A developer who has completed two projects for Amazon.com is identified in documents for Project Rex, an unnamed company that proposes to create 1,500 jobs and invest $200 million to develop a state-of-the-art fulfillment center in North Jacksonville.
Legislation for Project Rex was filed this morning with City Council and is slated to be introduced tonight to City Council. If approved and Jacksonville is chosen, the project would break ground this summer.
The project requests $18.4 million in city and state incentives for the jobs to be created by Dec. 31, 2019.
Seefried Industrial Properties of Atlanta is identified in documents as the client for roadway improvements for the project at Pecan Park and Duval roads, north along Interstate 295 and west of I-95.
The 171-acre site is south of the Jacksonville International Airport and is in the Jacksonville International Airport Community Redevelopment Area.
Seefried has developed 1-million-square-foot centers for Amazon.com in Richmond, Va., and Nashville. No project size was specified in the legislation.
Global e-commerce retailer Amazon.com was not identified in the legislation, but Project Rex fits the parameters for its needs.
The project summary says the company has more than 20 years of experience in the retail and e-commerce markets and employees more than 200,000 people worldwide. That matches online descriptions of Seattle-based Amazon.com’s job count. In the company’s latest Securities and Exchange Commission’s annual report, it said it has 230,800 full- and part-time employees. It opened online in 1995.
Amazon.com has not returned a call or email for comment.
Jacksonville Office of Economic Development Executive Director Kirk Wendland would not confirm or comment when asked if Project Rex is Amazon.com, explaining he had signed a confidentiality agreement.
He said Tuesday morning if the unidentified project chooses Jacksonville, it would provide jobs for the Northwest area of the community that has not experienced the economic growth of the city’s Southside.
“We think it would be an outstanding opportunity for us,” he said.
Jerry Mallot, president of the JAX Chamber’s JAXUSA Partnership economic development division, said Tuesday he could not comment about the project.
According to the project summary, Project Rex said the combination of state and city incentives is a material factor in its decision to locate a fulfillment center in Jacksonville.
City incentives totaling $13.4 million are:
State incentives of $4.95 million are:
Project Rex’s annual payroll in Jacksonville is expected to be more than $51 million, according to a project summary.
Legislation is pegged to be fast-tracked through council.
The summary says supporting Project Rex does not ensure it will select Jacksonville, but that providing the evaluation team an “approved” local investment package adds a level of certainty to the Jacksonville offer.
The property identified as the project site is owned by Broward Signature LLP of Yulee and CRM Florida Properties LLC of Atlanta.
Steve Leggett, owner of Signature Land Inc. in Yulee, was not available for comment.
Seefried Industrial Properties has not responded to an email.
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