The city is reviewing construction permit applications for the first three buildings at Imeson Port Center in North Jacksonville that developer Chalmers Property Co. estimates totals $66 million.
The Conlan Co. of Jacksonville is shown as the contractor for the three 200,000-square-foot buildings, totaling 600,000 square feet, at 1001 Zoo Parkway.
They are Buildings 1A, 1B and 1C.
Imeson Port Center is north and south of Zoo Parkway and next to the intersection with Imeson Park Boulevard.
The first phase of 30.6 acres is north of Zoo Parkway.
The city has reviewed and approved civil engineering plans for permitting for Virginia-based Chalmers Property Co. to develop Imeson Port Center.
LS3P Associates Ltd. of Savannah, Georgia, is the architect. The BGE Inc. civil engineering firm, led by Jenny Urcan, director of land and site development, is the civil engineer.
BGE submitted civil engineering plans to the city May 23, 2023.
Chalmers Property Co. Group Executive Vice President Fraser Chalmers said in April 2023 that the Fairfax, Virginia-based company intends to invest a projected $175 million to $200 million to develop up to 1.67 million square feet of industrial space. It also has offices in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Duval County property records show that through IPC Owner LLC, Chalmers Property paid $10.4 million in December 2022 for 106 acres. It bought the property from Bostwick Trust entities.
Chalmers Property bought additional land in the third and fourth quarters of 2023 to create a 130-acre park.
Chalmers said the company will develop nine speculative multitenant buildings. Six will be north of Zoo Parkway and three will be south.
The company broke ground in August 2023 and intends to deliver the first phase comprising two speculative 200,000-square-foot buildings and a pad for another of that size in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Chalmers said if leasing is strong on the first 400,000 square feet, Chalmers would build the additional building.
Three additional buildings are in design.
Chalmers said JLL Executive Managing Director Luke Pope and Senior Vice President Ross Crabtree were the primary brokers on the property transaction and will handle leasing.
Chalmers is targeting tenants who need 50,000 to 200,000 square feet of space.
“We are seeing opportunity in the size range of the buildings we are creating,” he said.
He anticipates that local and regional tenants would lease the space.
The site’s proximity to JaxPort Blount Island Marine Terminal could attract port-oriented tenants.
The site also is close to Interstate 95 to the west.
ChalmersProperty.com says the company began in 1991 as a privately held and family-owned real estate investment and development firm delivering major land projects across the greater Washington, D.C., area.
Chalmers Property Co. has redirected its growth from the greater Washington, D.C., area with joint ventures and institutional partners in Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah; and now Jacksonville.
Fraser Chalmers and his brother, Grant Chalmers, both executive vice presidents, handle the operations of Chalmers Property Co.
Their father, David M. Chalmers, is the president and founder.