Sunday Notebook: Downtown projects move toward grants
Four downtown projects passed the first round in their quest to receive grants from the city's new retail enhancement program. The review committee for the Downtown Investment Authority gave all four the thumbs-up last week. They go before the full board on Jan. 21.
¦ Mike Langton for his building at 120 E. Forsyth St., $100,000. Chef Kenny Gilbert wants to open Gilbert South, a restaurant serving modern Southern food, on the ground floor next to the Florida Theatre. Langton does not have a tenant yet for the second floor. Gilbert, by the way, has been in Hawaii where he's been a personal chef for Oprah Winfrey.
¦ Urban Grind, a coffee shop going in at 45 W. Bay St. $17,000.
¦ Jimmy Johns Gourmet Sandwiches, 201 N. Laura St., $24,000.
¦ Jersey Mike's Subs, SunTrust Tower, 76 S. Laura St., $28,000.
Legislation has been introduced in hopes that the City Council will approve incentives for the hotel planned next to the 220 Riverside project - up to $3.7 million in property-tax rebates over the next 20 years. The hotel is being developed by Parkview Plaza Partners LLC, which is affiliated with NAI Hallmark Partners, the 220 Riverside developer.
Officials at the company said they intend to affiliate with a national brand, but no contracts have been signed.
Moises Santana, who owns the Baldino's Giant Jersey Subs franchise on University Boulevard West, has signed up for three Mooyah Burgers Fries and Shakes franchises in Jacksonville. They're planned for the Westside, though locations have not been determined.
The Dallas-based chain also said it plans to open five locations in other parts of Jacksonville over the next three years. The closest ones now are in Alabama.
Meanwhile, Famous Toastery is coming into the market, as well. The North Carolina-based chain that describes itself as "gourmet better breakfast" plans several locations in the area. A spokeswoman said the first one will be in Jacksonville Beach, but the exact location has not been announced.
Daily's is planning a gas station and convenience store in San Marco on Atlantic Boulevard at Kings Avenue. It recently paid $1.6 million for four parcels totaling a little over an acre. Keith Daw, general counsel of Daily's owner First Coast Energy, said the company already has the rezoning, but is still working on other permits.
The store will have an Atlantic Boulevard address but will be situated perpendicular to that road. The company is hoping to have access from Atlantic, Farragut Place and Olevia Street.
That intersection will soon get much busier. It will be the site of an I-95 exit as part of the Overland Bridge project.
Daw said he didn't have a time frame for when the store will be built.
AND SAN MARCO
Jacksonville developer AccuBuild has a contract to buy the former dry cleaner at 1604 San Marco Blvd. Mark Rubin, president, said he's hoping to put a restaurant there, and he really wants something local.
"I've been spending a lot of time in Asheville, N.C.," he said. "It's only 10 percent the size of Jacksonville, but its dining options are 10 times what we have. And it's all local, sustainable, farm-to-table."
It certainly is interesting what's happened to lot size over the years. A few decades ago, 100-by-100 was pretty typical for middle class suburban neighborhoods. Not anymore.
Among the new communities that Nocatee plans to open this year is Twenty Mile, which will have lots up to 100 feet wide. That's a first for the huge development. Most lots are 40 and 50 feet wide.
A couple of months ago, I talked to a developer who described his new project as having 40- and 50-foot lots along with some really special ones that will be 60 feet wide. He called those "estate lots."
6970 Wiley Road, new 43-unit apartment complex Village on Wiley developed by Ability Housing of Northeast Florida for adults with a disability or individuals either experiencing or at risk of homelessness, 12 $300,000 permits, LandSouth Construction.
9910 San Jose Blvd., interior/exterior remodel of former Hall's Nurseries into Goodwill store, $365,812, 1,918 square feet, Tom Trout Inc.
5595 Commonwealth Ave., interior renovation of Hughes Supply, $227,911, 42,000 square feet, Duckworth Construction.
7800 Belfort Parkway, Mattamy Partnership office remodel, $200,000, 3,235 square feet, Mattamy Homes.
9651 Crosshill Blvd., interior build-out for new Massage Envy spa, $408,500, 4,074 square feet, Dav Lin Interior Contractors.
3003 Claire Lane, new medical office building, $1.32 million, 5,600 square feet, Osterer Construction.
14550 Old St. Augustine Road, 14-bed medical surgery build-out of existing shell Baptist Medical Center South, $3,201,320, 21,131 square feet, Batson-Cook.
9605 Hood Road, new call center for Safe Touch Security, $451,727, 5,000 square feet, Tatum Construction.
15255 Max Leggett Parkway, fourth-floor pediatric offices and fifth-floor sleep lab at UF Health, two contracts totaling $326,700, Perry-McCall/Wilhelm.
1 W. Adams St., tenant build-out for Hertz, $35,744, 650 square feet, Adams Interior Contractors. Hertz is moving into the former Firehouse Subs location. It's been about a decade since the car rental company has had a downtown office.
12276 San Jose Blvd., tenant build-out for Signal South, $76,496, 2,700 square feet, Tenant Contractors.
3535 Hendricks Ave., interior renovations to Carlucci Brightway office, $92,574, 1,335 square feet, Distinctive Homes.
4681 Lenoir Ave. S., lobby remodel at Hampton Inn, $50,000, 3,000 square feet, Omega Construction.
1012 Margaret St., canopy for new M Shack going into Five Points Village, $12,920, 944 square feet, Advanced Awning & Design.
9865 Beach Blvd., repair fire damage to Sue's Restaurant, $75,528, 1,554 square feet, Royal Plus.
11653 Central Parkway, interior renovation to North Florida Gym, $131,337, 18,950 square feet, McKee-Thomas Construction.
9600 San Jose Blvd., ADA barrier remediation at Kmart, $37,200, Sun Industrial.
Cross Senior Care paid $11 million for the All Saints Catholic Nursing Home at 5888 Blanding Blvd., buying it from the Diocese of St. Augustine. The 120-bed facility was built by the diocese in 1992, next door to Sacred Heart Catholic Church. It is fully occupied. Cross Senior Care operates nine other senior care centers in Florida and Georgia, but this is the first in Northeast Florida.
Graham & Co. of Birmingham, Ala., paid $21 million for the Interstate South Commerce Center on Philips Highway.
Nicholas and Megan Poulos paid $1,506,635 for a new 4,286-square-foot home and lot in Old San Jose on the River.
Spirit Master Funding of Scottsdale, Ariz., paid $2,025,343 for the building housing Red Lobster, 416 Commerce Center Drive in the Regency area.
Paul and Mary Croom paid $2.11 million for a single-family home at 3607 Ocean Drive, Jacksonville Beach. The 4,088-square-foot home on the ocean was built in 1968 and last sold for $1.05 million in 2002.
Michael and Analeida Tari paid $1,910,620 for a single-family home at 1881 Beach Ave., Atlantic Beach. The 3,277-square-foot oceanfront home was built in 1987 and last sold for $2.4 million in 2006.
The Huntington Group, Las Vegas, paid $1,079,187 for the light manufacturing building at 5406 W. First St. It's 118,592 square feet and last sold for $2 million in 1994.
MNSTT 3 LLC of Jacksonville paid $865,000 for the Midas auto service center at 3820 Sunbeam Road. It last sold for $646,800 in 2006.