Land changed hands for the $21 million development of the General Services Administration center in North Jacksonville and site work has begun.
The center will be developed for the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
JCLA Development II LLC of Jacksonville sold almost 5.57 acres at 10426 Alta Drive to GenCap Jacksonville 2 LLC, based in Wisconsin, for $1.68 million. JCLA formerly was known as APR Development II LLC.
GenCap was issued a mortgage of almost $15.65 million from The PrivateBank of Trust Co. in Wisconsin.
The mortgage and deed were executed Feb. 20 and recorded Feb. 24 with the Duval County Clerk of Court.
The city approved a demolition permit to take down a 1,000-square-foot structure and remove pavement.
Construction is expected to be completed in early 2016. The federal agencies will use it for offices and related services in support of security at the Port of Jacksonville and its surrounding waters.
Duke Indiana Construction Limited Partnership, part of Duke Realty Corp. of Indiana, is the contractor for the almost $5.6 million shell building, a two-story, 56,549-square-foot structure. Interior build-out will be separately permitted.
The building will yield 46,014 square feet of rentable space. The Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection should take occupancy March 15, 2016, under a 15-year lease.
General Capital Acquisitions LLC of Milwaukee, Wis., won the GSA contract July 31 to develop the structure near the St. Johns River and the Blount Island and Dames Point marine terminals.
According to the GSA, the contract amount is $20,925,000.
The site is along the Interstate 295 East Beltway, north of Zoo Parkway/Heckscher Drive.
General Capital and Duke Realty also developed and built the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Flagler Center in 2012.
Hobby Lobby construction pending
North Jacksonville should be nailing down Hobby Lobby, planned across Max Leggett Parkway from the UF Health Jacksonville North campus that recently opened.
More than $1 million in site work already was approved for the store at 15324 Max Leggett Parkway in the Parkway Shops at River City Marketplace.
Last week, the city also approved a monument sign for “Parkway Shops” and “Hobby Lobby.”
Construction could start soon.
The city also is reviewing a building-permit application for the 55,055-square-foot Hobby Lobby on 3.54 acres. No contractor is named on the construction permit. Dakenna Development is handling site work.
Developer Ramco-Gershenson Inc. of Farmington Hills, Mich., owns the land and is paying for the site work.
Hobby Lobby, planned in the second phase of Parkway Shops, is expected to open in the fall.
The chain has four area stores — one each in Regency, Mandarin, Jacksonville Beach and St. Augustine.
The Parkway Shops project is under development by Ramco-Gershenson, which also developed the adjacent 900,000-square-foot River City Marketplace.
The first phase of Parkway Shops features Dick’s Sporting Goods, Marshalls, Ulta and Newk’s Eatery, along with outparcels that include BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, Mellow Mushroom, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Wendy’s and Express Oil & Lube.
Site plans also show two stores next to Hobby Lobby –– 13,438 and 13,600 square feet –– and a “future major” of more than 134,000 square feet.
JU making outdoor improvements
Jacksonville University proposes a renovation for Nelms Plaza at its Arlington campus at 2800 University Blvd. N.
The $250,000 project, in city review, calls for exterior beautification to the Nelms Science Center. The 13,065 square feet of work includes landscaping, canopies, seating, plants, a cantilevered umbrella and a sculpture.
A spokesman said JU is adding collaborative learning and gathering space on the campus.
Top 10 office facts
Cushman & Wakefield collected the top 10 facts about Jacksonville’s office market for 2014.
• Fidelity National Financial’s lease renewal of 248,650 square feet on the Northbank in Riverside was the largest lease.
• The $88 million sale of the Bank of America Tower at 50 N. Laura St. was the highest value of a building sale.
• Baymeadows, with four leases, and Deerwood, with two, were the submarkets with the highest number of new or renewed leases of at least 25,000 square feet.
• The fourth quarter was the quarter with the sharpest decline in available space at 2.33 percent.
• Southside and Mandarin, both at 6.3 percent, were the submarkets with the largest year-over-year increase in rents.
• The Veranda building at 816 Florida A1A in the Beaches had the highest base asking rent of $28.50 per square foot.
• Butler/Baymeadows, at 194,141 square feet, was the major submarket with the highest level of overall office absorption.
• Butler/Baymeadows, at 329,014 square feet, was the submarket with the largest year-over-year increase in new leasing.
• The year-over-year difference in the total square footage of office space sold as investment sales was 112 percent.
• And the largest office building completed? None.
(904) 356-2466