Kanine Social owner and founder Daniel Moffatt is moving to the next phase of The Block Jax in Southside Quarter with an application to build the project.
The city is reviewing a permit application for Jacksonville-based Equity Builders LLC to construct the project at a job cost of almost $3.32 million.
It follows a site-clearing permit for the 2.5-acre site at a cost of $43,250.
Moffatt said May 14 the land is cleared. He expects a 10-month construction project for completion in early 2025.
Moffatt plans a Kanine Social kennel, day care, boarding and play yard facility along with an outdoor entertainment park on the site at 7520 Quarter Mill Road in Southside Quarter at southwest Interstate 295 and Butler Boulevard. It is south of St. Johns Town Center.
The Block Jax is at southeast Gate Parkway and Village Crossing Drive within Southside Quarter.
The website is theblockjax.com.
The permit application shows 6,660 square feet of enclosed space and 10,720 square feet of unenclosed space.
Moffatt estimated in December it will be an $8.5 million project.
The project team – all local – comprises Halff Inc., which is providing land planning landscape architecture and civil engineering; Design Cooperative LLC is the architect; Equity Builders of Florida LLC is the contractor; and Community First Credit Union is the lender.
Community First Credit Union of Florida made a mortgage and Florida First Capital arranged a Small Business Administration loan.
Moffatt said May 14 he also expected a crowdfunding campaign “to allow the community the opportunity to have a small individual investment in what we see as a great amenity/business coming to the city.”
He said the campaign, hosted by Honeycomb Credit, should launch in mid-June. "Individuals will have the ability to invest as little as $100 to help raise additional capital for the project," Moffatt said.
He said there will be incentives for those who invest higher amounts, such as founder's bricks; shirts, hats, merchandise; and a free drink every Friday for the first year.
Moffatt owns the property through Containerland RE Holdings LLC, which bought the land for $2.25 million in November 2023 from S-15 Land Holdings LLC, part of the Hines privately owned global real estate investment, development and management firm.
Moffatt, the creator and founder of Kanine Social, Jacksonville’s first dog park and bar in the Brooklyn area of Downtown, announced plans for the Southside Quarter project in December.
It involves an outdoor food hall, live music venue and play park for children, next to a new Kanine Social, whose tagline is “Food. Family. Fun.” Admission will be free.
“We had a lot of customers who were young and they only had dogs and then a couple of years later, they end up having kids and they no longer could come to Kanine Social because you can’t have kids running around in a dog park. It just doesn’t work,” Moffatt said Dec. 12.
He said he and partners, including his wife, Megan, are developing The Block Jax. He said the plan is “to be a little bit different than your typical playground.”
The Moffatts have three young children.
Moffatt said in December The Block Jax will comprise a covered outdoor food hall with eight vendors, a craft beer bar, a fenced-in children’s play area called Kids on the Block, a 30-foot-wide LED video wall for football games and movies, and other amenities, including a stage, lawn and arcade games and a golf simulator.
Moffatt said in December he expected to hire 40-50 employees between The Block Jax and Kanine Social.
He thinks the project could generate up to 75 full- and part-time jobs when including those by the food vendors.
Moffatt envisions The Block Jax opening at 9 a.m. daily and closing about 10 p.m., depending on events, such as NFL and college football games carried on the video screen.
Moffatt said most of the food vendors will be experienced area restaurateurs who want to open a second or third location or try a new concept.
“The food pods, as we call them, are shipping-container-style so they’re just a small kitchen, they’re fully equipped, so the vendors can come in and they can try something out and it doesn’t cost a lot for them to do that,” Moffatt said.
Moffatt said there will be six food options, an ice cream pod and probably a coffee-smoothie-type vendor.
Next to The Block Jax will be Moffatt’s second Kanine Social dog park, day care and boarding center.
Dogs will be allowed on leash at The Block Jax, but access to Kanine Social’s private dog park will require a membership.
Moffatt said the new Kanine Social’s day will be similar to the first one, with drop-off for day care and boarding at 7 a.m. and pickup by 7 p.m.
The project has been in progress for more than a year.
Moffatt registered Kanine Social Gate Parkway LLC and Containerland RE Holdings LLC with the state Jan. 30, 2023, and The Block Jacksonville LLC on Aug. 18, 2023.
Civil engineering plans were submitted to the city Dec. 12. Moffatt expected site work could start in early 2024 with project completion by year-end.
Community First Credit Union of Florida made a mortgage to Containerland for $4.25 million.
Moffatt said Florida First Capital arranged a Small Business Administration 504 loan, which provides long-term, fixed-rate financing up to $5 million for major fixed assets.
Moffatt leads the ownership group for Block Jacksonville LLC.
He said in December that Ryan Irish will be a minority owner and the operating partner for both of Kanine Social’s Jacksonville locations as well as The Block Jax.
Along with the Moffatts and Irish as active investors, Moffatt’s father and brother-in-law are passive minority investors.
Moffatt opened the original Kanine Social in August 2018 at 580 College St. in the Brooklyn-Riverside area to provide dog day care services along with an indoor/outdoor dog park where owners can drink beer, wine and coffee and socialize while their dogs play.
He bought the 15,884-square-foot building in 2017.