T.J. Maxx and Bealls Outlet are expected to move into the University Shopping Center to fill the space vacated by Stein Mart.
Jim Simpson, vice president of real estate for Beall’s Outlet Stores Inc., said Thursday the outlet at Beauclerc Village was moving and expanding into the University Shopping Center at University Boulevard West and St. Augustine Road.
He said employment will increase from 15 to 25.
“It’s a better fit for us,” he said. LA Fitness is in the center, and the new T.J. Maxx also is a driver.
T.J. Maxx will move into about 24,000 square feet, Simpson said. He expects to open about February.
A T.J. Maxx spokeswoman did not return an email for comment.
The former Stein Mart space was vacated when the Jacksonville-based chain moved a mile west to the Lakewood Promenade in March 2011. After that, plans surfaced in 2012 at the St. Johns River Water Management District that showed a Marshalls store in the space.
The district earlier had issued a permit to University Center CRP LLC, based in Palm Beach Gardens, for improvements to the center. The center also formerly housed a Publix Super Markets store, which relocated nearby. LA Fitness took that space.
The plans filed with the district show the 11.07-acre site with a total building area of 104,748 square feet.
The plans also showed an “existing Marshalls” in 27,041 square feet in the former Stein Mart store. Plans show an available space of 17,975 square feet next to the Marshalls.
T.J. Maxx and Bealls Outlet will fill that space, Simpson said.
A CVS/pharmacy, Dollar Tree, dry cleaner and McDonald’s are also are on site.
T.J. Maxx and Marshalls are both part of The TJX Companies Inc., based in Framingham, Mass. The two form The Marmaxx Group.
Meanwhile, Bealls Outlet’s neighbor at Beauclerc Village, Goodwill Industries of North Florida, also is moving.
Goodwill to expand at new Mandarin site
Goodwill Industries of North Florida will elevate its Mandarin profile by relocating to the site of the former Halls Nurseries and also remodeling a former Wendy’s restaurant for a donation drive-thru.
Karen Phillips, chief operating officer at Goodwill, said the lease at its existing Mandarin store at 9742 Old St. Augustine Road in Beauclerc Village will expire in April and is not being renewed. It has been there since October 2001.
She said Goodwill also has been looking for several years for a new Mandarin location for logistical reasons. The existing 13,000-square-foot store is in a shopping center while the new location will occupy a larger, standalone building. Donors lining up in the shopping center parking lot can experience traffic congestion.
Plans filed with the city show that the former Halls Nurseries at 11524 San Jose Blvd. will be converted into an almost 19,000-square-foot Goodwill. The move could take place in February, Phillips said.
Halls Nurseries of Mandarin Inc. sold the site June 30 to 11524 San Jose Blvd. LLC for $1.7 million. Paul Meadows is the manager of the LLC. He will be Goodwill’s landlord. He also is the landlord for Goodwill’s Orange Park store.
The city issued a mobility fee calculation certificate for the project June 30. Plans also show an outparcel on the site for a 7,680-square-foot building. Phillips said that would be for another tenant.
The new Goodwill site is about 3 miles south of the existing Mandarin store, which Phillips said is a strong site for donations. It’s at the fork of San Jose Boulevard and Old St. Augustine Road.
To serve those donors, Goodwill closed Wednesday on the purchase of the former Wendy’s at 9910 San Jose Blvd. to remodel as a drive-thru donation center. The restaurant has been closed for years, she said. It’s near the existing Goodwill store.
“This is the first property we have bought to build a donation center,” Phillips said. Goodwill paid $487,000 for the property, buying it from San Jose Wenco LLC.
Goodwill operates 10 thrift stores in Duval County and 11 more in the area, including the Bluetique store in Ponte Vedra Beach. That store focuses on gently used designer clothes. Goodwill also operates an e-commerce site, shopgoodwill.com.
Phillips said Goodwill also is working on the purchase of property along St. Augustine Road, across from Publix Super Markets Inc.
Goodwill Industries of North Florida has been operating in the area for more than 70 years. It collects donated items and sells those at its thrift stores and online. The money is used for training and placement services. It also receives government and foundation grants to support specific job-training and placement programs.
Sauer to build Speech & Hearing project
Sauer Inc. announced this week it was awarded the contract to build a $1.2 million project for the Jacksonville Speech & Hearing Center at 1128 N. Laura St.
Jacksonville-based Sauer, a general contracting firm, expects to break ground on the 8,000-square-foot, single-story administrative and clinical facility late this year and complete it about eight months later.
The building will include private and open office spaces, speech therapy rooms, audiology spaces, a playroom, a staff break room, restrooms, a conference room, records and storage space, and a main lobby with a waiting area.
It will replace the existing building at 1128 N. Laura St.
Kasper Architecture of Jacksonville is providing design services.
Shoppes on Riverside now Brooklyn Station
Regency Centers has renamed the Shoppes on Riverside center the Brooklyn Station on Riverside.
The center, which is under construction along Riverside Avenue, will feature a Fresh Market and Corner Bakery Café, as well as two more tenants shown on its website — Hair Cuttery, next to Fresh Market, and Zoës Kitchen, in a building at Riverside Avenue and Stonewall Street.
Brooklyn Station will comprise almost 50,000 square feet of space.
Zoës will move from 1661 Riverside Ave.
Guardian Fueling Technologies building at FedEx
Guardian Fueling Technologies applied for a permit to build a diesel fueling facility at the FedEx Ground facility under development at Cecil Commerce Center.
The project cost is $165,000, according to the application.
Jesse Bull, a spokesman for FedEx Ground, said by email that the bio-diesel fueling station is part of the process to build the FedEx Ground facility.
The FedEx Ground Small Package System Sorting Facility is under construction at 13509 Waterworks St. in the West Jacksonville business park. The facility is scheduled to open in a year.
Guardian Fueling Technologies is based in Jacksonville.
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