The city is reviewing a permit for the estimated $25 million construction of the 293,300-square-foot Karis Cold refrigerated warehouse in Westlake Industrial Park.
DSI South LLC is the contractor for the project on 24.17 acres at 10105 Pritchard Road in West Jacksonville.
DSI South has corporate offices in Tampa and in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Architects Plus Design Studio PLLC of Wheaton, Illinois, is the architect. Prosser Inc. is the civil engineer.
Through KCS Icebox Jax 1 LLC of Naples, Karis Cold paid $2.87 million for the vacant land June 29.
It bought the land from Westlake Land Management Inc., the property ownership company of Norfolk Southern.
The Norfolk, Virginia-based transportation company owns Westlake Industrial Park and has been selling land there for development.
Karis Cold proposes the warehouse along a Norfolk Southern rail line.
The project is shell construction for the refrigerated and freezer warehouse.
The city and the St. Johns River Water Management District have been reviewing plans for Florida-based Karis Cold to develop the warehouse. Those plans were for early clearing and mass grading.
Senior Director Ken Verne said Oct. 7, 2022, that Karis Cold hoped to buy the land in the first quarter of 2023 and to start construction soon after for completion in the first half of 2024.
“We are building the project on spec however we have several potential tenants that have already expressed interest,” he said by email.
Verne said in October that Newmark Phoenix Realty Group President John Richardson and Senior Vice President Bryan Bartlett are the brokers representing Karis.
“We have had our eyes on Jacksonville for over a year due to the proximity to the port and Jax being a gateway to the eastern coast of Florida along with great access heading north,” Verne said in October.
The site is referred to as Parcel 38, which is near Suddath, Southeast Toyota Distributors and BJ’s Wholesale Club centers. The property is along Pritchard Road about 4.5 miles west of Interstate 295
Colliers International Northeast Florida Executive Director Guy Preston and Associate Director Seda Preston represent Westlake Land Management Inc.
Karis Cold is based in Naples with satellite offices in suburban Chicago and Denver.
Kariscold.com describes it as a private investment and development company with expertise in the cold storage industry.
The site lists nine projects comprising existing, under construction and available land for build-to-suit tenants among six states.
In Florida, its lists a Daytona Beach project of 807,585 square feet among three buildings on about 68 acres. It says the project is under construction with delivery in the first quarter of 2024.
Karis Cold would be the fourth refrigeration and cold storage developer to start a project in Jacksonville since 2021. The first three are in North Jacksonville.
Arcadia Cold Storage & Logistics, Primus Builders Inc. and Saxum Real Estate broker are building a 332,701-square-foot food distribution center on 32.37 acres at 9765 N. Main St.
FlexCold LLC already is enlarging its new North Jacksonville cold storage warehouse to 346,000 square feet at 11180 Blasius Road.
FreezPak Logistics is developing a 272,400-square-foot warehouse at 8730 Somers Road.
JAXUSA, the economic development division of JAX Chamber, has said Jacksonville is a target for refrigerated warehousing because products can reach half of the U.S. population in two days by truck and about 100 million customers in a day.