Sub-Zero Group Inc., which makes luxury kitchen appliances, will consolidate its Atlanta and Orlando distribution functions in North Jacksonville.
Sub-Zero and its Wolf Appliance Co. will ship their kitchen and cooking appliances, along with a line of cleaning products and ventilation hoods, out of leased warehouse space at 2855 Faye Road.
“We just made a decision to consolidate to one larger warehouse. Jacksonville was logistically the center of that territory,” said John Bergquist, president of Sub-Zero Group Southeast Inc.
The Southeast distribution territory covers Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Bergquist said the two smaller warehouses in Atlanta and Orlando total about 90,000 square feet.
The city is reviewing a building-permit application for The Conlan Co. to renovate almost 120,000 square feet of office and warehouse space for Sub-Zero at a project cost of $1.5 million.
The project would take almost a third of a 365,000-square-foot mega-warehouse, near JaxPort shipping terminals.
The majority of the space for Sub-Zero is for storage, with about 2,000 square feet for offices, a trucker waiting area and other uses. Thomas Duke Architects is the architect.
The property is owned by Clarion Partners.
Bergquist said the warehouse should open by mid-September and employ seven people. A warehouse manager has been hired from Jacksonville and a warehouse superintendent will move from Orlando.
Along with Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, the warehouse distributes the ASKO line of cleaning products, produced in Sweden, and the BEST line of ventilation hoods. It also distributes small appliances made by Wolf Gourmet.
Bergquist said the products are shipped in by tractor-trailer. Most of the products come directly from manufacturing plants in Madison, Wis., where Sub-Zero is based, or from Phoenix.
Products are shipped out by tractor-trailers in the Southeast, and typically are shipped out of Miami to the Bahamas and Caribbean.
He said it might make sense to ship them out of Jacksonville’s port. The company has not investigated that yet.
Bergquist said the search for a consolidated site started with six to eight locations that were narrowed to three. In addition to Jacksonville’s central location, the company studied lease rates, building layout, logistics and freight costs before making its decision.
“We landed on Jacksonville as being logistically the most economical,” he said.
Bergquist said Sub-Zero operates with 14 main distribution centers in the U.S., some factory-owned and some independent. The Southeast operation is factory-owned.
Sub-Zero says on its website that it was founded in 1945. The third-generation, family-owned company was founded in Madison, where it “has specialized in the beauty and performance of refrigeration for seven decades.”
Sub-Zero and Wolf Appliance Co., which it formed 15 years ago, are considered category front-runners for products in high-end kitchens.
In 2013, the two brands introduce a new generation of products, featuring more than 70 appliances. This year, it launched Wolf Gourmet, a luxury line of countertop appliances and kitchen tools.
In addition to Wisconsin and Phoenix, the company has manufacturing facilities in Goodyear, Ariz., and Richmond, Ky.
Sub-Zero already has consolidated another warehouse operation. Real Estate Weekly, at rew-online.com, reported in April that Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances leased 120,550 square feet in Syosset, N.Y., expanding and consolidating 70,000 square feet among two buildings in Hicksville, N.Y.
Pollo Tropical to open Regency location July 24
Pollo Tropical scheduled the grand opening celebration of its Regency area restaurant from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. July 24.
It’s at 9370 Atlantic Blvd., between Chick-fil-A and Chili’s.
The first 100 guests will receive a coupon for a free “Create Your Own Family Meal” and will be entered into a raffle drawing for the grand prize of free chicken for a year.
The ribbon-cutting is at 10 a.m.
Pollo Tropical said the opening will include calypso bands, spin-and-win prizes and a robosurfer challenge where contestants will compete for first- and second-place prizes of $500 and $300 for their favorite charity.
The Miami-based chain features citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken. The new location is its fifth in the area.
COO Danny Meisenheimer said the new restaurant will help the company better serve Downtown because it’s closest to the city center.
The restaurant will operate daily 10:30 a.m. to midnight. It seats more than 90 customers inside and outdoors and also has a drive-thru.
Pollo Tropical is recruiting employees and plans to hire more than 40 hourly workers. Applications are at pollotropical.com. Search job postings.
Acosta building sale recorded at $15.8M
New York real-estate investment firm W.P. Carey Inc. paid $15.79 million for the Acosta Inc. building in Southpoint. Including acquisition fees, the price came to about $17 million.
W.P. Carey announced the deal early Monday morning. The deed was signed Friday and recorded late Monday morning with the Duval County Clerk of Court.
The firm bought the building from MIL-JAX Partners Ltd. and MIL-JAX Partners Ltd. LLC.
MIL-JAX is managed by Charthill LLC, whose managing members are Acosta Executive Chairman Gary Chartrand and President and CEO Robert Hill.
The structure was built for Acosta in 2001 on almost seven acres at 6600 Corporate Center Parkway. The three-story building comprises about 93,000 square feet of space, property records show.
The property’s market value is $9.4 million, according to the property appraiser’s office.
The building is Acosta’s corporate headquarters. More than 400 employees work there, W.P. Carey said.
Acosta, a sales and marketing company serving the supermarket industry, was acquired last year by buyout firm The Carlyle Group. It was founded in 1927.
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