City reviewers are looking over preliminary landscape plans for at least two Walmart Neighborhood Markets in Arlington and Mandarin.
Both are former Food Lion stores, one at the Merrill Station and another at the Crossroads at Mandarin shopping centers.
Jacksonville attorney Karl Sanders, an agent for the property owners, has filed applications for an administrative deviation from some landscaping requirements on the properties.
Sanders said Thursday he could not comment about the projects.
The applications for the administrative deviations filed with the City Planning and Development Department include site plans that show a Walmart Neighborhood Market at each location.
The Walmart Neighborhood Markets are typically 42,000 square feet in size, a quarter of the size of the average 185,000-square-foot Supercenter, according to Walmart.
Merrill Station is at 8011 Merrill Road in Arlington, along Merrill Road at Hartsfield Road. The shopping center site is 8.68 acres, the application shows.
Crossroads at Mandarin is at 10550 Old St. Augustine Road, along Old St. Augustine Road at Hartley Road. The shopping center site is 10.49 acres.
The boundary surveys for each application were developed by Gatlin Development Co. Inc.
Several calls over the past few days to a Gatlin representative were not returned.
The administrative deviations seek relief from current provisions of the City Landscape Code to allow redevelopment of the property.
The applications say the properties are older commercial shopping centers that do not meet several of the current landscaping code requirements.
The documents say both centers were developed in the 1980s when current landscaping requirements did not exist.
The applications ask for relief from the nonconforming features to allow for redevelopment to accommodate the new stores and “to significantly enhance and revitalize many aspects of the aging center.”
The architect for both projects is CPH of Jacksonville. A CPH representative said the firm could not comment about the plans.
The requests are scheduled to be heard in a public hearing July 6, after which the zoning administrator has 21 days to issue a decision.
The Daily Record reported Wednesday that industry sources said Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is considering Northeast Florida for five to nine Walmart Neighborhood Markets.
Wal-Mart uses the “Walmart” name style for its stores.
Sources say Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., is considering several closed Food Lion stores and other vacant retail sites.
Food Lion closed 20 Northeast Florida stores early this year and shopping center owners are seeking new users for those that remain vacant.
The company won’t confirm nor deny the speculation. “We have no announced plans and it’s our company policy not to comment on rumors or speculation,” Wal-Mart spokesman Bill Wertz said Tuesday.
“In general, Wal-Mart is interested in growth. Certainly Florida and Jacksonville are of interest,” Wertz said. “But we have no specific plans to announce.”
At average employment of 95 workers per store, the Neighborhood Markets could generate 475 to 855 jobs.
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