TUESDAY February 18, 2020
Public legal notices begin on page 3
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Daily Record
THE MATHIS REPORT
JACKSONVILLE
Drive-thru storage planned for old Kmart
Photo by Monty Zickuhr
Sears is closing its store at the Orange Park Mall.
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
JACKSONVILLE Photo by Monty Zickuhr
Rapid Building Solutions purchased the former Kmart at 5751 Beach Blvd. and plans to turn into a drive-thru storage facility. The front of the shopping center is being redeveloped, with a new McDonald’s restaurant nearly complete by a separate developer.
With Sears leaving, mall will work to fill space
Sears is closing its last department store in Northeast Florida. BY KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
After the $7 million project is complete, the building will comprise 800 climate controlled units.
Partners affiliated with Florida-based self-storage construction company Rapid Building Solutions LLC bought the closed Kmart store along Beach Boulevard to introduce a drive-thru experience. Wayne Brodrick, vice president of sales and operations for Rapid Building Solutions, said Feb. 7 his group estimates a $7 million investment in the purchase and renovation of the property at 5751 Beach Blvd. He expects it will open in July or August. “This building is going to look firstclass,” he said. Brodrick said the building will be renovated into a drive-thru self-storage facility with no additional external access. Customers will enter the building
through a remote-access commercial rollup door, drive to the unit and drive out when completed. The building will be climate-controlled. “You are out of the elements of wind, rain, humidity and heat,” Brodrick said. There will be a main drive-thru and internal hallways. Brodrick said the 800 units in the one-story, 100,000-square-foot building will range from 5-by-5 lockers to 15-by-30 drive-up units. Storage Units Jacksonville LLC, led by Rapid Building Solutions LLC in Winter Garden, paid $3 million Jan. 30 for the 108,341-square-foot building and two smaller properties on 8.16 acres at northwest Beach and University boulevards. SEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
A building elevation for the storage facility that’s expected to open in July or August.
With Sears closing, the Orange Park Mall is working to reuse the space. Mall owner Washington Prime Group “is working closely with Sears and other stakeholders regarding future redevelopment opportunities for the Sears space,” mall General Manager Randy Bowman said Feb. 17 by email. “Washington Prime Group is committed to making further investments in Orange Park Mall and maintaining its longstanding presence as the gathering place to eat, shop and play in the Orange Park area,” Bowman said. USAToday.com reported that the Orange Park Mall location will be among the Sears and Kmart stores slated to close in the next few months. A “store closing” banner is up over the west Sears entrance. Store closing signs inside read: “Everything at least 10% to 40% off lowest ticketed price.” Sears spokesman Larry Costello said in an email Feb. 17 the company had no comment. SEE SEARS, PAGE 2
Eight Forty One sale expected Eight Forty One, the Southbank office tower anchored by One Call and Baptist Health, is expected to be sold within several weeks, according to industry sources familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified. The 22-story, almost 600,000-square-foot tower at 841 Prudential Drive was built on 6½ acres in 1955. Records show a 2020 assessed value of $53.3 million. A group led by Boca Raton-based IP Capital Partners paid $55.5 million for the property, then known as the Aetna Building, in December 2013.
VOLUME 107, NO. 65 • ONE SECTION