MONDAY November 16, 2020
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
THE MATHIS REPORT
East San Marco could break ground by January
New plan for San Marco bathhouse Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Construction on the Publix grocery store and the retail spaces might be completed by summer 2022.
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
Developer Bill Ware plans to convert the condemned property on Hendricks into offices.
A 68-year-old San Marco building, used for decades as a men’s bathhouse, is slated for conversion into professional offices, a different direction from a previous plan. Developer Bill Ware intends to buy the building, at 1939 Hendricks Ave., in January and start on the project for completion by summer. He estimates work will start in the first quarter on the estimated $3 million project, which includes the purchase price, and be completed in four to five months. “It’s a great piece of real estate with all that is going on in San Marco,” Ware said Nov. 10. It is at northeast Atlantic Boulevard and Hendricks Avenue, not far from the southeast corner where Publix Super Markets Inc. intends to anchor the proposed East San Marco shopping center. Ware is vice president of development with Birmingham, Alabama-based Harbert Realty Services. He and his wife moved to the San Marco area four years ago from Alabama to be near their children and grandchildren. He previously had the bathhouse property under contract
JACKSONVILLE
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Developer Bill Ware stands in front of the former bathhouse at 1939 Hendricks Ave. in San Marco. Ware plans to buy the property and transform it into offices by summer. A previous plan to put a restaurant at the site fell through because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
with Andy Allen and George Leone of Corner Lot Development Group. They intended to demolish the buildings for restaurant and office development and heard from prospective tenants. “Then COVID hit and that created a problem for the restaurant industry and the interest we had went away,” Ware said. They terminated the contract
and the property owners called Ware, saying they were receiving offers. “After some thought and the fact that I and my family now live in Jacksonville and San Marco, I decided to contract it personally. This is a personal investment,” Ware said. Ware, Allen and Leone SEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
“It’s a great piece of real estate with all that is going on in San Marco.” BILL WARE, DEVELOPER
Groundbreaking at the East San Marco retail center could happen as soon as January, Regency Centers Corp. Vice President and Jacksonville Market Officer Patrick McKinley said Nov. 11. When a contractor is selected, McKinley said a groundbreaking would be set for that month followed by site work. He said Regency Centers should receive contractor bids this week. McKinley spoke at the San Marco Merchants Association quarterly meeting via Zoom. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel here,” McKinley said. “I know everyone has been hearing this for a long time.” The 2.35-acre site is at southeast Hendricks Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard in San Marco. McKinley said construction on the 39,000-square-foot Publix should be completed by summer 2022. Publix could open 30 to 60 days later after it outfits and prepares the space. The six retail spaces adjacent to Publix would be ready for tenants to take over soon after. Construction in those spaces could take three to five months, he said. “There’s no guaranteed time frame, but that is the general time frame,” McKinley said. Now that there is a clearer timeline, McKinley said Regency Centers can start to market the spaces to tenants. He said it is in discussions with a gym operator to lease one of the retail spaces. Jacksonville-based Regency SEE SAN MARCO, PAGE 2
First Watch to open in Nocatee on Nov. 16 First Watch will open in Nocatee on Nov. 16, making it the breakfast, brunch and lunch chain’s eighth location in the Jacksonville area. It is at 295 Pine Lake Drive, Suite C105, in Nocatee Town Center North, the company said in a news release. It will be open 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and serve breakfast, brunch, lunch and cocktails. The menu includes items like avocado toast, smoked salmon eggs benedict, lemon ricotta pancakes and traditional breakfast and lunch offerings. The restaurant will employ about 25 people.
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