A yet-to-be-identified company is shopping for a massive warehouse in Jacksonville.
As Jacksonville Daily Record Editor Karen Mathis told WJCT News Director Jessica Palombo, that could mean 1,000 new jobs.
That’s this week’s Business Brief.
What’s known so far is a broker asked about sites for a 1-million-square-foot distribution facility at Cecil Commerce Center in West Jacksonville. Dallas-based Hillwood, the master developer for the city at AllianceFlorida at Cecil, reported the ask in its report to the city in March.
Hillwood did not disclose the identity of the prospect but said it responded to the broker’s preliminary inquiry. Hillwood Senior Vice President Dan Tatsch said he couldn’t offer details, but the prospect remains active at the park.
“The deal is still alive. We and others are still chasing it,” he said of Jacksonville developers.
“I know the prospect is paying serious attention to Jacksonville. Whether or not they are paying serious attention to another city, I don’t know,” Tatsch said.
Mathis said if the deal is on par with an Amazon distribution center, it could mean up to 1,000 full-time jobs – more, seasonally.
Only a few sites in Jacksonville can support such large developments, she said, and they tend to be on the Westside and Northside, areas with higher-than-average unemployment rates.
“And that produces jobs, not only in Duval County, but in Clay County and Nassau County and Baker County, who might commute in to those jobs,” Mathis said.
She said it’s not clear how long it will be before the company tries to seal a deal, and it will likely need regulatory approval from the city and possibly some tax incentives.
Read more about the happenings at Cecil Commerce Center on our partner the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Photo: Michael Rivera.
