From the Daily Record
Jacksonville University is considering buying property adjacent to its 198-acre riverfront Arlington campus. It also is weighing whether to move some graduate-level programs Downtown.
"The opportunity for JU Downtown is attractive," said JU President Tim Cost, adding the location might be more applicable for graduate-level functions.
If it happens, it would be a homecoming.
JU was founded in 1934 in Downtown as a junior college offering night classes. It soon became a four-year, co-ed institution and moved to Arlington in the early 1950s.
As for expansion at the existing campus, Cost said he wants JU to be a driving force for positive growth in Arlington, one of the city's first suburbs and one that has lost population and retail centers to other parts of town.
Cost did not say how much money JU would invest, but said $20 million has already been spent on the campus alone. One goal is to move more campus functions closer to the river, where JU has a lot of unused land.
Orienting college activities toward the water would be helpful to attract more students from outside Florida to the private school.
"If we do a great job here, we've got a chance at keeping them" after graduation, he said of students.
"Our goal is to attract 1,000 little economic engines here each year."
Publix renovations top $8M for 10 Jacksonville locations
As competition in the local supermarket industry heats up, Publix Super Markets Inc. has been a updating its Jacksonville stores, with constructions costs alone totaling $8.2 million. In the past 15 months, Publix has announced or completed 10 Jacksonville projects. The most recent is in review for 6001 Argyle Forest Blvd.
Competing with Publix are Northeast Florida grocery newcomers Earth Fare, GFS Marketplace and Patel Brothers, which all plan to open their first Jacksonville stores in Southside; and Trader Joe's, which will open in Jacksonville Beach. Aldi plans stores in Middleburg and St. Augustine, and Freshfields Farm recently opened in South Jacksonville.
Others under expansion include Rowe's IGA Supermarkets chain; The Fresh Market; Walmart Supercenters and Walmart Neighborhood Markets; as well as the established Winn-Dixie, Native Sun, Whole Foods, Save-A-Lot and SuperTarget stores.
Commercial notes
Corner Bakery Café, whose Riverside shop is under construction, will open its second Jacksonville restaurant in Southside near Butler Boulevard and Philips Highway. The Dallas-based company plans to open as many as 10 restaurants in the area as part of a multi-unit restaurant franchise agreement.
Corner Bakery Café's made-to-order menu features hot breakfast scramblers, paninis and sandwiches, homemade soups, salads, pastas and sweets.
Nordstrom Inc. announced the opening date for its first Jacksonville store will be Oct. 10, near the start of the holiday shopping season. The Seattle-based fashion specialty retailer is developing a two-story department store at St. Johns Town Center and is the anchor tenant of a new wing that will include eight other stores.
Asbury Automotive Group said it will open Q Automotive Jacksonville, a free-standing used-vehicle store, at Asbury's Coggin Toyota at the Avenues property along Philips Highway after that dealership relocates to a new, larger site.
Citizens Property Insurance Corp., a government corporation that insures Florida properties where owners might otherwise not be able to find coverage, will shift almost 150 IT jobs to Jacksonville.
Most of the company's 900 existing Jacksonville jobs are focused on underwriting and claims.
Citizens will look for a 225,000-square-foot site to consolidate its Northeast Florida operations, now spread among four offices, spokesman Michael Peltier said.
Adecco Group North America signed a lease for two floors of office space at Riverplace Tower on the Downtown Southbank. The Switzerland-based human resources and staffing company is already hiring for the 185 jobs it pledged to add in return for nearly $2 million in city and state incentives.
Deutsche Bank has begun its $800,000 renovation of 27,805 square feet of space at Butler Plaza II. The project cost is $798,545.