Safe Harbor, the seafood distributing landmark in Mayport, plans to modernize the distribution center that sits across Ocean Street from its popular restaurant and market.
Gerald Pack, owner of Miss Becky Seafood Inc., which operates as Safe Harbor Seafood, said Tuesday part of the operation will be taken down and a new center built in its place.
"We're remodeling the business and condensing into a neater, cooler, safer work environment," he said.
Pack did not provide a construction cost or completion estimate for the project.
The processing facility is at 4371 Ocean St., east of Ocean Street and across from the waterfront Safe Harbor Seafood Market and Restaurant at 4378 Ocean St.
His daughter and son-in-law, Deanna and Christopher Wooten, run the market and restaurant.
F&G Construction General Contractors Inc. is the contractor for the project. Engineer Ed Tully submitted project plans to the St. Johns River Water Management District.
Those plans show the existing operation comprises two adjacent buildings – an office-warehouse and a warehouse. The combined building area of 59,231 square feet sits on 4.5 acres.
Plans show the office-warehouse will be removed and a 24,500-square-foot addition will be built next to the warehouse.
The building total will be 53,617 square feet.
Pack said he wants the business to remain open during the construction process.
City property records show the two existing warehouse-cold storage buildings were completed in 1989 and 1996.
The plans in review show the older structure will be replaced.
BB&T expects fall move to Summit
While no job numbers were announced, BB&T North Florida Regional President Scott Keith said the bank company's presence is expanding in Jacksonville.
Keith issued a statement by email in response to questions about the company's lease of a floor of space at the Summit at Southpoint in South Jacksonville.
"We're excited to be moving into the Summit at Southpoint later this fall," Keith said.
The email said that as BB&T's business expands in North Florida, it will need more space and the Summit location is a good opportunity.
"For example, several of our associates that are elbow to elbow at our Mandarin office will be relocated here. This new location also allows us opportunities for future growth," Keith said.
Spokesman Brian Davis said more details would be available later. Davis is the corporate communications strategist at BB&T headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Brad Chrischilles, who represents the building owner, said the target occupancy date is Oct. 1.
As the Daily Record reported last week, plans under city review show BB&T intends to renovate and occupy the second floor in the three-story Summit Building 2 at 6420 Southpoint Parkway.
Plans show Adams Interior Contractors Inc. will renovate about 21,000 square feet of office space a project cost of almost $493,000.
Place Plan LLC of Orange Park is the designer.
Plans show offices, open work areas, conference rooms, a break room and other areas. Occupancy can reach 210 people, according to city code.
Chrischilles said BB&T's lease of 21,500 square feet of space will accommodate 140 to 150 seats.
The Summit at Southpoint is a 23-acre lakeside campus of four three-story office buildings totaling about 260,000 square feet of leasable space. It faces Interstate 95 near Butler Boulevard.
The Summit is owned by Bluerock Real Estate, a national investment firm based in Manhattan. Its property management functions are based in Southfield, Mich.
Chrischilles, principal of CNL Commercial Real Estate in Jacksonville, said the Summit 2 building had been used by Nelnet Inc., a student-loan processing center. Nelnet closed its Jacksonville operation in 2010.
The BB&T lease boosts occupancy to more than 85 percent for the four buildings, he said.
Developer buys unfinished Goodby's condos
A Longwood company whose stated focus is "fractured condominiums, multifamily developments, unfinished new construction, and land in prime urban and resort locations throughout Florida" has acquired the unfinished Goodby's Creek condominiums at Baymeadows and San Jose boulevards.
Prospect Cove Development LLC, housed at Prospect Property Group, took over the condo site Tuesday in a $2.5 million deal.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the property in 2009 and sold it to Prospect Cove Development, which is headed by Mark Filburn. A fractured condo project is one in which some units were sold but most were unsold. Visit prospectproperties.com for more information.
The site shows Prospect's area projects include the Reserve at Water's Inlet, a 205-unit apartment project it bought and redeveloped in 2011, and Ocean Grove at Ponte Vedra, a 252-unit condo it bought in 2004.
R.J. Corman to hire 58 in Clay County
R.J. Corman Railroad Group of Nicholasville, Ky., has opened the R.J. Corman Signaling LLC division in Fleming Island Business Park in Clay County.
Gov. Rick Scott, state Secretary of Commerce Gray Swoope, the Clay County Economic Development Council and R.J. Corman Railroad Group President Craig King announced Wednesday that the company has committed to create 58 jobs over three years at an average salary of $62,500.
The division will employ engineers who work on railroad signal system design, wiring, construction maintenance, packaging, material warehousing and logistics.
The Clay County Board of County Commissioners recently passed a resolution of support for a $290,000 Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund incentive.
Clay County would pay 20 percent, or $58,000, and the state would pay 80 percent, or $232,000, after jobs were created and taxes paid.
The economic development council said it worked with R.J. Corman, the CBRE commercial real estate group, Clay County government and Enterprise Florida to complete the deal.
Vistakon website update
Vistakon, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc., updated its website to jnjvc.com. Tuesday's column reported the previous website, jnjvisioncare.com, which now links to Acuvue, the disposable contact-lens brand made by Vistakon.
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