RaceTrac Petroleum Inc. will build a larger University Boulevard West location at 5225 University Blvd. W. on a site it bought from Home Depot U.S.A. Inc.
Atlanta-based RaceTrac paid almost $2.35 million in June for the 1.79-acre site at northwest University Boulevard and Interstate 95.
The city approved site-clearing in August and issued permits Tuesday for construction of the store, canopy and dumpster enclosure.
Construction and clearing costs total almost $1.33 million.
RaceTrac will build a 5,500-square-foot store. Previous plans showed 20 fueling positions.
RaceTrac operates a smaller store nearby at 5109 University Blvd. W., built in 2004. The company has not said what it plans for that 4,000-square-foot, 1.4-acre location.
The 1.79-acre site of the new store is part of 10.67 vacant acres owned by Home Depot, which previously filed plans for a home improvement warehouse there that it did not develop.
The rest of the site comprises outparcels for other uses, such as restaurants and hotels
Home Depot bought the site in 2007. It demolished a Red Carpet Inn, Super 8, International House of Pancakes, a shuttered adult cabaret and a garage, according to a report in The Florida Times-Union.
Home Depot filed plans for a home improvement store but didn’t build one. The company wants to sell the land to developers. Murphy Land and Retail is marketing it.
RaceTrac has several more sites planned or under construction around Jacksonville, including at the Atlantic North Shopping Center at Atlantic Boulevard and Marketplace Drive; in Baymeadows along Baymeadows Road at Baymeadows Way; and in Arlington at Merrill Road in the Buck Business Park, although that site has not been cleared.
RaceTrac Communications Manager Liz Howell said previously that the new stores feature a Swirl World frozen dessert station with up to 10 flavors and 41 toppings and a large coffee area.
She said the newer stores have “a more shoppable layout, ample seating, free Wi-Fi and more lighting in the store and parking lot,” along with exterior seating.
A RaceTrac location map shows at least 22 locations in Northeast Florida.