Daily Record FINANCIAL NEWS &
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2016
Vol. 104, No. 019 • oNe SectioN
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Sweet Pete’s co-owner Allison Behringer wraps boxes that will ship from the candy maker’s warehouse expansion on Commonwealth Avenue.
Photos by David Chapman
Tradeport gaining 2 warehouse buildings
Sweet Pete’ s sweet growth
Downtown candy maker using Westside space for distribution By David Chapman Staff Writer Allison Behringer remembers when the boxes and pallets took up every nook and cranny at Sweet Pete’s Downtown location. Pulling an order meant time spent rearranging boxes or playing a game of musical pallets to snag the right item to send out. It was a good problem to have for the chocolatier and candy maker. Business has grown significantly year over year, resulting in the stockpiled orders. But still, it was a problem. More space was needed, especially to handle online orders coming in from across the U.S. “Everything got so much bigger,” said Behringer, who co-owns the business with her husband, Peter. At one point last year, the Beh-
ringers’ high-profile business partner — investor and TV personality Marcus Lemonis — had an agreement on two Downtown buildings near Sweet Pete’s that could have been used for extra parking, event space and storage. That deal never materialized, but it didn’t deter growth. Behringer said she and her husband ideally wanted to find extra space in Downtown or Springfield, but prices were too high. They also toyed with the idea of having the distribution center based in Illinois. It would have been more central and closer to Lemonis, who lives just outside Chicago. They ended up leasing close to 6,000 square feet of space off Commonwealth Avenue near Interstate 295 and made the transition in July. The warehouse is owned by SWEET PETE’S CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
The boxes that hold eight individual cubes of chocolates and candies have been a big hit for the holiday season. Sweet Pete’s Downtown shop and ventures in Key West and Chicago sell a wide mix of goodies, including chocolate shoes.
More warehouse space could soon take shape in North Jacksonville near Jacksonville International Airport. Dallas-based land owner Jackson-Shaw has applied for permits for two buildings totaling 178,000 square feet of warehouse space along International Parkway in Jacksonville International Tradeport. Rick Haskew Jr. is the contractor for the project, which totals almost $7 million for the shell buildings. Jackson-Shaw wants to build a 124,000-square-foot warehouse on almost 13.5 acres at 13525 International Parkway at a cost of $4.5 million. It also wants to develop a 54,000-squarefoot structure on almost 3.6 acres at 13475 International Parkway at a cost of $2.3 million. Both plans show dock doors — the larger with 19 and the smaller at 16 — showing they are conducive to distribution uses. Jarzyna & Associates Architects of Amelia Island is the architect. No tenants or uses are included. Jackson-Shaw markets the sites as “choice parcels for build-to-suit opportunities,” noting the Tradeport is zoned light industrial, office and commercial. Both tracts are marketed as build-to-suit with capacity for light industrial, distribution and office. The Jackson-Shaw executive designated to speak about the project was traveling Thursday and could not be reached. Jackson-Shaw is the owner through JSC/ TPRF IV Jacksonville Industrial LLC. It bought the vacant sites in August 2015 and previously filed site plans for the project. It also owns other warehouse properties at the 425-acre Tradeport, at southwest Interstate 95 and Airport Road, near JIA. Jackson-Shaw says on its website, jacksonshaw.com, it originally bought 995,000 square feet of industrial space and 85 acres at the North Jacksonville Tradeport. MATHIS CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Downtown gallery helps emerging black artists
Owner is children’s therapist with passion for art
Giandra Shepard, owner of Studio Zsa Zsa LaPree at the Blackstone Building Downtown.
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Photo by Max Marbut
By Max Marbut, Staff Writer
Giandra Shepard has a love for art that evolved from buying what she likes to helping emerging artists show their work. A full-time children’s therapist at Daniel Memorial, she decided to become an art dealer and in November opened Studio Zsa Zsa LaPree. “Helping children is my purpose, but art is my passion,” said Shepard. Her decision to lease space on the ground floor at 233 E. Bay St, — Downtown in the Blackstone Building, which is occupied
almost exclusively by law firms — was validated just a few days after the gallery opened. “My first sale was to an attorney who works in the building. She bought a piece for her assistant,” Shepard said. The gallery specializes in exhibiting paintings, sketches and photography by black artists who are just beginning their careers. They haven’t developed enough of a following to be confident about whether their work will be accepted by the public or possibly added to someone’s collection. “I’ve learned that some artists
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are fearful,” said Shepard. “I’ve created a space where up-andcoming artists can be comfortable showing their art.” The gallery opened with a show of work by photographers Natasha Gumbs and Taurean Royal and painter Durden Godfrey. Poet Ahynte Heard performed at the gallery’s debut, which established Shepard’s vision for it to be a showcase for performance art as well. “I want this space to cultivate all types of art,” said Shepard. The space also is available for events. ARTISTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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