Savannah, Georgia-based convenience store and gas station chain Parker’s Kitchen has entered the permitting phase for what would be its first Clay County store, according to a county filing.
It is planned on an outparcel in the former Sears parking lot at Orange Park Mall at 83 Blanding Blvd., where a Sears Auto Center once operated and later Red Dirt Motorcycles occupied the site.
Jacksonville-based Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. is the civil engineer for the project, with the Clay County Development Review Committee scheduled to discuss it July 9.
Redevelopment of the former Sears property gained momentum in May when Neptune Beach-based Corta Orange Park FTU LLC purchased the approximately 17-acre site, including its parking lot and outparcels, from TF Orange Park FL LLC, an entity of Sears parent company Transformco, with plans for a mixed-use project known as Orange Park Plaza.
The redevelopment concept calls for replacing the vacant department store with retail, restaurant, medical office and other commercial uses while retaining the existing parking structure. Company officials have said the project is intended to reposition one of the mall’s most visible properties into a contemporary commercial destination.
Parker’s Kitchen would be the first publicly identified tenant for the redevelopment.
The filing also continues Parker’s Kitchen’s Northeast Florida expansion. The chain has announced or is pursuing at least 11 locations, which would make the Orange Park project its 12th across the region, including sites in Jacksonville, St. Johns, Nassau and Clay counties.
This month, the company expanded its regional footprint with the purchase of nearly $10 million in development property at 8761 and 8771 Baymeadows Road in Duval County and 222 Blanding Blvd. in Clay County.
The St. Johns River Water Management District is reviewing an environmental resource permit filed for the Sears redevelopment plan, including the associated outparcels, submitted June 16. An environmental resource permit is required for new construction to ensure developers have a plan to prevent flooding, manage stormwater runoff and protect nearby wetlands and water quality.