Harris Teeter is good to go for site clearing in East Arlington to build its first new store in Jacksonville since two closed in 2004 and 2006 before The Kroger Co. bought the chain in 2014.
The city issued a permit Feb. 12 for Hawkins Construction Inc. of Tarpon Springs to clear almost 1.5 acres in the Atlantic North shopping center at northwest Kernan and Atlantic boulevards at a project cost of $950,000.
Hawkins will prepare the vacant land between LA Fitness and Academy Sports + Outdoors at 11901 Atlantic Blvd. to build the supermarket and a liquor store.
Hawkins will develop the building pad so that construction can start. It will modify the parking lot for new utilities to serve the building, remove asphalt and regrade.
Plans show that Harris Teeter will build a 61,204-square-foot grocery store and an adjacent 3,200-square-foot liquor store. It will lease the space from landlord Jacksonville-based Sleiman Enterprises, which developed Atlantic North.
There also will be a 6,000-square-foot retail space added between the liquor store and LA Fitness. That likely will be leased to other tenants. The new stores are called Unit 400 at Atlantic North.
Harris Teeter announced Nov. 10, 2025, that it would open in Atlantic North.
The next day, it filed permit applications with the city to build a supermarket at an estimated cost of $3 million and a liquor store at an estimated $1 million.
Those permits remain in city review.
Harris Teeter, based in Matthews, North Carolina, said in November it expected to start construction in spring 2026 and will hire 100 to 200 employees. An opening date has not been announced.
Harris Teeter also announced it will build a fuel center. Plans show it will be south of Atlantic Boulevard on land owned by Sleiman Enterprises across the street from Atlantic North.
Harris Teeter’s features will include a pharmacy with a drive-thru pickup window as well as grocery departments such as the cheese island and a center-store wine bar with bar and table seating.
Harris Teeter said the store will include a full-service wine and beer bar; Starbucks Coffee shop; and Harris Teeter Pick Up.
It will be the second Harris Teeter operating in Northeast Florida, joining the Fernandina Beach location in Nassau County.
The Atlantic North store also marks a return to the area after two Harris Teeter stores closed about 20 years ago in Duval and St. Johns counties.
Harris Teeter has been known in the market for more than 20 years, although it closed a store in Mandarin in 2004 and in Ponte Vedra Beach in 2006.
Two more potential sites for Harris Teeter are in St. Johns, where plans are in review for grocery stores that match the footprint of Harris Teeter.