City power provider JEA is reviewing a request for service availability for what appears to be Korean-American supermarket chain H Mart at the Timberlin Village shopping center.
A request submitted Jan. 14 shows that an unidentified grocer is exploring a 53,000-square-foot space in an existing building at 8801 Southside Blvd.
Kellyn Whitson of the Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow law firm in Jacksonville is the applicant.
A JEA service availability request means a project is being explored and does not mean it will be completed. It typically is a step in a developer’s due diligence to see if a deal will work.
An LLC linked to H Mart bought the Timberlin Village shopping center Dec. 8 for $13.25 million.
Previously anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond, the center is just south of the ramp to Interstate 95.
The service request says the address will be Unit 1, which indicates that the H Mart would take the Bed Bath & Beyond building and additional space.
H Mart bought the property through GSC RE Jacksonville LLC. The LLC is managed by Il Yeon Kwon, the CEO and founder of H Mart.
Blue Owl Real Estate LLC of Chicago sold the property through Edison JAFL001 LLC.
Headquartered in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, H Mart says it is the largest Asian grocery chain in America with 97 stores. Industry website Supermarket News said H Mart is a $2 billion company.
Started in 1982 with a single store in Woodside, Queens, New York, H Mart says it offers a full line of Asian foods as well as Western groceries. It also has food halls.
Timberlin Village totals 118,083 square feet of space, meaning H Mart would take almost half of it.
Home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and its buybuyBaby stores closed there in 2023 after Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In July 2023, the andThat! Store in the center started a liquidation sale. It was part of Christmas Tree Shops LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 in May 2023.
PetSmart is one of the remaining tenants.
Timberlin Village was built in 1997 and 1998 on 10.31 acres. It last sold for $19.9 million in 2019.
H Mart opened a 100,000 square feet store on West Colonial Drive in Orlando in September in a former SuperTarget space. It opened a 70,000-square-foot store in Dallas in October.
“We’re trying to bring in what you would find as if you were in Korea, as if you’re in Japan, as if you’re in China,” Kwon said at the grand opening of the Dallas store, according to KERA News.
“So I think as long as you’re focused on that, as long as you’re focused on giving those kinds of experiences, people will recognize that.”
In addition to Florida, there are H Mart stores in Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
H Mart would join multiple Asian markets that have opened or are in development in Northeast Florida.
• Lotte Plaza Market opened in September in the former Best Buy at 9355 Atlantic Blvd. in the Regency area of Arlington. The 45,985-square-foot store includes a food hall selling Chinese, Japanese and Korean fare and the Tous les Jours French-Asian bakery.
• RD International Market opened in 2024 in a former Winn-Dixie at 7534 Beach Blvd. The 52,600-square-foot store features a food court and 70 live seafood tanks.
• The owner of Enson Market bought the Winn-Dixie supermarket along Old St. Augustine Road, indicating the conversion of the property for the Asian and international foods grocer. The grocery has locations in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia.
• Indian marketplace Patel Brothers plans to anchor the developing Shops at Racetrack Rd in St. Johns County. The chain has operated a store at 9551 Baymeadows Road in Jacksonville for about a decade.