.
That project was called “Amazon Phase 2.” Phase 1 appears to be interior painting and lighting work.
Previous recent permits at the site covered electrical, lighting, power and construction trailers.
The location matches the size needs for an Amazon sortation center. A zoning application, which did not identify Amazon, said the building’s user was expected to create more than 200 jobs and represent a capital investment topping $5 million.
The building, on 14.87 acres, is owned by a company related to Pattillo Industrial Real Estate.
Two Amazon fulfillment centers and a delivery station already have been permitted in Jacksonville, making the Westside Industrial Park operation its fourth in the area.
Those centers are in Cecil Commerce Center in Westside and in Northwest and North Jacksonville.
The four centers total 3.7 million square feet of space. At least 2,900 jobs would be created — 2,700 full-time positions at the fulfillment centers and 200 at Westside Industrial Park.
J.C. Penney delays store closings
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. has delayed the closing and liquidation of 138 stores, including those at Jacksonville Regional Shopping Center in Northwest Jacksonville and in the Palatka Mall.
They will close July 31 rather than mid-June and the liquidation sales start May 22 rather than today.
Spokeswoman Christina Voss said that since the closings were announced March 17, the affected locations have seen better-than-expected sales and traffic.
“Traffic typically increases in closing store locations for a variety of reasons, including curiosity, nostalgia and the lure of lower prices,” Voss said Friday in an email.
That’s also good for J.C. Penney, she said. “It’s advantageous for the company to continue selling through spring and summer merchandise at current promotional levels by pushing liquidation back another month,” she said.
The company said previously about 75 employees work at the Jacksonville store at 3000 Dunn Ave. and about 40 are at the Palatka location.
A spokesman said the company will relocate “esteemed leaders” and, if possible, help employees identify other jobs in nearby J.C. Penney stores.
Eligible associates who do not stay with the company will receive separation benefits, including an on-site career training class.
The company said about 5,000 positions nationwide will be affected by the closures.
J.C. Penney continues to operate four Jacksonville area department stores in Regency Square Mall, The Avenues mall, Orange Park Mall and the Ponce de Leon Mall in St. Augustine.
14th annual Nimmons seminar is Thursday
The Jacksonville Chapter of the Federal Bar Association presents the 14th annual Ralph W. “Buddy” Nimmons Jr. Federal Practice Seminar from 11:45 a.m. to 5:10 p.m. Thursday at the Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse Downtown.
The agenda starts with check-in at 11:45 a.m. Lunch will be catered.
Sessions include “Understanding and Protecting Judicial Independence” and “Easiest Catch: Don’t be Another Fish in the Dark ‘Net.”
Break-out sessions include “United States v. Booker: The First 10 Years in the Middle District of Florida” and “Attorney’s Fee Awards in Federal Court.”
The last session is “Mission Freedom,” featuring U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan and journalist Robyn Sieron about Corrigan’s assassination attempt by a former criminal defendant.
For information, contact Maria Daniels at [email protected] or call (904) 598-9929. Or, contact Laura Renstrom, the Nimmons Seminar Chairperson, at [email protected] or call (904) 798-7222.
Signs of Earth Fare in Mandarin South
The city approved eight signs for Earth Fare Inc. at the Mandarin South shopping center at 11700 San Jose Blvd.
Taylor Sign & Design Inc. is the contractor for the five wall signs and three awnings that include Earth Fare, Healthy Food For Everyone and Everyone’s Health Supermarket Est. 1975.
Asheville, N.C.-based Earth Fare has not confirmed an opening date for the store, which will be its second in Jacksonville.
The first opened in August 2014 in the Atlantic North shopping center at northwest Atlantic and Kernan boulevards.
Earth Fare wants to develop the Mandarin South store as a “modern and more updated operation” of its organic and natural foods grocery chain.
The description was included in a request for a zoning exception to sell beer and wine for off-premises consumption or by the glass in the store.
The Shelby Report trade publication reported the Emory Point store in Atlanta was the first of the grocery chain’s locations to use the urban concept design.
It said the layout places a greater emphasis on freshly prepared food items, including sandwiches and wraps, juices, smoothies and coffees, plus made-in-house sushi, salads and other entrees and sides.
That store also features a 50-seat, indoor/outdoor cafe with free Wi-Fi.
Preferred Growth Properties, through PGP Jacksonville LLC, is redeveloping the Mandarin South shopping center.
The proposed 27,550-square-foot Earth Fare location formerly was used as a Winn-Dixie, Wood You Furniture and Ollie Koala’s BackYard, an indoor playground.
Plans show the store will have an indoor 62-seat cafe and outdoor cafe seating for 16.
Earth Fare will be joined at Mandarin South by new junior anchor PetSmart, which said it planned to open there in fall 2017.
Other tenants include AutoZone, Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe, Tijuana Flats Tex-Mex, Yogurt Mountain and Planet Beach Spray & Spa.
Several other units appear to remain available, according to the sign waiver application.
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