In a sign of an improving economy, developers of the Westside Industrial Park are laying the groundwork to build a 237,000-square-foot distribution center at the West Jacksonville business center.
Plans were submitted to the city and the St. Johns River Water Management District for the building at 4948 Bulls Bay Highway.
Peter Anderson, vice president of Pattillo Industrial Real Estate, said the permits are being obtained speculatively.
The building will be designed for a single tenant, although no user has been identified.
Anderson said Pattillo is not committed to build the project, so there is no timeframe for development.
“But if the market improves, we could proceed in the first quarter of 2015,” he said.
Construction could take six months and the project cost could be about $4 million.
Houston Engineering Inc. is the civil engineer for the project.
Anderson said if the project proceeds, Pattillo will build a brick-and-block building structured to accommodate a 30-foot clear height and a large truck court designed to attract tenants similar to those at the park, such as Kraft Foods, BMW and Owens & Minor.
Pattillo owns more than 7 million square feet of industrial space in Jacksonville, which Anderson said makes it the owner of the largest real estate portfolio in North Florida.
AutoQuotes building out in Baymeadows
Renovations were approved to prepare space for AutoQuotes to move from West Jacksonville to 8800 Baymeadows Way W. in the Baymeadows area.
Commercial Construction Services Inc. will renovate the 18,000 square feet of office space, on the fifth floor of the five-story building at a project cost $281,646.
AutoQuotes CEO Kent Motes said previously the company, which has 56 employees, will move from its current location at 4425 Merrimac Ave., just off Roosevelt Boulevard. The move will take place this fall.
Building plans show offices, workstations in open space, conference and meeting rooms, IT and server rooms, and a lounge and nursery.
Jacksonville-based AutoQuotes owns the Merrimac Avenue site, an 11,160-square-foot building on 1.3 acres.
Motes said the existing building will be put on the market for sale and lease.
Autoquotes (Florida) Inc., formed in 1998, is an online foodservice equipment catalog and quotation software. Its aqnet.com site says its catalog offers more than 700,000 products from more than 500 manufacturers.
Gate sells two stores
Gate Petroleum Co. has sold two gas station-convenience store properties since July 31.
Jacksonville-based Gate said both locations were small and underperforming.
Currently, Gate has no plans to sell any other stores.
Gate sold the property at 1721 University Blvd. N. on July 31 for $550,000 to Bonivest LLC. The 3,250-square-foot structure was built in 1965 and sits on less than a half-acre. Gate bought it in 1991.
Gate sold the property at 319 S. Third St. in Jacksonville Beach on Sept. 22 for $1 million to 319 S. 3rd St. LLC. The 3,707-square-foot building sits on just over a third-acre and was built in 1972. Gate bought it in 1990.
According to Gate, the University Boulevard location is being operated as a convenience store.
The Jacksonville Beach location was sold to a developer. Marc Angelo, who is the registered agent for the company that acquired the property, did not return a phone call Thursday.
Gate said it expected the Jacksonville Beach property will be developed as a restaurant. The location was sold with a restriction against a convenience store use.
Gate owns and operates about 80 locations in the Southeastern U.S. and also has about 200 dealer accounts.
@MathisKb
(904) 356-2466