Kraton Corp., which bought Jacksonville-based Arizona Chemical Holdings Corp. last year, will move about 150 employees into the Gramercy Woods office park in late summer, a company spokesman said Thursday.
Gene Shiels, director of investor relations for Houston-based Kraton Performance Polymers Inc., said there were no immediate plans for expansion.
“But we have built in some flexibility for growth as needed in this new location,” he said.
Kraton currently leases almost 43,000 square feet of space at 4600 Touchton Road in the Deerwood North building, he said. It leases suites 200 and 500.
It will move to Building 100 at Gramercy Woods, at 9000 Southside Blvd., where it will lease 35,000 square feet on the third floor and part of the second.
Gramercy Woods is the renamed Bank of America office park
Shiels said the new location is more suitable to the company’s needs.
The Jacksonville Kraton operation includes employees in operations, commercial, finance, HR, procurement and IT, Shiels said.
The teams are part of Kraton’s global business operation.
Upon the move, the company will continue its current operations, said.
The city is reviewing a permit application for $1 million in renovations for Kraton at Gramercy Woods.
Kraton Polymers LLC announced in January 2016 that it completed the $1.37 billion acquisition of Arizona Chemical Holdings, which was based in Jacksonville and also in the Netherlands.
Kraton is a publicly traded company that makes engineered polymers.
Arizona Chemical makes products derived from pine wood pulping co-products.
Shiels said Kraton moved some corporate functions to Jacksonville from other locations, such as Belpre, Ohio.
Brooklyn distillery files plans
Plans for the BAM Distillery were filed with the city last week to redevelop the former Dealers Equipment & Clutch Co. site in Brooklyn.
The project is at 417 Magnolia St. and 476 May St. in the Brooklyn area of Downtown.
The Burlock and Barrel whiskey distillery earned conceptual approval from the Downtown Development Review Board.
BAM would convert the existing building into a distillery to be split into two sections.
As presented to the board, a 3,500-square-foot space would house the distillery, and a 3,400-square-foot area would be used for a point-of-sale and tasting room.
The applicant on the board application and the developer on the plans is BAM Investment Group LLC, led by Alexandria Klempf.
BAM Investments includes Forking Amazing Restaurants and other commercial projects.
Second Wawa OK’d for construction
Wawa is good to go for construction at 6787 Wilson Blvd. in West Jacksonville.
G.M. Northrup Corp. is the contractor for the 6,119-square-foot convenience store, gas canopy and dumpster enclosure at a combined cost of $1.128 million.
The city recently approved permits for Wawa at The Crossing at Town Center. There, iConstructors LLC will build the convenience store, gas canopy and dumpster enclosure at a total of more than $1.1 million.
Both should open by year-end, along with a Clay County site at Blanding Boulevard and Filmore Street in Orange Park.
Wawa said in April it would open the three locations by the end of the year on its way to 40 over five years.
Wawa focused initially on Duval and Clay counties but executives said they also are looking into St. Johns County.
Wawa said it invests $6 million into each store.
Florida Chamber CEO to speak at JAXUSA
Mark Wilson, president and CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, is the keynote speaker at the May 31 JAXUSA Partnership second-quarter meeting.
Jack Boyle, president of merchandising for Jacksonville-based Fanatics Inc., initially was set to speak, but JAX Chamber said a scheduling issue arose.
JAXUSA is the economic-development division of JAX Chamber.
The event is 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. For information, visit myjaxchamber.com
Atlantic North retail shells gain city approval
Atlantic North at northwest Kernan and Atlantic boulevards will gain two 7,521-square-foot buildings that comprise almost 6,000 square feet each for retail space and about 1,500 square feet for storage.
Developer Toney Sleiman with Sleiman Enterprises said the multitenant buildings will be leased to small tenants.
Target Contractors Inc., a Sleiman company, will build the two shell structures, along with a dumpster enclosure, at 11949 and 11957 Atlantic Blvd. at a construction cost of $855,000.
The city approved the permits Wednesday.
Community Suppers already filled for May 24
JAX Chamber and OneJax at the University of North Florida scheduled the next “Community Suppers — Engaging Events with Community Leaders” on May 24 to be hosted by Parvez Ahmed, Ken Babby, Imani Hope and Tom Serwatka.
But it’s too late if you want to go. The 10 slots for each dinner filled quickly. Guests pay their own way.
Ahmed directs graduate programs and is a finance professor at UNF; Babby owns the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp; Hope is director of strategic investments for the Jacksonville Public Education Fund; and Serwatka is vice president and chief of staff at UNF.
For information, call the chamber at (904) 366-6600.
Transportation center work to begin
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority scheduled the ground-breaking for the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center for 10 a.m. June 20 at 1101 W. Bay St. Downtown. The city recently approved the foundation permit for the new Greyhound Bus Lines terminal at 1111 W. Forsyth St. When it opens early next year, the Greyhound facility will relocate its operations from Bay and Pearl streets. The Greyhound terminal is the first phase of the $33 million JTA Regional Transportation Center.
‘Community Conversations’ dinner will be July 5
Borrowing the Community Suppers theme, Leadership Jacksonville Inc. scheduled a Community Conversations dinner July 5.
The event is for LJ’s Collegiate Leadership Experience Class of 2017, LJ graduates and community leaders who will gather at the Jessie Ball duPont Center Downtown for a buffet dinner and conversation.
LJ describes the event as “a facilitated, multigenerational conversation about inclusion and diversity in our community, adapted with the help of OneJax.”
OneJax helped to organize the JAX Chamber Community Suppers.
The cost is $17 a person. The event is 5:15-7 p.m. For information, visit leadershipjax.org.
Food notes
Wendy’s was approved for construction in OakLeaf at, 9510 Applecross Road. North Coast Construction Co. will build the 3,297-square-foot restaurant.
Chick-fil-A will renovate its restaurant at Roosevelt Square. R.A. Heath Construction Inc. is the contractor for the $750,000 project.
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