A group led by Easton, Sanderson and Co. President Sam Easton intends to develop the Edgewood Commerce Center in Northwest Jacksonville at North Edgewood Avenue and West 12th Street.
Easton said Nov. 20 the group, Ocean Swim LLC, paid $1.8 million for the 21 acres and will develop 295,000 square feet of space.
Easton said he plans to build grade-level metal warehouses with 2,500- and 5,000-square-foot units. The first phase comprises 60,000 square feet.
Monthly rental rates are planned at $1,700 for the smaller units and $2,600 for the larger ones.
Easton, Sanderson, in business since 1978, owns 38 warehouses with 176 tenants totaling almost 2 million square feet of space, Easton said.
“A lot of them are these small 2,500- to 10,000-square-foot users,” Easton said. “The market for small space is great. I am sure it is below 4% vacant on space below 10,000 square feet.”
That size appeals to tradespeople and to retailers and others who need storage, he said.
Easton expects construction to start in the third quarter next year for availability in November 2021.
There also are two outparcels of 1 and 2 acres, with the larger under a letter of intent for construction of 10,000 square feet of retail space, he said.
Easton said the site, at 2305 Edgewood Ave. N., is zoned industrial light and is cleared with no wetland.
He said there are no Phase 1 environmental problems.
Plans show the potential for 15 buildings of 13,500 to 24,000 square feet each, comprising the small units.
The land is in a federal Opportunity Zone.
Such zones are in economically distressed areas where private investments may be eligible for capital gain tax incentives. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created the zones.
Easton said the site has been owned by 12 members of a family that has farmed the property since the 1940s.
“I have a lot of properties within the three-mile vicinity that I’ve had a lot of success renting out,” Easton said.
“I have a lot of confidence there is a lot of demand in that area. It’s a good piece of property.”
