Hillwood, the master developer of AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center, reports that it has executed a contract with the city to buy about 192 acres at the West Jacksonville business park.
Cecil Commerce Center is generally between Interstate 10 and Normandy Boulevard, with some property south of Normandy, on both sides of the parkway. It is west of I-295.
In its first-quarter activity report to the city, Dallas-based Hillwood reported it had executed the contract during the first quarter and expects to close on the land during the second or third quarter of 2026, which would mean by Sept. 30.
That land is part of Parcels LMNO, which are separate but adjacent parcels that comprise about 584 acres in the northwest part of AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center.
Hillwood did not say what was planned, but noted that interest in the parcel comes as it completed the Parcel E speculative building.
“With the completion of the Parcel E building, Hillwood’s development team ramped up its due diligence work on Parcels LMNO, which Hillwood views as the most likely site for its next speculative and/or BTS development projects,” says the report, using an acronym for build-to-suit.
A build-to-suit development project is one built to the specifications of an identified tenant. A speculative project is one that does not have a signed tenant and is available to companies seeking space.
The site is west of the Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC distribution center, which is at 4950 POW-MIA Memorial Parkway.
Hillwood Executive Vice President Dan Tatsch said June 29 by email that he estimates the sale could be completed in July.
“As with most land purchases of this size, we are positioning ourselves to accommodate a range of scenarios, from build-to-suit projects to spec development,” he said.
As the master developer, Hillwood is required to provide quarterly reports to the city about activity at AllianceFlorida. The city is the property owner, and Hillwood is the operator.
Parcels LMNO have been of interest this year.
In April, Hillwood filed preliminary civil-engineering plans with the city for about 243 acres of the roughly 590-acre site as it started seeking site-work approvals to mass-grade the property “for a future industrial facility.”
The city was reviewing site development plans for Hillwood to clear Parcels L-O.
The project address was listed as 617 Water Works St. and specified as the West Phase of the parcels. The grading and drainage plan showed a proposed building of slightly more than 1 million square feet.
No tenant or user was identified.
“It’s part of the early-stage preparation for our next development site at Cecil,” Tatsch said April 13 by email.
“We’re still evaluating several possible development scenarios.”
The site may sound familiar: It was previously of interest to a ‘significant industrial user,’ in a project that went dormant. As of January, city power provider JEA disapproved the first review cycle for the prospective user, which was exploring about 300 acres for a manufacturing facility expected to use an average of up to 600,000 gallons of water a day.
“I know the water user hasn’t been a project that has been active,” said Ed Randolph, executive director of the Jacksonville Office of Economic Development, on April 10.
“I don’t think there is any movement at all as far as I know,” he said.
Tatsch said June 29 that the deal “has been quiet for a while now (at least from Hillwood’s perspective).”
“But if the prospect refocuses its attention on Cecil, it would probably be a candidate for this land,” he said.
The city referred questions to Hillwood.
Building on Parcel E
Building E is at 5550 POW-MIA Memorial Parkway, on 45 acres at northwest POW-MIA Memorial Parkway and Finger Lake Street, north of the Florida State College at Jacksonville Cecil Center.
In a previous report, Hillwood said that during August, several people from a prospect company toured the new 603,529-square-foot Building E, after which Hillwood provided selected plans and specs about the building.
Tatsch said June 2 that Hillwood has several viable prospects for the building.
Q1 2026 activity
The Q1 report covers Jan. 1 to March 31. The company does not disclose the identities of potential tenants.
Among other Q1 activities, Hillwood said it:
• Continued discussions that started in Q4 2024 with a company interested in leasing 500,000 to 1 million square feet of industrial space for manufacturing, assembly and distribution operations. During Q1, Hillwood and the prospect continued to refine the plans and specifications for the proposed facility.
• Held preliminary discussions with a prospect interested in developing all or part of the 73.2-acre Parcel W for retail and mixed use.
• Provided boundary and wetlands CAD files to a prospect interested in developing 20 acres of Parcel W for a nonindustrial use.
• Received and responded to Request for Proposals from two prospects interesting in leasing about 600,000 square feet of industrial space.
• Conducted a property tour with a prospect interested in a build-to-suit for 400,000 square feet of industrial space.
• Provided boundary and computer-aided design files to a prospect interested in developing all or part of the 28.35-acre Parcel R for retail use.
Hillwood also received and responded to an RFP from a prospect interested in leasing 600,000 to 650,000 square feet of manufacturing and distribution space, but was informed by the end of Q1 that the prospect was focusing on a non-U.S. location for the facility.
About AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center
The city’s master development agreement calls for Hillwood to build out AllianceFlorida on 4,499 acres of city property, the former Naval Air Station Cecil Field, off Normandy Boulevard and 103rd Street.
That agreement is designed for the city to share in the profits. As the master developer, Hillwood typically secures the tenant, buys the land from the city, develops the project and then sells it, sharing the proceeds with the city.
Cushman & Wakefield Managing Directors Tyler Newman and Jacob Horsley are the leasing representatives, along with Tatsch and Brennen Clifford, also with Hillwood.
Tatsch said in January 2024 that Hillwood has developed about 3.23 million square feet of space at AllianceFlorida.
Building E will boost that to 3.83 million square feet.
That total includes the two 1 million-square-foot centers for online retailers Amazon.com on about 86.5 acres and home-furnishings company Wayfair on 80 acres.
Hillwood said in its Q4 2025 report that it continues in its role as master developer.
It reported that as of Nov. 7, 2025, it exercised its option to extend the term of the Master Disposition and Development Agreement with the city for an additional five years through mid-September 2030.