Darifair Foods LLC, the Jacksonville-based food-science company, wants to lay the foundation for its Southside Innovation and Technical Center.
Stellar Group Inc. is the contractor and architect for the project at 13129 Flagler Center Blvd. in the Flagler Center office and industrial park in South Jacksonville.
Darifair wants to build an almost 43,000-square-foot building with about 5,300 square feet of unenclosed space.
The job cost is shown at an estimated $15 million on the foundation permit.
Plans show customer service cubicles; a break room-meeting area; storage areas, including for raw materials; a research and development kitchen and a separate show kitchen; research rooms; R&D cubicles; a conference area; and accounting and human resources, among other functions.
Darifair Foods LLC wants to develop the commercial building on 5.07 acres at northeast Gran Bay Parkway and Flagler Center Boulevard.
The company paid $2.1 million Jan. 23 for the development site.
Flagler Center is south of Old St. Augustine Road between Interstate 95 and Philips Highway.
The city has been reviewing construction plans and the St. Johns River Water Management District issued a permit June 19 authorizing a surface water management system on 4.92 acres.
Matthews Design Group of St. Augustine is the civil engineer. ECS Florida LLC is the geotechnical engineer. Codes-ABC Inc. is providing private building plan review for code compliance.
Darifair Foods produces and supplies dairy products such as creams, cottage cheese, yogurt, fluid creamers, milk, ice creams, yogurt smoothies, sauces and other dairy products to clients in the U.S.
Darifair is based in Mandarin at 4131 Sunbeam Road, a 13,500-square-foot office building.
Darifair.com says Darifair Foods focuses on creating culinary and food science-focused innovations for restaurants and food manufacturers.
The Block family founded and continues to lead the privately owned company. Arbor Investments, with offices in Chicago and New York, announced May 1, 2019, that it invested in the company.
A spokeswoman said by email July 30 that she was not ready to comment.