Fields Auto Group proposes to build “Porsche at World Commerce Center,” its second auto service center at the St. Johns County property it owns along Interstate 95.
It previously filed plans for a Mercedes-Benz center at the site, which Fields Auto Group has said can accommodate up to three dealerships.
St. Johns County is reviewing a master development plan application filed April 22 for a 21,000-square-foot Porsche auto service center and a 4,500-square-foot car wash and detail center, along with associated infrastructure, on World Commerce Parkway.
The site is on 5.2 acres of the 15.5 acres Fields Auto Group bought two years ago. The address is St. Augustine.
BGE Inc. is the civil engineer.
St. Johns County already has received a pre-application for “Mercedes at World Commerce Center,” north of the Porsche site.
The Mercedes-Benz pre-application, dated Feb. 29, describes the project as construction of a 27,097-square-foot automotive service/sales center and infrastructure on Parcel G-2 in World Commerce Center.
For the Mercedes-Benz project, the St. Johns River Water Management District has been reviewing an application submitted Jan. 30 for Fields Auto Group in Orlando to clear and grade 5.8 acres of the 15.5-acre site it owns along World Commerce Parkway.
That conceptual site plan data specifies a 27,097-square-foot facility while plans show a 24,815-square-foot building.
The Porsche master development plan shows a future 5.19-acre development area south of the site, which could be for a third Fields Auto Group dealership.
“All I can tell you is that we are planning on building automotive sales and service centers,” said Shermin Pelinski, general counsel for Fields Auto Group, in an email June 5, 2023.
“We anticipate 2 to 3 luxury brands/dealerships,” she said, but could not discuss which brands.
The Fields property is south of the proposed Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, which is south of Costco Wholesale and Buc-ee’s.
Fields Motorcars of Florida Inc. in Orlando paid $10 million for 15.5 acres in a purchase that closed Dec. 6, 2022. It bought the vacant land from Jacksonville-based Steinemann-Wolfe LLC.
Steinemann is the developer of the World Commerce Center Development of Regional Impact, which is at Interstate 95 and International Golf Parkway.
Along with the sale, Steinemann Development Company – Florida Inc. allocated 130,000 square feet of development rights for retail use to Fields Motorcars of Florida Inc.
Pelinski is general counsel of Fields Auto Group in Glencoe, Illinois, near Chicago.
FieldsAuto.com says Fields Auto Group has 34 dealerships in Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin.
The site says that Fields Auto, which is family-owned and operated, began with the opening of Fields Cadillac in Evanston, Illinois, near Chicago, in 1971.
Its 19 brands are MINI, BMW, Bentley Motors, Cadillac, Chrysler, Dodge, Jaguar, Jeep, Karma, Lamborghini, Land Rover and Range Rover, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ram Trucks, Rolls-Royce, Sprinter, Volvo Cars and Mazda.
It also sells used vehicles.
In Northeast Florida, it has Fields Cadillac Jacksonville and Fields Cadillac St. Augustine; Jaguar Jacksonville; Land Rover Jacksonville; Lexus of Jacksonville; Lexus of Orange Park; Mercedes-Benz of Jacksonville; Mercedes-Benz of Orange Park; Porsche Jacksonville; and Fields Collision Jacksonville.
In the Arlington area of Jacksonville, Fields Motorcars of Florida Inc. estimates a potential $10 million investment to demolish, rebuild and renovate its Mercedes-Benz of Jacksonville sales and pre-owned vehicles buildings at 10231 Atlantic Blvd.