United Parcel Service Inc. is adding capacity for the holiday rush as it prepares for a major expansion of its Westside Industrial Park regional package distribution center.
At Westlake Industrial Park, The Conlan Co. plans a $1.9 million renovation to the former Samsung building that UPS will lease for additional package-processing capacity while its hub expansion is under development.
The former Samsung facility will be completed this fall in time for the holiday volume surge. The 400,000-square-foot building is at 12400 Presidents Court.
Conlan will add 40 docks, repair 60 more, build two warehouse restrooms and renovate about 5,600 square feet of existing office space.
UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg said in April the operation will give UPS extra processing capacity during the November-December holiday shipping season while construction of the Jacksonville hub is underway.
She said the new portion of the Jacksonville hub will be partially open by fall 2018, but the full project won’t be open until fall 2019.
UPS will shift some workers from Westside Industrial Park during the construction as tractor-trailer loads move to Westlake for processing.
The former Samsung Electronics America Inc. warehouse became available after the company’s lease expired at the end of February.
Westlake is west of Pritchard and Chaffee roads, north of Interstate 10. It is owned by LIT Westlake LLC, whose manager is Clarion Partners executive John Killian in Dallas.
Also, UPS also is making plans for what it calls a “relief village.”
That village will be set up on a 15.8-acre site at 3938 Imeson Road. Plans show an 11,080-square-foot modular building and staging with 60 standard spaces and 200 spots for trailers.
The village is referred to as staging for relief of the existing UPS center during renovation, which is at northwest Imeson and Pritchard roads.
One plan calls it the “United Parcel Service Air Relief Village.”
The property, at southwest Imeson and Pritchard roads, is owned by Ray Lane Properties LLC and is near the main UPS center.
The engineer is Barrios Engineering LLC of Orlando.
UPS announced in November it will invest $196 million to expand its Jacksonville ground package hub. That came after City Council approval of $4.3 million in taxpayer incentives for the project.
UPS will add more than 260,000 square feet to its building at 4420 Imeson Road in Westside Industrial Park and add advanced technology and operations automation.
Atlanta-based UPS said when the expansion is completed in fall 2019, the hub’s capacity will increase by one-third to more than 80,000 packages per hour.
UPS said Jacksonville’s operation is one of the larger U.S. ground processing facilities and an important transit point to connect road and rail in the UPS network.
More than 1,650 full and part-time UPS employees work at both the hub and its adjacent four package centers.
The incentives legislation said the global logistics solutions company would create 10 jobs that would pay an average $50,675 a year by the end of 2020.
As part of the expansion, the Jacksonville facility will be retrofitted to include the company’s latest sorting and processing technology.
The company filed plans with the city to expand its 532,000-square-foot regional package distribution center by almost 264,000 square feet, creating a nearly 800,000-square-foot center.
A zoning application showed it would increase parking spaces from 954 to 1,661. The legislation said the company already employs 965 people.
The UPS center was developed in 1989. Information submitted with the site plan says the total property boundary is about 130 acres.
EC Furniture takes World Market space
After being vacant for more than two years, the former World Market space at Regency Commons has a new tenant.
Bobbie Eunice opened East Coast Furniture & More in late March in 18,000 square feet of space at 651 Commerce Drive, Unit 300.
World Market closed in early 2015.
Eunice said East Coast Furniture is open 10-6 a.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
The main sign on the building says EC Furniture. Another sign on the building says Antiques, although Eunice said the furnishings are new.
Eunice also operates Antiques & More Consignment at 11270 Beach Blvd.
Village Bread build-out approved
Village Bread Café was OK’d for build-out in Central Park East at 4073 Philips Highway, which is a move from its 5215 Philips Highway location.
D.M. Watson Construction Inc. will renovate the 4,588-square-foot space for the breakfast-and-lunch café at a cost of $201,600.
In addition to the Philips Highway site, Village Bread operates in Mandarin and Downtown in the Jacksonville Landing.
It also has a wholesale bakery, Village Bread & Bagels Inc., at 3044 Mercury Road.
Jumpin’ Jax gets OK to renovate
Jumpin’ Jax House of Food landed approval to renovate the former Red Elephant restaurant at 10131 San Jose Blvd.
Phil Green Contractor Inc. will renovate the 5,210-square-foot space at a cost of $130,000.
Jumpin’ Jax will seat more than 135 and is targeting a spring opening after Memorial Day.
It will be open for lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday and from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday.
The menu includes burgers, chicken, pizza, salads, wraps, rolls, hot dogs, a kids’ menu, desserts and more. It won’t have a bar, but it will carry beer and wine.
Owner Howland “Howdy” Russell said previously Jumpin’ Jax wants to be the neighborhood “house of food that people love and trust.”
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