An animal processing facility for an Indian and Middle Eastern grocery and counter service restaurant is being proposed on a parcel in Northwest Jacksonville.
City documents indicate plans to build a 25,000-square-foot processing facility at 7709 Woodley Road, west of New Kings Road on the western edge of a light industrial area that includes a vehicle salvaging and parts operation, a manufacturing facility and a trucking company. There are a small number of residences in the vicinity.
The plant is connected to Apna Bazar, which offers Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, South Indian, Middle Eastern and English foods in its full-service grocery story at 11173 Beach Blvd. A food counter operation is connected to the grocery. Similar establishments named Apna Bazar or Apna Bazaar operate in several Florida cities.
The grocer’s products include halal meats, which are processed in accordance with Islamic law.
Carla Bahri, a Jacksonville Realtor and the listing agent for the property, described the plant as a USDA-licensed and approved food processor. She said the site would comply with USDA and local zoning regulations, including setbacks from neighboring property lines.
An application for a zoning exception was placed on the agenda for the April 4 meeting of the Jacksonville Planning Commission and has been deferred to a later date. An agenda listing for the zoning exception shows that there is no staff report on the application and no staff recommendation.
Duval County Property Appraiser records show that the site contains a residence with 528 square feet of heated space. Bahri said the home had been abandoned and would likely be torn down to make way for the facility.
An application for JEA electric, sewer and water service filed March 27 describes the site’s future use as a 25,000-square-foot enclosed metal building.
The applicant is listed as Andre Bahri of Prestige Properties. On the Planning Commission agenda, Andre Bahri is listed as the agent for the property owner, which is identified as Whitaker Estates Management LLC. Duval County property records list a Detroit address for the LLC.
Andre Bahri returned calls with a text message saying he was out of the country and would respond to questions when he returned.