In addition to the St. Johns River Water Management District, the City also has been reviewing construction plans for the "JCCC Parcel A-Phase 1" project for AllianceFlorida, which has submitted applications for a two-phase, 1 million-square-foot distribution center at Cecil Commerce Center.
The City received plans March 21, records show. The St. Johns River Water Management District received an application April 2. Prosser Hallock is the engineering firm handling the project.
City plans show the address will be 12970 Normandy Blvd.
As the Daily Record reported Friday, plans were filed last week with the water management district for a 100-acre, 1 million-square-foot distribution-warehouse center at Cecil Commerce Center.
Mayor Alvin Brown's administration reports the filing was a site obligation by Hillwood Investment Properties, which is developing the site on behalf of the City.
"Hillwood has a long-term contract with the City to develop up to 30 million square feet of industrial and retail space in Cecil Commerce Center, said Aleizha Batson, Brown's deputy director of communications, in an email.
"Plans were recently submitted on April 2 to the St. Johns River Water Management District to meet contractual obligations for the site, due by September 15, 2013," she said, not elaborating further.
Some documents in the 119-page Water Management District application refer to "Project Z."
No project name was prominent in the filing, although it appears to be similar to speculation about FedEx, which has been widely considered as the project for a large deal at Cecil Commerce Center.
Seattle-based Amazon.com also is a possibility, considering the nation's largest online retailer is building 1 million-square-foot centers nationwide. The order-filling centers are part of Amazon.com's efforts to provide next-day and same-day delivery for customers.
However, sources say Amazon would not be built in phases, which is outlined for the Cecil project. As filed, the first phase at Cecil would be 400,000 square feet and the second would be 600,000 square feet.
Jacksonville Cecil Commerce Center LLC of Dallas, whose managing member is Hillwood Investment Properties V LP of Dallas, applied to the St. Johns River Water Management District for a permit. Hillwood operates AllianceFlorida.
The property is south of Normandy Boulevard and north of 103rd Street.
A project introduction description dated March says:
"The applicant proposes to develop the 103-acre± project site for the purpose of constructing a warehouse facility and associated car parking lots, driveways and associated infrastructure.
"The site lies within the central portion of Cecil Commerce Center, a 17,000-acre former Naval Air Station which was recommended for closure by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission in 1993."
It says Cecil Commerce Center is in western Duval County between Interstate 10 to the north and the Duval/Clay county line to the south. Normandy Boulevard separates the center.
According to the application, the project proposes the construction of a 1 million-square-foot industrial warehouse on 103 acres off of Normandy Boulevard near the intersection of Normandy Boulevard and Alcoy Road.
The proposed project will consist of 400,000 square feet and 600,000 square feet of distribution-warehouse space in two phases. Plans show abundant parking.
Whether the filing for project is only a requirement to meet the City contract or in anticipation of an imminent project, the plans have sparked interest in Cecil and its next potential major deal.
In February, a FedEx Corp. spokesman confirmed that FedEx Ground Package System Inc. has been considering a project in Jacksonville, but did not confirm the details circulating among those who are hearing about the search.
Several sources have been saying FedEx is looking at Jacksonville for a potential 500,000-square-foot logistics operation at Cecil Commerce Center.
"I can confirm FedEx Ground is looking into something in the Jacksonville area, but nothing is confirmed," said Jesse Bull, FedEx Ground communications coordinator.
"We're still in the preliminary phase," he said at the time. "We don't have further details."
Bull said Friday the company does not have an update, "including the location of a proposed site or the size of any proposed facility, since we are involved in preliminary discussions for this project. We continuously evaluate opportunities that can enhance our ability to serve our customers, but, as a matter of policy, we don't have further information on specific proposals under consideration."
FedEx is based in Memphis, Tenn., and FedEx Ground is based in Pittsburgh.
AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center property is owned by the City and being developed by Hillwood, A Perot Company.
AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center was branded with Hillwood's Alliance name, which Hillwood said it reserves for large-scale, long-term, multimodal, public-private projects, according to information at hillwoodinvestmentproperties.com.
Terry Quarterman of CBRE is the real estate broker listed as the contact.
The site said total build-out of AllianceFlorida is anticipated to be almost 34 million square feet with primarily distribution, warehousing, manufacturing and assembly uses and some supporting mixed uses.
A Hillwood Investment Properties spokesman declined to comment.
"Hillwood does not comment publicly regarding projects or deals (the company) may or may not be pursuing on behalf of its customers," spokesman James Fuller said.
"Our public comments are typically limited to transactions we have actually consummated, and even in those instances we defer to, or coordinate with, our customers before issuing public statements to the media."
Previously, City Council member Doyle Carter would not comment about FedEx, although he said he was aware of a logistics company that wanted to build a distribution center at Cecil Commerce Center and was negotiating with Hillwood.
He said in February that he hoped a deal could be completed in a couple of weeks. He said a third-party company was negotiating with Hillwood on behalf of the prospect and he did not know how many jobs were involved.
Carter said it would be another gain for Cecil Commerce Center, which is the site for the Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC distribution center and the Saft America Inc. battery plant, among other companies.
"There's a lot of movement out there," he said.
A Cecil Commerce Center site could qualify projects for economic incentives.
The property, south of Interstate 10 and on both sides of Normandy Boulevard and 103rd Street, is an Enterprise Zone that provides for tax credits and tax refunds as well as a Qualified Target Industry Enterprise Zone Bonus.
Hillwood reports that more than 50 million consumers live within one-day truck transit of the site, which has an interchange at Interstate 10 and is near I-95 and I-75, which provides direct access to the Southeast U.S. and beyond.
Hillwood explains that in 2009, it won a competitive bid to become the master developer of the 4,474-acre Cecil Commerce Center, which is owned by the City of Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Aviation Authority operates the airport portion as JAA Cecil Airport.
While speculation centers on Cecil Commerce Center, sources also cautioned that until a deal is signed for FedEx at the property, "they're not there."
The Dallas-based Fischer & Co. corporate real estate consulting and brokerage firm lists FedEx as a client.
Fischer & Co. says on its fischercompany.com website that its services include portfolio management, strategic planning, acquisitions, dispositions, transaction and construction management, capital markets and sale-leasebacks.
In 2000, Fischer & Co. helped FedEx Ground choose Winston-Salem, N.C., for a package distribution center.
A news release on the Fischer site said FedEx Ground contracted with Regional Development Group Inc., an Orlando-based real estate developer, to build the 115,000-square-foot facility on a site in Union Cross Business Park.
According to its annual Securities and Exchange Commission filing, FedEx Corp. described its four business segments.
One is FedEx Ground Package System Inc., described as a leading North American provider of small-package ground delivery services.
The SEC report said FedEx Ground operates a multiple hub-and-spoke sorting and distribution system consisting of 525 facilities, including 33 hubs, in the U.S. and Canada.
It conducts its operations primarily with 30,770 owner-operated vehicles and about 35,000 company-owned trailers. It said advanced automated sorting technology is used to streamline the handling of millions of packages daily.
"Using overhead laser and six-sided camera-based bar code scan technology, hub conveyors electronically guide packages to their appropriate destination chute, where they are loaded for transport to their respective destination terminals for local delivery," says the filing.
As of May 31, FedEx Ground had about 50,500 employees. In addition, it said FedEx's Ground relies on owner-operators to conduct its line-haul and pickup-and-delivery operations.
Duval County property records show FedEx owns or leases warehouse, transportation and shipping sites around Jacksonville.
Among them is a 28.12-acre site owned by FedEx Ground Package System Inc. at 2480 Lane Ave. N. in West Jacksonville.
Other FedEx sites include a 13.43-acre site owned by FedEx National LTL Inc. at 6611 Pickett Drive in Northwest Jacksonville and a 10-acre World Service Center shipping location in Southside at 3736 Salisbury Road owned by Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp.
The company's website doesn't specify the size of FedEx Ground's hubs. However, a 1 million-square-foot, 100-acre facility, would be comparable in size to the parent company's major regional hubs.
According to Federal Express Corp.'s most recent annual report, the company has regional hubs in Fort Worth, Texas (168 acres and 948,000 square feet), Newark, N.J. (70 acres and 595,000 square feet), Oakland, Calif. (75 acres and 320,000 square feet) and Greensboro, N.C. (165 acres and 593,000 square feet).
The company also has major metropolitan area sorting facilities in Chicago (66 acres and 597,000 square feet) and Los Angeles (34 acres and 305,000 square feet).
FedEx operates two larger national hubs in Memphis (784 acres and 3.5 million square feet) and Indianapolis (316 acres and 2.5 million square feet).
Amazon.com also has long been rumored as a potential project for Jacksonville, made even more interesting by the fact plans for the Cecil project are referred to in some documents as "Project Z."
There have been reports of Amazon.com Inc. looking for sites in Florida, including South and Central Florida. Amazon.com has asked to be exempted from charging local sales taxes to customers for a period of time, which was opposed by Florida retailers.
According to reports, Amazon approached Gov. Rick Scott and legislators about building two warehouses for $200 million.
The Associated Press reported in January 2012 that Amazon.com was promising to bring 2,500-3,000 jobs to Florida if Scott and lawmakers agree to a deal to exempt the online retailer from collecting sales taxes for the subsequent two years.
Amazon.com, which has been offered similar deals in other states, told top state officials it wants to spend as much as $200 million on two distribution centers but only if it can obtain a guarantee regarding taxes.
The Florida Retail Federation said it would oppose any effort to allow Amazon.com to delay collecting sales taxes until 2014.
The Associated Press reported that if Amazon.com built a distribution center, the argument is that it would have to start collecting taxes from Floridians every time they buy something from the retailer.
In 2011, Amazon reached a deal with South Carolina where it promised to build two warehouses and hire 2,000 full-time employees in exchange for an exemption from collecting sales taxes until 2016, the AP reported.
According to Amazon.com, it has corporate headquarters in Seattle and other locations in Phoenix, Las Vegas, New York, and Herndon, Va.
Fulfillment centers are in Arizona, California, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Customer service centers are in North Dakota, Washington and West Virginia.
In recent news, the Oakland Tribune reported Jan. 2 that Amazon confirmed it would employ hundreds of full-time workers at a 1 million-square-foot distribution center it will develop in Tracy, Calif., "part of its quest to provide next-day and same-day deliveries."
Potentially 500 or more full-time Amazon employees could work at the Tracy site, according to the Tribune.
It said that in late 2012, Amazon opened a center to fill customer's orders in San Bernardino and in the Stanislaus County city of Patterson. Amazon is building a distribution center that could employ 350 to 400, according to estimates from the governor's office and the city of Patterson, the Tribune reported.
On Jan. 8, NorthJersey.com reported that Amazon.com said it chose a site in Robbinsville, N.J., just outside Trenton, for a 1 million-square-foot distribution center expected to create hundreds of jobs.
Amazon employees will pick, pack and ship items for customers. It is expected to open early next year.
The retailer will be eligible for New Jersey economic assistance grants. Its investment is expected to exceed $200 million, the news site said.
Amazon.com, in turn, agreed to collect 7 percent sales tax on purchases made in New Jersey starting in July this year. Officials estimated that would bring the state an estimated $30 million to $40 million a year in new revenue.
KTR Capital Partners, a private equity firm, is building the center with Amazon, the company said.
According to a1express.com, a delivery-service blog, Amazon has opened 20 distribution centers and 79 fulfillment centers worldwide.
"Amazon is also planning to build more this year. Their facilities are making Amazon more and more local every year. It would be ideal for the company to deliver products to their Amazon locker locations and have them available for pick up the same day," it said.
"This in essence would be same-day delivery. Many companies such as Wal-Mart and eBay are currently testing same-day delivery in certain US markets."
Jacksonville Jaguars begin Phase II renovations
The City has approved a permit for Turner Construction Co. to begin interior demolition at EverBank Field for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The stadium is at 1 EverBank Field Drive.
The permit calls for interior demolition of 10,023 square feet of space in existing facilities, including coaches' offices, doctor areas, the hydro room and X-ray room. The demolition project cost is $80,000.
As reported March 29, the Jacksonville Jaguars organization submitted building plans and a permit application for $2.9 million in renovations, part of the $4 million second phase of improvements it confirmed in February for player and coaching areas at EverBank Field.
The second phase follows a $3 million first-phase project last year.
The Jaguars said the organization paid for the first phase and will pay for the second. Completion is expected this summer.
Populous of Kansas City, Mo., is the designer.
The renovations continue the locker-room and other improvements begun last year and paid for by new owner Shad Khan. The coach and locker-room facilities had not been renovated since the stadium was built in 1995, according to the Jaguars.
The owner is listed as Jacksonville Jaguars LLC. Khan is shown on state records as the manager of the limited liability company.
In February, the Jaguars applied with the City for the interior demolition permit.
Plans showed detailed demolition notes for 32 areas, including the head coach's office and toilet and showers; assistant coaches' rooms; the general manager's and the owner's locker rooms; a doctor's office; the hydro room; the rehab room; the training room and weight room; and more.
"This is just phase two of re-doing our areas," Dan Edwards, senior vice president of communications for the Jaguars, said in February. He said the $2.9 million project was part of the $4 million plan.
"Last year's rebuilding of the locker room was phase one," he said. "This is the first renovations of these areas since the stadium was built."
The Jaguars played their first home preseason game in the stadium on Aug. 18, 1995, marking the first time in sports history that an expansion team had played its first home game in its inaugural season in a new stadium or arena, reports jaguars.com.
The old Gator Bowl was demolished and the new stadium built in 19 1/2 months.
In 2005, the stadium hosted Super Bowl XXXIX after a $63 million renovation in preparation for the event.
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