TOTE Services Inc., a New Jersey-based shipping management company, is moving its headquarters to Greystone Business Park in Jacksonville’s Southside.
President Phil Greene Jr. said Monday the move would be completed by mid-July and that TOTE Services would relocate 15 people and hire about 15 more.
“Jacksonville is a great workforce town and an excellent location for a ship management business being located on the East Coast,” Greene said.
Greene said TOTE is moving senior leadership, back-office functions, purchasing and payroll, and engineering and other expertise to manage third-party vessels for commercial owners and government clients.
TOTE is based in Moorestown, N.J. The Greystone location also is convenient because sister company Sea Star Line LLC also is based at the business park, where it leases about 30,000 square feet.
TOTE Services is one of six operating companies owned by TOTE Inc. Another of the six, TOTE Maritime, includes Sea Star Line, which operates in the Florida trade to Puerto Rico.
“One of the reasons to locate in Jacksonville is to gain synergy through our sister company,” Greene said.
Greene said the investment is a long-term commitment to the Jacksonville area, including the relocation and hiring of staff that will live in Northeast Florida.
He said the company has discussed its move with city and JAX Chamber leaders. Headquarters and transportation logistics both are targeted industries by the city and state.
“It is an excellent strategic move for us. It’s good for our business,” he said. “We think the time was right and the opportunity was there, so this is the normal progression for our business.”
The city is reviewing a building-permit application for TOTE Services to renovate more than 8,000 square feet of space at 10550 Deerwood Park Blvd., No. 600.
Kendale Design/Build General Contractors is the contractor for the $375,000 project. JAA Architecture is the architect.
Plans show office areas, conference rooms and training rooms. Plans also indicate future expansion space.
TOTE Inc. was formed as Interocean Management Corp. in 1975 in Delaware from a merger. It provides operation and management services for third-party ship owners of foreign and U.S. flag vessels owned by affiliated companies.
TOTE and all of its subsidiaries are members of the Saltchuk Resources family of brands. Saltchuk is a family-owned private investment company in Seattle.
Greystone is a seven-building, 212,240-square-foot park owned by Taurus Investment Group, which bought the property in 2006. It was developed in
1998-99.
3/R Group to expand bakery-equipment site
The 3/R Group Inc., a bakery-equipment servicing company, plans to expand its Southside warehouse in Greenland Business Park.
Plans filed with the city show the company, based in Mooresville, N.C., proposes a 4,213-square-foot addition to the 5,040-square-foot warehouse it operates at 11641 Columbia Park Drive W.
The Touring Co. is the project civil engineer and Urban Partners Construction LLC is the agent.
The 3/R Group Inc. and 3/R Bakery Group Inc. took out a $470,000 mortgage April 10 from Branch Banking and Trust Co. on the property, which it bought in 2010.
The warehouse sits on 2.34 acres.
The 3/R Group is led by Mike Roberts, the president and owner, and Donna Roberts, the secretary.
The Robertses did not return calls or emails for comment.
The 3rgroup.com site says that since 1993, the company has provided “premier bakery equipment exchange services for supermarkets and bakeries throughout the United States.”
The company re-tins by cleaning and fixing mixing bowls; re-glazes to remove carbon and restore a pan; and re-wires by reconstructing wire whips back to their original form and function.
In addition to its North Carolina headquarters, the 3/R Group has bases in Jacksonville and Chicago, which enables it to provide nationwide service, it says.
The site says Mike Roberts has been in the supermarket sales and service business for more than 30 years. Since starting the 3/R Group 21 years ago, it has remained a family-owned and operated business.
Moto Electric Vehicles on the move
The St. Johns River Water Management District is reviewing an application for Moto Electric Vehicles to build a 5,960-square-foot warehouse building at 54 10th St. in Atlantic Beach.
Ted Jackrel, managing partner of Gator Moto Utility Vehicles and More LLC, said Monday the company also plans to take over a 4,300-square-foot office he owns across the road at West Ninth Street, but will start with the warehouse.
Jackrel’s wife, Debra, also is a partner in the business, which registered with the state in
2006.
The company does business as Moto Electric Vehicles and More LLC and operates at 2426 Mayport Road, Suite 4.
“We grew out of the present space due to growth in business,” Ted Jackrel said.
He hopes to move into the new facility by June and add the corporate headquarters at West Ninth Street and Mayport Road by the end of the year.
He estimates it as a $1.4 million investment.
Jackrel said the family has been in the transportation field for 38 years.
Moto Electric Vehicles distributes CitEcar electric vehicles, people movers, parking shuttles and street-equipped golf carts for low-speed neighborhoods, such as amusement parks, resorts, retirement communities, institutions, school campuses and churches, according to the motoelectricvehicles.com site.
Jackrel said the company’s products can be found in Atlantic City, where the electric shuttles ferry boardwalk and casino visitors; and with the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and Florida Gators, which use the EMS products.
Feature[23] build-out OK’d
The city approved tenant build-out Monday for Feature[23] at the Greenleaf & Crosby Building Downtown at a project
cost of $110,000.
Tenant Contractors Inc. is handling the 3,908-square-foot project on the 10th floor at 208 N. Laura St.
The software engineering company intends to relocate from St. Augustine. Feature[23] launched in 2008 in Jacksonville’s Southpoint area and moved to St. Augustine two years ago.
Space plans show offices, a conference room, a break area with games, open offices, collaboration space and more. The architect is ASD.
Retail notes
• The city approved the renovation permit Monday for the Walmart Neighborhood Market at the Wilson Square Shopping Center at 6855 Wilson Blvd. R.A. Rogers Construction Co. LLC is the contractor for the $2.14 million project to convert a 39,442-square-foot former Food Lion into the area’s fifth Neighborhood Market.
• Express Oil LLC intends to open at River City Marketplace in North Jacksonville. The 4,835-square-foot Express Oil Change & Service Center will sit on 0.68 acre along Max Leggett Parkway.
• Coldwater Creek Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization and said in a news release it would hold going-out-of-business sales in the coming months for all its stores. It has a location in St. Johns Town
Center.
• RadioShack Corp. is negotiating with lenders over plans to close up to 1,100 stores. The Wall Street Journal reports that the consumer-electronics retailer, which operates about 4,300 stores in the U.S., is delaying the closures, now targeting just 200 stores. Some lenders are exploring whether as many as 2,000 stores should close.
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