The City has approved the site-work permit to make way for fashion retailer Nordstrom and two other buildings at the St. Johns Town Center, creating a new wing to the Southside shopping center.
A permit application shows 9.9 acres will be cleared at 4835 Town Center Crossing. St. Johns Town Center is at Butler Boulevard and the Interstate 295 East Beltway.
Plans show the site as Phase 3 of the center.
Phase 1 comprised 1.04 million square feet of department store and small shops space. Phase 2 comprised 183,600 square feet of small shops and restaurants. Phase 2A was another 27,262 square feet of additional shops.
The total of the first two phases is 1.25 million square feet, not counting outparcels that were bought and developed by other retailers and restaurants.
Phase 3 is the proposed department store and adjacent shops totaling 160,000 square feet, boosting overall space to 1.41 million square feet.
Plans for Phase 3 show the two-story department store, previously identified as Nordstrom, and a one-story set of shops and a two-story set of shops that will comprise the Nordstrom wing.
The owner and developer is St. Johns Town Center LLC of Indianapolis. The engineer is England, Thims & Miller Inc. The architect is shown as Bartlett Hartley & Mulkey of Charlotte, N.C.
As previously reported, a master site plan submitted to the St. Johns River Water Management District by England, Thims & Miller showed Phase 3 of St. Johns Town Center. While Nordstrom is not identified on the plans, it fits the previously reported profile.
Plans show the third phase as containing 160,000 square feet of retail space among three buildings, the largest being a two-story retail store, on the 9.9-acre site.
Seattle-based Nordstrom announced in September that it would open a two-level, 124,000-square-foot store in the fall of 2014 at St. Johns Town Center. The company said Nordstrom will anchor a new wing on the southwest side of the 1.1 million-square-foot, open-air center, the company said at the time.
Les Morris with Simon Property Group said the new wing would be between Brooks Brothers and Louis Vuitton.
The plans also show that the Nordstrom wing would be developed not far from the Ethan Allen store, which is on an outparcel.
Morris did not know the square footage of the new wing or how many stores it would accommodate. The plans do not indicate a specific number of shops.
If Nordstrom is 124,000 square feet, the additional new buildings would total 36,000 square feet of space based on the 160,000-square-foot estimate.
The Nordstrom announcement in September came eight years after the luxury retailer first confirmed it was seriously looking at Jacksonville.
Spokesman Colin Johnson said in September the store could hire about 400 people but that the actual number would be confirmed closer to opening.
The full-line Nordstrom also is separate from the Nordstrom Rack, its off-price division that plans a store nearby in The Markets at Town Center. Pine Hill Markets Operating LLC of Atlanta owns The Markets at Town Center property, adjacent to the St. Johns Town Center.
The City approved a permit in March for James C. Hudson Jr. Construction Co. to build the 34,934-square-foot Nordstrom Rack shell building at 4924 Big Island Drive. Interior build-out will be approved in a separate permit.
The basic building construction carries a project cost of $1.5 million. The store is expected to open by late fall.
St. Johns Town Center is co-owned by Ben Carter Properties and Simon Property Group, which also has ownership interests in The Avenues and Orange Park malls. Simon Property is based in Indianapolis and Carter is based in Atlanta.
The Phase 3 plans show they were prepared for St. Johns Town Center LLC, in care of Simon Property Group of Indianapolis. St. Johns Town Center LLC is a partnership of Simon Property and Deerwood Partners LLC of Atlanta.
A paving and drainage plan filed with the water management district shows the larger two-story store along with a one-story building and a third structure that combines a single-story and two-story use.
The two smaller buildings connect with the existing town center with a courtyard between them that ends at what appears to be the Nordstrom store.
The site plans also show the parking configuration for the expansion. The site-clearing permit indicates 529 parking spaces are proposed.
Nordstrom said in September that it believes opening a Jacksonville store at St. Johns Town Center "will put it in an ideal position to serve customers throughout the Northeast Florida region."
"We've had our eye on Jacksonville for a long time, so it's gratifying for us to now have this opportunity to open our doors at St. Johns Town Center," said Erik Nordstrom, president of stores, in a statement.
Among other St. Johns Town Center projects:
Neiman, Saks shown on St. Johns Town Center maps
Maps for the St. Johns Town Center found on The Markets at Town Center website show two "proposed" tenants of interest to Jacksonville's luxury-goods shoppers — Neiman Marcus and Saks.
The Markets of Town Center is a separately owned development adjacent to the St. Johns Town Center.
Lyndsay Rossman, director of marketing and business development at St. Johns Town Center, said Monday there are no tenants signed for Phase 4.
Phase 3 is under development with a Nordstrom store. Nordstrom is a high-end retailer.
Neiman Marcus said there are no plans announced.
"We have not announced any plans to open a store in Jacksonville," said Ginger Reeder, vice president of corporate communications at Neiman Marcus Group Services of Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Inc.
New York-based Saks Inc. was brief.
"It is against our policy to comment," said Julia Bentley, Saks Inc. senior vice president of investor relations.
A site vicinity map and an aerial map on the marketsattowncenter.com site both show a proposed Neiman Marcus or Saks in a wing that would be developed on the southeast side of the St. Johns Town Center, directly opposite the new Nordstrom wing soon to be developed.
The Neiman/Saks wing would be near the J. Alexander's and Mitchell's Fish Market.
Rossman said the Neiman and Saks brands are placeholders for a Phase 4 anchor.
"There are no plans for Phase 4, nor any stores in that wing at this time. We are announcing our Phase 3 stores in Quarter 4 this year," she said.
"There is no 'Neiman/Saks' wing. It is a future wing," she said.
Victoria's Secret expansion OK'd at Town Center
The City approved a permit for Commercial Contractors Inc. to remodel and expand the Victoria's Secret store in St. Johns Town Center at 4742 River City Drive, No. 101.
The 9,011-square-foot project is shown at a project cost of $705,850.
As the Daily Record reported March 13, Victoria's Secret plans to remodel and expand its store in the center, taking the space used by its sister company, Bath & Body Works, which is relocating nearby.
Victoria's Secret, which is owned by Limited Brands, will remain open during construction.
Lyndsay Rossman, director of marketing and business development at St. Johns Town Center, said in March that Bath & Body Works is moving into space used by Design Elements, which was leaving the property. She said Bath & Body Works should open July 15.
LUSH build-out approved at Town Center
The City approved tenant build-out for LUSH Cosmetics at 4813 River City Drive, No. 149A. TDS Construction Inc. is the contractor for the $102,543 build-out of 1,469 square feet of space.
As reported in March, LUSH Fresh Homemade Cosmetics intends to open what appears to be its first Jacksonville store at St. Johns Town Center, near Forever 21. The lushusa.com site shows the location is "coming soon."
According to the site, LUSH began in the 1970s in England. According to the site, on a 1996 trip to England, Canadians Mark and Karen Wolverton visited the LUSH shop and decided to open the first international store in Vancouver.
In 2003, the first American store opened in San Francisco and the company now has more than 150 shops in North America, all supplied by two cosmetic kitchens in Canada.
The website shows 11 Florida locations, including the "coming soon" Jacksonville store. The permit application lists the owner as LUSH Cosmetics N.Y. LLC in Vancouver.
Five Guys renovating at Town Center
Five Guys Burgers and Fries plans to renovate its St. Johns Town Center store at 4413 Town Center Parkway, No. 401. Plans and a building-permit application show floors, wall tiles and restrooms will be remodeled, the music system will be upgraded and there will be a freestyle beverage conversion.
Kasteel Enterprises Inc. of Dawsonville, Ga., is shown as the contractor. Five Guys is based in Lorton, Va.
The permit application shows a $83,125 cost for the 2,167-square-foot remodeling project
The Learning Experience plans Oakleaf center
The City is reviewing site plans for The Learning Experience
center proposed in Southwest Jacksonville at 220 Oakleaf Parkway.
Plans show a 10,000-square-foot center and 5,000-square-foot playground on 1.14 acres. The engineer is Michael Antonopoulos LLC of Ponte Vedra Beach.
As reported in March, The Learning Experience, based in Boca Raton, intends to have up to eight child-education centers operating by the end of 2013 in Northeast Florida for children from infancy through kindergarten.
The company currently operates one center at 8411 Southside Blvd.
In addition, the City approved construction for The Learning Experience at 11945 San Jose Blvd., No. 500, in Cormorant Park. SE Construction Services LLC is the contractor for the 10,000-square-foot center at a project cost of $1.2 million.
The Cormorant Park plans show it can accommodate 173 children, 18 teachers and two office staff members. The playground is 5,000 square feet. The design firm is Lima Architecture LLC of Boca Raton
RGK Mandarin LLC, whose manager is Richard Kerper, bought 1.27 acres in Cormorant Park for $640,000 and took out a $1.785 million mortgage from Branch Banking and Trust Co. for the project.
The eight locations opened, in progress or under review are:
• The center operating at 8411 Southside Blvd.
• The construction at 11945 San Jose Blvd., No. 500. Plans show care for infants, starting at 6 weeks up to kindergarten age. Kerper, of Clearwater, is shown as the owner.
• The plans at 220 Oakleaf Village. Plans filed with the St. Johns River Water Management District show OLV2H LLC, whose managing member is Colonial Capital LLC, as the project applicant. Colonial Capital's managers are John Foshee and Jan M. Jones III. The development is part of The Village Center Phase 2. Site plans indicate 170 students.
• The Learning Experience website, thelearningexperience.com, shows a center is "coming soon" at 14770 Old St. Augustine Road in the Flagler Center area.
• The Learning website also shows a center is "coming soon" at Airport Center and Wolf Bay drives in the River City Marketplace area in North Jacksonville.
• Representatives say one is planned along the Beach Boulevard area toward the Beaches.
• They say another is planned along the County Road 210 corridor in St. Johns County.
• And "there has to be one more somewhere," said Kerper, who is working with The Learning Experience.
In a previous interview, Scott Breault, assistant vice president of marketing and branding with The Learning Experience, said there is "a growing need for formal child care. Statistics show roughly 10 million families out there do not have formal child care."
"There is a huge need for child care and early education and that has fueled our rapid expansion," Breault said.
"We are not baby sitters. We believe in the value of educating children ages 6 weeks to kindergarten age."
Kerper said the company targets areas that have, within five miles, average incomes of at least $75,000 and at least 7,500 children under the age of 6.
McDonald's adding drive-thru at Argyle restaurant
McDonald's submitted site-improvement plans to build a side-by-side drive-thru at its restaurant at 8570 Argyle Forest Blvd. Plans show the existing drive-thru would be updated to become a side-by-side drive-thru. McDonald's Corp. of Tampa is listed as the developer and CPH Engineers Inc. is the engineer and architect.
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