Developer Ben Hakimian sees an opportunity in North Jacksonville for a shopping center of 200,000 to 300,000 square feet on the almost 50 acres he bought last week from VyStar Credit Union.
The site, at southeast Interstate 95 and Pecan Park Road, is just north of the River City Marketplace, which Hakimian said was proof that North Jacksonville is in demand for commercial development.
He expects to start development in three to five years, most likely after neighboring landowners start their retail or warehouse projects.
"The future may not be right for today, but the future is right for that corridor," said Hakimian, who has developed 15 area shopping centers, totaling almost 700,000 square feet of space.
One of those recent acquisitions is the Shoppes of San Jose at 2777 University Blvd. W., which the company has been renovating. A list of projects is at the Hakimian.us site.
I-95 LLC, whose manager is Hakimian, paid $325,000 for the 49.4-acre North Jacksonville parcel. The credit union acquired the land in a foreclosure a few years ago, said Richard Alfirevic, VyStar executive vice president and chief operating officer.
The Duval County Property Appraiser says the market value is $2 million and the taxable value is $24,990.
Hakimian expects the location to benefit from potential Florida Department of Transportation plans to improve access to Jacksonville International Airport.
He said his site has 1,300 feet of frontage along I-95, which provides high visibility for a development.
Hakimian expects to develop 23 to 30 acres of his property and to do so in stages.
The type of development will depend on what his neighbors do.
"If that whole corridor goes retail, we will do retail. If it goes warehousing, we will go warehousing," he said.
"We would like to be a good neighbor there," he said.
Noting that the property had been a foreclosure situation, Hakimian said the "really big money is always made" during economic downturns and says he is looking at another much larger tract as well.
"We are looking into more of those kinds of opportunities," he said. "We are targeting those properties."
CertusBank renovating former First Guaranty office
The former First Guaranty Bank & Trust Co. office at 10970 San Jose Blvd. is under renovation for CertusBank.
Marand Builders Inc. is the contractor for the 3,045-square-foot project, including a remote drive-up ATM, at a project cost of $341,206.
CertusBank already has a branch at 13474 Atlantic Blvd.
CertusBank N.A. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Greenville, S.C.-based CertusHoldings Inc. CertusBank has a presence in 10 states and operates 32 branches in the Carolinas, Florida and Georgia.
In November 2011, First Guaranty Bank & Trust Co. announced a deal to sell seven of its eight branches to CertusBank, which would have allowed First Guaranty to continue operating as an independent bank.
The sale would have allowed First Guaranty to raise capital and give it time to work through its large number of bad loans. In January 2012, despite the pending agreement to raise capital by selling the seven branches to CertusBank, federal regulators shut down First Guaranty and sold all eight branches to CenterState Bank of Florida.
However, CenterState did not buy all of the branches, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It purchased two of the offices and consolidated the remaining six branches into the remaining two existing branches.
CenterState Bank Market President Gil Pomar said CenterState decided to close six of the offices, turning five over to the FDIC. A sixth that had been leased from private owners also closed.
The remaining offices then were available to other buyers, such as VyStar Credit Union, which bought the Riverside Avenue property.
Westside distribution center sold
John Richardson and Bryan Bartlett of Newmark Grubb Phoenix Realty Group have completed the sale of a 300,000-square-foot industrial distribution center at 5550 W. Fifth St. in West Jacksonville.
Phoenix Realty said in a news release the facility was owned and managed by Zell Enterprises. Property records show it sold for $2.9 million to Dupuy Storage Florida LLC, which Phoenix Realty said was represented by Bob Hillis of Hillis Properties.
Property records show FWE 5330 LLLP, formerly known as Florida Warehouse Erectors, of St. Simons Island, Ga., sold the property to Dupuy in a sale recorded June 4. The deed was made May 31.
Dupuy Storage Florida LLC, based in New Orleans, took out a $4.5 million mortgage May 31 from Whitney Bank of New Orleans.
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