JACKSONVILLE DAILY RECORD
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Publix CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Gateway has remained stable at approximately $19,000 per month, including taxes and fees, for more than a decade. Gaffney said the lease includes a renewal option to keep the rent unchanged, and Gator Investments would extend the rate for 10 years. “They realize the value of having the grocery store in this urban community, and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to keep them there,” Gaffney said. Stevens said there are factors that go into determining whether Publix will pursue a lease extension or renewal. “While it is always a difficult decision to make, we have decided to close this store by the end of 2019,” he said. Property records show the 28,120-square-foot store was built in 2000. Stevens said Publix has not had a layoff in its almost 90-year history. He said the company will offer Gateway’s 130 store associates positions at a neighboring location if they desire. Gaffney will meet with U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, D-Florida, on Friday to discuss the issue, and he’s reached out to Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration to explore using city-backed incentives to keep Publix from leaving the location. City Director of Public Affairs Nikki
Kimbleton said in a emailed statement Monday the administration is in contact with all involved parties. “The City has reached out to both Publix and the property owner to determine what, if anything, we can do to assist and keep the business in this location,” Kimbleton said. “Mayor Curry and the City of Jacksonville are committed to making sure all residents have access to fresh, healthy foods.” The city has been trying to combat limited food availability in Northwest Jacksonville neighborhoods. In 2018, Council earmarked $3 million in the Northwest Jacksonville Economic Development Fund to address food desert-related issues. Ordinance 2019-245, enacted in April, allows the city to award up to $1.5 million or 40% of capital costs to bring fullservice grocery stores to Northwest Jacksonville. Legislation that would issue a $750,000 grant from the program to reopen and renovate a shuttered Harveys at 1020 Edgewood Ave. in Northwest Jacksonville is currently working its way through Council. It would reopen as Rowe’s IGA. Another bill, Ordinance 2019-768, would provide $300,000 to create four pilot programs to increase area residents’ access to fresh foods. The legislation calls for mobile markets; discounted transportation services through the Jacksonville Transportation Authority to nearby grocery stores; affordable grocery
Load King Manufacturing Co. wants to add 100,000 square feet of distribution and manfacturing space on land it intends to buy next to its West Beaver Street plant.
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Union St., at southwest Union Street and Myrtle Avenue North, next to Load King. The site would be rezoned from Public Facilities and Buildings-1 to Industrial Light. The city will relocate a Head Start facility on the site to a new location, according to the zoning application. Load King will contribute $70,000 to the city to assist with that move. City Council enacted Ordinance 2019-135-E on May 28 that allows the city to sell two parcels totaling 1.96 acres at Union Street and Myrtle Avenue to Load King for $324,000, the appraised value of the property. The legislation says Load King intends to purchase and redevelop the property to construct new warehousing and shipping facilities, including a new cross-dock shipping facility that will allow Load King to expand its commercial kitchen resale division, resulting in additional jobs at the Load King facility. The ordinance approves and authorizes the mayor to execute a real estate purchase and sales agreement between the city and Load King and to execute deeds and closing documents. The legislation, introduced by District 9 Council member Garrett Dennis, says the proposal will result in additional jobs but did not say how many people
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2019
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He worries that if Publix leaves in December, it will make a bad problem worse. “To me, this is a crisis,” Gaffney said. “This is really going to create a food desert for that community. We need to use our leverage and use our resourses so they stay.” EDITOR KAREN BRUNE MATHIS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT. MMENDENHALL@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM @MIMENDENHALL (904) 356-2466
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING AND HEARINGS REGARDING ORDINANCE 2019-690 REZONING APPROXIMATELY 5.18+ ACRES LOCATED IN COUNCIL DISTRICT 5, ON THE NORTH SIDE OF RIO LINDO DRIVE, FROM RESIDENTIAL LOW DENSITY-60 (RLD-60) DISTRICT TO RESIDENTIAL LOW DENSITY-70 (RLD-70) DISTRICT.
The City of Jacksonville proposes to adopt the following ordinance: ORDINANCE 2019-690 AN ORDINANCE REZONING APPROXIMATELY 5.18+ ACRES LOCATED IN COUNCIL DISTRICT 5, ON THE NORTH SIDE OF RIO LINDO DRIVE, AS DESCRIBED HEREIN, FROM RESIDENTIAL LOW DENSITY-60 (RLD-60) DISTRICT TO RESIDENTIAL LOW DENSITY-70 (RLD-70) DISTRICT, AS DEFINED AND CLASSIFIED UNDER THE ZONING CODE; PROVIDING A DISCLAIMER THAT THE REZONING GRANTED HEREIN SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS AN EXEMPTION FROM ANY OTHER APPLICABLE LAWS; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Public hearings will be held on the first floor of City Hall, St. James Building, 117 W. Duval Street, Jacksonville, Florida, as follows: Planning Commission (Public Meeting) 1:00 P.M. Thursday, October 17, 2019 City Council Public Hearing 5:00 P.M. Tuesday, October 22, 2019. Land Use and Zoning Committee Public Hearing 5:00 P.M. Tuesday, November 5, 2019. City Council Public Hearing 5:00 P.M. Tuesday, November 12, 2019. A copy of the proposed ordinance is available for public inspection in the Legislative Services Division, located on the fourth floor of City Hall, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and at www.coj.net through Legislative Bill Search. Please contact 630-CITY for Planning Commission meeting location. All interested persons are invited to review the proposed ordinance and to appear at the public hearings and be heard regarding the adoption of the proposed ordinance. Persons needing special accommodations to attend any hearing noticed hereinabove shall contact the Legislative Services Division at 904-630-1404 not less than 48 hours before a hearing or meeting in order to make arrangements.
LOAD KING EXPANSION
Mathis
delivery grants; and a one-time grant of up to $5,000 for existing retailers to purchase necessary equipment such as open air refrigeration. Gateway is located within the Northwest Jacksonville Economic Development Fund’s boundaries. The two closest grocery stores to Publix at Gateway appear to be Harveys Supermarket about a mile east at 201 W. 48th St. and Save A Lot about 1.2 miles east at 5751 N. Main St. Gaffney said many area residents don’t have access to personal transportation and rely on public transit to go to the grocery store.
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Load King employs or intends to add. A 2015 Facebook post by then-mayoral candidate Lenny Curry said Load King employed at least 150 people. Load King is privately held. It says on its website it has completed more than 8,500 projects nationwide. Customers include Al’s Pizza, Einstein Bros. Bagels and Starbucks. Nonretail customers include Baptist Health. The website says the company started in 1958 when James Merrill Chupp retired from Winn-Dixie and started S.E. Sales Co., an equipment consolidator servicing the supermarket industry. It continues to be led by the Chupp family. A 2015 Daily Record report said the company continues to operate out of its initial building, a 1919 structure renovated for its use. The property was Winn-Dixie’s headquarters before it moved further west. It expanded to more than 200,000 square feet of production space by the time Load King moved in. The report said records showed the company also has more space nearby. Products include counters, shelving systems, sinks and displays. The LK Industries division provides turnkey store packages, including designs, equipment, fixtures, millwork and other services. Scott Wilson City Council President
KMATHIS@JAXDAILYRECORD.COM @MATHISKB (904) 356-2466
Cheryl L. Brown Council Secretary Oct. 8/29
(19-08304D)