The City is reviewing the building permit application for Freshfields Farm to demolish part of the former Liberty Furniture building at 5555 University Blvd. W. in Southside and build part of a new merchant area and later expand.
Williams & Rowe Co. Inc. is the contractor for the $1.5 million project. Kasper Architecture Inc. is the designer and the owner is University & Spring Park LLC of Orlando, which comprises owners of Freshfields Farm.
The plans show an entry, meat/produce sales area, freezer, meat cooler, ripe and produce cooler, cut/wrap area, receiving area, trash area and checkout area and more.
Future construction will provide for more cooler and retail spaces.
The Daily Record reported Feb. 14 that Derek Wagner, director of marketing for Orlando-based Freshfields Farm, said that pending permitting approvals, construction and renovations for its Jacksonville location could be completed for a fall opening.
Freshfields Farm wants to create a 22,300-square-foot market at the 4.2-acre site. It would remove part of the existing building and construct a new addition as well as a future addition.
The site is at University Boulevard and Spring Park Road. Acamas Civil Engineering is the engineer.
As the Daily Record reported in October, Freshfields Farm will sell only what its name implies – produce and meat, according to plans filed with the City.
A letter from Acamas Civil Engineering states there will be no dairy, dry goods or other items found in a traditional grocery store.
The landscape architect is Janet O. Whitmill.
Plans also show a proposed tractor display and picnic tables at the front of the building.
As the Daily Record has reported, University & Spring Park LLC, which was formed in April 2012, bought the property from Liberty Furniture Co. in May for about $1.48 million. Liberty bought it in 1997 for $1.5 million.
Property records show it carries a taxable value of almost $1.21 million.
Partners in University & Spring Park LLC and in Freshfields Farm Inc. include David, Jacquelyn and Jordan DeLoach of Orlando. David DeLoach is the manager of Freshfields Jacksonville LLC.
University & Spring Park LLC filed its articles of organization with the state in April and Freshfields Jacksonville LLC filed in May.
According to freshfieldsfarm.com, the business began in 1973 in Orlando as a small meat market. It added a produce department in 1981 and then expanded again in 1983, 1999 and 2001. It said it changed the name of the business in 2008 from "Momm's Meats Popp's Produce" to "Freshfields Farm."
The Orlando location, at 400 E. Compton St., is open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, although hours change on some holidays.
It is closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
Wagner said the Orlando operation has about 115 employees. He estimated employment would start at 60 at the Jacksonville market.
The website describes Freshfields Farm:
"We receive truckloads of fresh beef, chicken, pork, seafood and deli meats daily. Unlike conventional 'super' stores, nearly all of the meat we sell is hand-cut and packaged right here in our store the same day it's received," the website says.
"We don't have distribution warehouses common to traditional supermarkets, which reduces the time it takes for fresh meats to get from the farm to our store. Besides the obvious benefit of having a longer shelf life, no warehousing also means no distribution trucks, which gets product to you faster and is friendlier to the environment," it says.
The Freshfields Farm website said nearly all of its produce comes directly from growers or the packaging plant. "By eliminating middlemen, not only do we add days of shelf life to your produce, we also keep the prices low," it said.
Liberty Furniture closed in 2011 after 87 years in business, operating first on Adams Street Downtown and then on San Jose Boulevard before opening at the University Boulevard location in 1986.
It remained in the same family, with Bea and Marvin Sherman being the most recent owners, according to a notice from the company upon the closing. Mattress Smart then operated there, but that has closed.
Pita Pit stopping Downtown
The City issued a buildnig permit Monday for the Pita Pit restaurant Downtown at Forsyth and Clay streets near the Duval County Courthouse.
The permit application lists an address of 491 W. Forsyth St. Tenant build-out is planned for the 1,322-square-foot restaurant at a project cost of $85,000.
Stipe Construction Inc. is the contractor and JAA Architecture is the designer.
Red Lobsters being renovated
Construction permit applications show the Red Lobster restaurants in Baymeadows and Regency will be renovated.
The permit application for the 8720 Baymeadows Road and 416 Commerce Center Drive restaurants will include refinishes to the lobby, bar and dining areas; the exteriors will be repainted; and the parking areas will be restriped and resealed.
The Baymeadows project shows a project cost of $200,000.
The City approved the $308,576 renovations Friday for the Regency restaurant. Haley Construction Inc. is the contractor.
Florida SE Inc. of Orlando owns the locations.
Dunkin' Donuts rolling into Mandarin
Dunkin' Donuts is preparing to open a Dunkin' Donuts Coffee & More at 11857 San Jose Blvd.
Plans show Dunkin' Donuts will open a 39-seat, a 2,324-square-foot restaurant within a 4,480-square-foot building that will be constructed at a project cost of $400,000.
Plans don't identify the other tenant in the building.
James Smoak III is shown as the contractor. Alisha & Pooja LLC is the property owner.
A site-development plan shows a 1.11-acre development with a total of 68 seats. Peritus Civil Inc. is the engineer and the Oakwell Companies, whose contact is Smoak, is the developer.
Pho Today, World of Beer planned in Tinseltown
The center that features Jersey Mike's Subs in Tinseltown also will gain the Pho Today Restaurant, according to a building permit application.
The 2,640-square-foot Pho Today is planned in 2,640 square feet of space at 9700 Deer Lake Court, No. 5, next to Jersey Mike's.
Pho Today is shown as a 116-seat restaurant, with 96 seats inside and 20 outside.
Jason Phitides Inc. is the contractor and Raul Chaumont Architect is the designer.
Restaurateur Vuong Ly is the owner of Pho Today Inc.
Meanwhile, the World of Beer has applied for a zoning exception to sell all alcoholic beverages at the other end of the strip center at 9700 Deer Lake Court, Nos. 1-2. That space includes the former Starbucks that now is vacant. World of Beer also wants outside seating and service.
A zoning exception request submitted Jan. 29 shows the property owner is Thomas Beeckler, president of TSB I Inc., and the agent is The Touring Co. Inc. Civil and Marine Consulting.
The wobusa.com website indicates a March opening.
As the Daily Record has reported, Tampa-based World of Beer plans to develop its first Jacksonville location with a 2,938-square-foot bar and performance stage, at a build-out cost of $200,000. Plans show 141 bar seats.
The site states that the World of Beer culture is a neighborhood environment and "being surrounded by good people who enjoy awesome beer, great music and sports. When you walk into World of Beer we want you to feel like you're hosting a party in your own living room."
Yummy Pho planned in Westside
Yummy Pho Vietnamese Noodle Soup is planned at 5835 Normandy Blvd. Tiffany Hoang filed a notice under the state Fictitious Name Law that the name would be registered with the state Division of Corporations.
Sid and Linda's Seafood under construction
Sid and Linda Camacho, who had operated the restaurant part of Safe Harbor Seafood in Mayport, are building out a restaurant and market at 12220 Atlantic Blvd., No, 109, at the BJ's Wholesale Club shopping center at Atlantic and Kernan boulevards. Prism Design & Construction Inc. is the contractor.
Linda Camacho told the Daily Record she and Sid will open a market and restaurant in mid-March.
Sid & Linda's Seafood Market & Restaurant Inc. will lease about 1,800 square feet of space. The restaurant will seat about 40 people among 12 tables, taking up half the space, while the seafood market will take up the remainder, she said.
Orange Leaf OK'd at Tapestry Park
The City approved a construction permit for Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt in Tapestry Park at 4820 Deer Lake Drive W., No. 13. CAG Construction Inc. of Melbourne is the contractor for the $223,190 project.
The Daily Record reported in December that the chain was working on plans for the 2,080-square-foot store. The orangeleafyogurt.com website shows the Jacksonville location at Deer Lake Drive and Gate Parkway as "coming soon."
Sweet Frog signs in Mandarin
Look for the SweetFrog Premium Frozen Yogurt signs at Mandarin Corners.
The City OK'd two permits for wall signs at 10991 San Jose Blvd., No. 6. Taylor Sign & Design Inc. is the contractor for the $5,950 project.
As reported, SweetFrog plans to occupy 1,482 square feet of space at the center, which is at San Jose Boulevard and Claire Lane.
The City also recently approved build-out for SweetFrog in the Baymeadows area at 9930 Baymeadows Road. Brink Construction Group Inc. is the contractor for the $68,000 project. The City also approved a wall sign at a cost of $2,450.
The Baymeadows store would be the ninth SweetFrog in the area.
It already has four locations in Jacksonville, one in Jacksonville Beach and one in Orange Park, according to its website, sweetfrog.com.
The site says SweetFrog shops are opening soon in Mandarin Corners and in Ponte Vedra Beach. The Baymeadows site is not listed.
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