Retail developer Ben Hakimian is negotiating with a national furniture store to take 20,000 square feet of the 26,500-square-foot Avenues South center he bought early this month.
Mattress Firm and an insurance agency lease the rest of the center, at 11035 Philips Highway.
If the national furniture deal doesn’t work out, Hakimian said he has a clothing store, breakfast restaurant and sub shop, all national chains, along with a regional home accessories store to take the space.
“The market is back,” said Hakimian, whose family development company owns 16 shopping centers in Northeast Florida.
He said the Avenues South center serves residential developments in the area, all the way to Palencia and Nocatee in St. Johns County, and those are busy with construction. New housing needs services, which he says the center would provide.
“All are very promising,” he said. “It went from feast to famine from 2005 to 2007-08.”
The housing market peaked in 2005-06 and then plunged into recession. The market’s return has sparked re-development of shopping centers and retail development.
Hakimian is remodeling the exterior of the center as well. The city is reviewing plans for a $30,000 storefront renovation.
Hakimian Family Limited Partnership, as manager of Gates of The Avenues South LLC, paid $1.53 million for the center May 8. It was built in 1998.
Along with Avenues South, Hakimian owns 15 other centers — nine in Jacksonville, three in Clay County and one each in Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine and Yulee.
Among his other recent purchases being redeveloped is Shoppes of San Jose at University Boulevard West and St. Augustine Road.
UF Health prepares for business
Shands Jacksonville Medical Center Inc. filed notice under the state’s Fictitious Name Law to do business as UF Health Jacksonville North.
Shands Jacksonville, which operates as UF Health Jacksonville, is based at 655 W. Eighth St.
UF Health Jacksonville North will be a 100-bed medical center at northeast Interstate 95 and Max Leggett Parkway, including an emergency department, obstetrics, general surgery and other services, such as imaging, laboratory and outpatient rehabilitation.
The first phase, which is underway, includes a medical office building to house University of Florida and community primary care and specialty physician practices as well as diagnostic, urgent care and ambulatory services, and outpatient surgery.
The medical building is expected to open early next year. There is an administrative hearing on the hospital portion next month in Tallahassee.
Barber shop almost back at Ed Ball
Ultimatum Hair Design LLC will lease space at the back of the Ed Ball Building Downtown pending Ordinance 2014-363.
The proposed ordinance calls for the city to lease 343 square feet of space at the city-owned Ed Ball Building, at 214 N. Hogan St., to the business for 10 years with an option to renew for an additional five-year term.
The initial rate is $15 a square foot plus additional rent of $1.50 a square foot to cover the tenant’s share of common-area costs and expenses, with an annual escalation rate of 3 percent.
The space had been used as a barber shop, but has been vacant since April 2013.
Ultimatum Hair Design LLC’s registered agent is Tino Francis with a principal address of 205 N. Julia St., which is the Bank Barber Shop.
Ultimatum Hair Design’s state corporate records describe it as: “Barber shop and salon services. Hair cut, hot towel, straight razor shave, perm, perm straight, color, hair extension. Educational classes. Sale of products.”
Mary, Queen of Heaven sanctuary in review
The St. Johns River Water Management District is reviewing plans for the proposed new sanctuary for Mary, Queen of Heaven Catholic Church.
The Diocese of St. Augustine proposes to build the church building at the Mary, Queen of Heaven campus at 9401 Staples Mill Drive, Building 100.
Ronald Scalisi Architects is the architect. Goodson, Nevin & Associates is the project engineer.
The project involves constructing a sanctuary on a developed parcel. It includes a new parking lot, wet detention pond and road access.
Mary, Queen of Heaven Catholic Church is building the 754-seat, 17,000-square-foot sanctuary, renovating its existing church into a parish hall and removing modular buildings at its Southwest Jacksonville property.
The $3 million project should be completed in late 2014 or early 2015.
The Diocese of St. Augustine said the parish population is growing, creating the need for expansion.
Mary, Queen of Heaven occupies a 13.56-acre site.
Modular structures were put on-site in 1990 and the existing sanctuary was built in 1993. The church was formed in 1989 and is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
2 apartment projects sell for $84M
AIMCO sold two neighboring Baymeadows apartment communities May 15 for $84 million to Harbor Group International LLC.
• Shelter Properties IV Limited Partnership sold the Villages of Baymeadows Apartments for $71.85 million to Harbor Group International LLC. Shelter Properties of South Carolina is part of AIMCO of Denver.
The buyers are 37 East Baymeadows Villages LLC and Baymeadows Villages Gardens Associates LLC in care of Harbor Group International LLC, which lists addresses in Ellicott City, Md., and in Norfolk, Va.
Wells Fargo issued a $49.8 million mortgage to the buyers. The sale and mortgage were made May 15 and recorded Friday with the Duval County Clerk of Court.
The apartment community was developed in 1969 on 89 acres at 7915 Baymeadows Circle E. The 2014 assessed value in progress is $56.6 million.
Baymeadows Villages Gardens Associates LLC, the new ownership group, already has taken out 48 roofing permits for the property at a project cost of $781,836.
• AIMCO Deerbrook LLC sold the Casa Del Mar at Baymeadows apartments at 8025 Baymeadows Circle E. to Casa Del Mar Gardens Associates LLC and 37 East Casa Del Mar, part of Harbor Group.
Casa Del Mar was built in 1983 on 12.4 acres.
121 buys Hancock site
121 Financial Credit Union paid $1 million Friday for the former Hancock Bank branch site at 3475 Kernan Blvd. S. The 4,164-square-foot branch was built in 2004 on 0.9 acre.
121 Financial bought the property from Whitney Bank, a Mississippi banking corporation formerly known as Hancock Bank.
121 Financial, formerly Florida Telco, was established in 1935. It is based at 9700 Touchton Road and has seven more branch locations in Jacksonville along with two future locations in Bartram Park and at Branan Field Road and Blanding Boulevard. The Kernan address is not listed on the 121fcu.org website.
Citizens Property extends deadlines
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is extending the deadline for bids for a Jacksonville office project.
The Tallahassee-based insurer said late Tuesday bid responses are due at 2 p.m. June 24, a week later than first planned. Other benchmark dates are adjusted as well, including a Jan. 1, 2016, lease starting date, six months later than first announced.
Citizens Property, which is a state government corporation that provides insurance protection to Florida property owners, wants to consolidate and expand its four offices in Jacksonville into about 226,400 square feet of office space.
The company took questions following a May 15 pre-bid conference and was scheduled to post responses Tuesday. The posting date was changed to today.
One expected question is whether the company will expand its boundaries to include Downtown. Citizens Property had specified the office space be within a 5-mile radius of a Citizens Property office at 7215 Financial Way in Southside, which would exclude Downtown.
Avalanche Consulting reviewing city incentives
The city is working with Avalanche Consulting on incentives.
City schedules show Austin, Texas-based Avalanche Consulting is scheduled to be in town today and Thursday to meet with Office of Economic Development executives, some members of Mayor Alvin Brown’s administration and several City Council members.
“It’s part of our public investment policies review with City Council,” said Brown spokeswoman Kristen Sell.
Amy Holloway, president of Avalanche Consulting, said her group was analyzing some city policies and referred questions to the city about its contract.
Avalancheconsulting.com describes the group as “a boutique firm that works with progressive communities that want to transform their economies.”
The company provides competitive analysis and asset mapping, target industry research and selection, economic development strategies, marketing and branding strategies, economic development organizational planning, workforce alignment studies and other services.
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