The foundation should be laid before year-end for the $85 million UF Health North tower that will bring 92 hospital beds to North Jacksonville by early 2017.
The five-story tower will tie into the medical office that opened in February. That center has operating suites and ancillary services that will serve as the core of the new hospital.
Danis and Batson-Cook Construction will build the tower in a joint venture, said UF Health Jacksonville spokesman Dan Leveton.
The city is reviewing site plans for the tower, which is planned on the almost 70-acre site at 15255 Max Leggett Parkway.
UF Health North opened the six-story medical facility in February. Features include a full-service, 28-bed emergency room; five operating rooms; 16 preoperative and 16 postoperative rooms; and 12 recovery rooms.
It provides more than 20 specialty services, a sleep center, rehabilitation services and the UF Health Birth Center, which opened in March.
UF Health said the North Jacksonville hospital campus will serve the area’s fastest-growing area. From 2000-13, North Jacksonville’s population rose by 30 percent, more than double the growth rate of the rest of Duval and Nassau counties, according to UF Health.
Sleiman adds Kernan land
Sleiman Enterprises bought more property in Southside.
Through Property Management Support Inc., Sleiman Enterprises bought almost 12 vacant acres at southeast Atlantic and Kernan boulevards, south of the existing shopping center it already owns.
Sleiman Enterprises paid $1.8 million to buy the land from City National Bank of Florida, a trustee for the property.
Sleiman Enterprises President Toney Sleiman declined to comment on the plans for the site.
Galleria Marketplace bringing more retail to Butler area
More stores and restaurants are coming to the Southpoint area.
STO Partners LLC proposes to build the 9,018-square-foot Galleria Marketplace at 6025 Butler Point Road. Plans show four tenant spaces from 1,201 to 2,700 square feet of space.
No contractor is listed for the estimated $580,000 shell building. Donahue Architecture of Ocala is the architect.
Regional Council seeks leadership nominations
The Northeast Florida Regional Council seeks nominations for 10 awards it will make Dec. 3.
The council designed the program to recognize regional excellence in areas “essential to positioning our Regional Community as a model of cooperation and coordination.”
The council invites nominations for the Northeast Florida Regional Council Leadership Award and the Regional Quality of Life Award as well as regional awards for excellence in transportation; public safety; economic development and tourism; environmental stewardship; affordable housing; education; planning and growth management; and the category of culture, historic preservation or adaptive reuse.
Nominations are due Oct. 16. Forms are at nefrc.org.
The council’s projects and programs encompass the seven counties of Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns. Nominees are not limited to that area, however, and can be any individual or organization that serves the region.
The awards will be given at the Elected Officials Reception and Awards Ceremony at noon Dec. 3 at the University of North Florida Herbert University Center.
The 2014 winners included Quinton White, executive director of the Marine Science Research Institute and a leader in regional natural resources policies. White was given Regional Leadership Award.
Brooklyn business moving to Southside
The other Brooklyn business dislocated because of a pending high-profile property sale is moving to Southside.
Jennifer Miller, owner of Printing & Promotional Partners at 444 Park St., said she hopes to relocate the business to the San Jose Commerce Center, 6320 St. Augustine Road, Suite 8-A and 8-B, by the first of November.
Miller operated next to the Two Doors Down restaurant on the 400 block of Park Street for eight years and liked the location because of its convenience to Interstate 95, Downtown and Riverside.
Leases weren’t renewed for Printing & Promotional Partners and Two Doors Down because the property owner intends to sell the site to Gate Petroleum Co., which wants to build a gas station and convenience store there.
While Miller is losing the Brooklyn address, she is gaining more work space.
Her new office will be 2,100 square feet, larger than the 1,200 square feet she leases in Brooklyn.
“I’ll certainly miss the location, but it will be nice to have some extra space,” she said. The staff of four has space to increase, and she hopes to do that by next year.
Norm Abraham, co-owner of Two Doors Down, looked for another site to move the business but didn’t find one that fits his needs. He will close the restaurant Nov. 25 and retire.
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