Building Up Jax: Changes along key Atlantic Blvd. corridor, Times-Union sold off

Check out the latest Jacksonville development and construction news in this week’s edition of Building Up Jax!

Changes along northern stretch of Atlantic Blvd.

Big changes are coming for a small stretch of Atlantic Blvd. near San Marco Square.

According to a report from the Florida Times-Union, the buildings at 1639 and 1949 Atlantic Blvd. will be redeveloped by property owner The Rubin Companies.

1639 Atlantic Blvd. will get a major redesign, adding a restaurant downstairs and office space on the second floor.

1649 Atlantic Blvd. will be given a minor facelift, and will continue to be used as an office building.

A parking lot behind the building will be reworked for additional capacity as well.

These developments come in addition to the news that Southern Grounds Coffee is planning on opening a second location in the building at 1671 Atlantic Blvd. Additionally, a Daily’s gas station and convenience store opened along this stretch around a year ago, and a new multi-family development is planned right around the corner on Philips Highway.

It’s a corridor that will likely continue to grow, with the completion of the Overland Bridge project set to make the area more accessible than it has been in recent years. The long-anticipated addition of a Publix at the corner of Atlantic and Hendricks will also, presumably, add to the area’s traffic – if it ever actually gets built.

Times-Union sold off in megadeal

In local media news, the Florida Times-Union was sold to New Media Investment Group (parent company of GateHouse Media) as part of a major sell-off of newspapers nationwide by parent company Morris Publishing Group. The move isn’t expected to bring about any major staff changes.

The St. Augustine Record was also included in the sale.

One other noteworthy tidbit from the deal: the paper’s building at 1 Riverside Ave. will continue to be owned by Morris, and remains on the market.

Structural deficiencies within Jax bridges

A report from the Jacksonville Business Journal this week detailed the structural deficiencies in Jax-area bridges.

More specifically, 6 of Florida’s 25 most deficient bridges are located in Jacksonville. This includes the Fuller Warren Bridge, which will be getting structural upgrades over the next few years.

In total, Duval County features 22 bridges deemed structurally deficient by the Federal Highway Administration – the highest tally in the state.

Noted projects

• A new Dairy Queen location should be popping up soon at 13966 Village Lake Circle in the Bartram Park area. A permit for the construction of the building’s shell was issued this week.
• A permit was issued for the continued build-out of the future Florida Cracker Kitchen location at 14329 Beach Blvd.
• Lemongrass Thai Bistro will open in the shopping center at 14866 Old St. Augustine Rd.
• An existing building at 10913 Beach Blvd. will be demolished by GATE Petroleum – given the size of the lot, it’s likely being done to make room for another future Gate Express Carwash location.
• The CVS Pharmacy location at 4858 Town Center Parkway will get some interior upgrades (and some minor exterior changes) to the tune of $125,000, according to an approved permit.
• Village Bread Café is out at Jacksonville Landing, according to Jax Daily Record. The restaurant’s space will soon be demolished and converted back into open space.
• 5Loaves 2Fish Café in Riverplace Tower, and the food truck out of which the business began, have both shut down according to their Facebook page.
• The parent company of national restaurant chains Applebee’s and IHOP announced that they’ll be closing over 150 locations nationwide – but didn’t specify which locations are going to be eliminated. Over 100 of the closures will be Applebee’s locations – and given how saturated the First Coast area is with Applebee’s locations, chances are at least one closure will be in Jax.