Daily Record FINANCIAL NEWS &
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2016
Vol. 104, No. 005 • Two SecTioNS
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
2nd Amazon.com warehouse surfaces
1 million-square-foot fulfillment center going into Cecil Commerce Center By Karen Brune Mathis Managing Editor City, JAX Chamber, development and company officials remained mum over the weekend after a permit application was filed Friday afternoon for a second Amazon.com fulfillment center in Jacksonville. The two centers would create at least 2,700 jobs in West and Northwest Jacksonville. The first center, to create 1,500 jobs, is considered the single largest jobs announcement in the city’s history.
A second center creating 1,200 jobs would tie for the secondlargest single announcement with Citi in 1998 and Bank of America in 1997. Until Seattle-based Amazon.com announces the center, expected any day considering the building plans, those involved in Jacksonville aren’t talking. JAXUSA Partnership President Jerry Mallot and Hillwood Investment Properties Senior Vice President Dan Tatsch declined comment. Hillwood is the developer of Alliance Florida at Cecil Commerce Center, the project site.
Cofer, Nelson transitions underway
City Office of Economic Development Executive Director Kirk Wendland said through city spokeswoman Tia Ford that there was no information to provide at this time. Amazon.com did not respond to a request for comment. It’s been four months since Amazon.com announced its first fulfillment center in Northwest Jacksonville at 12900 Pecan Park Road, just north of Interstate 295. The plans filed Friday are for a second one on 86 acres at 13333 103rd St. in AllianceFlorida in West Jacksonville.
Plans were filed for the city to review a proposed 1,016,041-square-foot warehouse fulfillment center on 86 acres, which matches the unidentified Project Velo for which City Council approved incentives Oct. 11. Macgregor Associates Architects of Atlanta is the architect. It’s not like construction isn’t evident at Cecil Commerce Center. The city issued a permit, also Oct. 11, for The Conlan Co. to clear the site. Conlan is the builder as well for the Northwest Jacksonville Amazon.com fulfillment center,
which will pick, pack and ship small consumer items, such as electronics and toys. The Cecil Commerce Center warehouse is expected to pick, pack and ship larger consumer items, such as kayaks and TVs. In addition, Amazon.com applied for a permit to build out a 63,000-square-foot delivery station in North Jacksonville at the Alta Lakes Commerce Center at 11084 Cabot Commerce Circle. That site is 9 miles east of the Northwest Jacksonville center. The second fulfillment center AMAZON.COM CONTINUED ON PAGE A-8
Incoming public defender and state attorney are building their teams Friday was a day of transition duties for Charlie Cofer, who takes over the Public Defender’s Office in about six weeks. That morning he had “a very cordial meeting” with incoming State Attorney Melissa Nelson to talk about the relationship between the two offices. A relationship that under State Attorney Angela Corey and Public Defender Matt Shirk began on friendly terms but soured during their eight years in office. Friday afternoon, Cofer got his first tour of the office space he is taking over Jan. 3. The space, spread over six floors in the Jake Godbold City Hall Annex, is plenty for the office’s Duval County staff, Cofer Cofer said. He saw opportunities to reorganize how the space is used to make the office run better. Bigger changes Cofer and Nelson are working on include filling leadership positions to build new beginnings. Last week, Nelson announced Mac Nelson Heavener and L.E. Hutton will serve as chief assistant state attorneys and Timothy Quick will be the office’s chief investigator. All three, she said, are highly regarded in their fields with “ethics beyond reproach.” Both Heavener and Hutton previously worked as assistant state attorneys in the 4th Judicial Circuit. TRANSITIONS
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Photo by David Chapman
By Marilyn Young, Editor
Judge Dees gets a little help with his robe Circuit Judge Bob Dees dons his robe with help from his daughter Lilah, his wife, Margaret, and daughter Vivian toward the conclusion of his investiture ceremony Thursday. The traditional ceremony for new judges was a mix of friendly ribbing and sentimentality from Dees’ friends and colleagues. See more pictures from his ceremony, Page A-7.
Israeli developer becomes largest Regency backer Regency Centers Corp. will retain its headquarters in Jacksonville and keep its management in place following its planned merger with Equity One Inc., but Equity One’s largest shareholder will become Regency’s largest stockholder. Israel-based Gazit-Globe Ltd, which owns 34 percent of Equity One’s stock, will end up owning 13.2 percent of Regency after the merger. Regency is issuing 0.45 shares of its stock for every Equity One share, putting the value of the deal at $4.6 billion when it was announced last Monday. Gazit-Globe, like Regency, is a developer of mainly grocery-anchored shopping centers and owns all or part of development companies in North America, Europe, Israel and Brazil. Gazit-Globe Chairman Chaim Katzman,
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who is also chairman of Equity One, will become vice chairman of Regency after the merger but it is not clear how much influence Gazit-Globe will have on Regency. The companies said Gazit-Globe will be subject to a standstill agreement that would likely limit its ability to buy more Regency shares, but they said details of that agreement will come later. Regency’s largest current shareholders are investment firms led by The Vanguard
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Group, which had a 14.1 percent stake as of Regency’s annual proxy filing in the spring. The merger of Regency and Equity One is an “absolutely perfect fit,” Regency CEO Hap Stein said in a conference call with analysts after announcing the merger. “We believe the merger is a unique opportunity that cannot be replicated given that Equity One and Regency are two extremely complementary companies,” he said. “I also believe our organizations are culturally similar,” Equity One CEO David Lukes said in the conference call. The companies did not say if Lukes will stay with Regency after the merger. The merged company will have 429 properties across the country. Although
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