Darifair Foods LLC can build its proposed Southside Innovation and Technical Center in South Jacksonville now that the city issued a permit for the project.
Stellar Group Inc. is the contractor for the $13 million project at 13129 Flagler Center Blvd. in Flagler Center. The city issued the permit Sept. 28 for the 42,967-square-foot building on about 5.06 acres.
The foundation permit was approved Aug. 18.
Darifair is a Jacksonville-based food-science company based in Mandarin at 4131 Sunbeam Road. It occupies a 13,500-square-foot office building.
Plans for the new center show customer service cubicles; a break room-meeting area; storage areas, including for raw materials; a research and development kitchen and a separate show kitchen; research rooms; R&D cubicles; a conference area; and accounting and human resources, among other functions.
Darifair Foods LLC wants to develop the commercial building at northeast Gran Bay Parkway and Flagler Center Boulevard.
The company paid $2.1 million Jan. 23 for the development site.
The Flagler Center office and industrial park is south of Old St. Augustine Road between Interstate 95 and Philips Highway.
Darifair.com says Darifair Foods focuses on creating culinary and food science-focused innovations for restaurants and food manufacturers.
Darifair Foods produces and supplies dairy products such as creams, cottage cheese, yogurt, fluid creamers, milk, ice creams, yogurt smoothies, sauces and other dairy products to clients in the U.S.
The Block family founded and continues to lead the privately owned company. Arbor Investments, with offices in Chicago and New York, announced May 1, 2019, that it invested in the company.
A spokeswoman said Sept. 29 she had no comment.