Daily Record Financial News &
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016
Vol. 104, No. 028 • oNe SectioN
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Home for nerds and gamers at Landing
More shopping, more choices, more people, more traffic Town Center area gearing up for another 75 acres of development
Game room features latest video games By Max Marbut Staff Writer
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Drivers negotiate the signals and merge into traffic Wednesday afternoon at Gate and Town Center parkways at St. Johns Town Center. About 75 acres are under development in the area for more stores and housing.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
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Shoppers experiencing serious holiday traffic at the St. Johns Town Center should cherish the memory. Next year, there could be much more. Site work and some construction are underway at the Town Center Promenade and The Strand and The Crossing at Town Center, totaling 75 acres, for dozens of new stores and restaurants along with apartments and hotels. The target date for many to open is in time for next year’s holiday shopping season, which means more drivers will vie for space on the roads, especially at Gate and Town Center parkways. The new properties line Town Center Parkway across from The Markets at Town Center and St. Johns Town Center, which are north of Butler Boulevard and west of Interstate 295. To enter the new developments, drivers will take the main road system –– Gate and Town Center parkways –– although once they exit into the projects, they can use the internal network. But there is some help on the way. Preferred Growth Properties, the developer of The Strand and The Crossing, is making $2.5 million in traffic improvements at Gate and Town Center parkways, including adding turn lanes, access points and a trail for pedestrians, runners and bicyclists. District City Council member Scott Wilson said Wednesday those improvements are in design, plus construction on the roads can’t take place during the holiday season. By next year this time, Wilson hopes there will be improvements. “But they have serious problems with traffic there, no matter what,” he said, noting the number of retail stores in a small area. Wilson said it’s up to the city and state to address those issues.
When you walk into Chicago Pizza at the Jacksonville Landing, the first thing you see is a pair of old-school arcade game consoles to the left just inside the door. It’s Mario Brothers and Popeye. Walk past the bar and into the former dining room that opens into the covered patio along the Riverwalk and you’ll find the 21st century of video games. The booths, tables and chairs have been replaced with GLHF Game Bar — “good luck, have fun.” Billed as “Jacksonville’s home for gamers and nerds alike,” it’s equipped with the latest games and hardware, including PC consoles, Xbox, NES, N64, PS4, Sega Genesis and Wii. The software side includes about 100 of the latest titles of all genres. “This is the only thing like this between This is the Atlanta and Orlando,” only thing said manager Taya Keller. like this The covered patio outside is equipped between with a full bar, plus low-tech games like Atlanta and cornhole, Jenga and a Orlando. pool table. The other part of the Taya Keller GLHF slogan is “we Manager of like to get competiGLHF Game Bar tive and have a drink while we do it.” A bar in the room serves a selection of craft cocktails with gamer themes like Mage’s Potion, Darth & Stormy and Sombra’s Elixir. Beer and wine also are available. The restaurant has developed a dedicated menu for the room — also with gamer themes. It includes Pong pasta, Mutant pizza rolls, Dead Pochanga bites and Mega Mojo sliders. The full Chicago Pizza menu is available as well, said Keller. PAGE 2
Neighborhoods being built around lifestyles Communities packed with amenities for residents
The centerpiece of Beacon Lake, a new St. Johns County community, will be a 43-acre lake surrounded by woodlands. Residents will be able to enjoy a full view of the lake from the spacious front porch of the community’s 8,000-square-foot amenity center that will include two pools, a sand beach, a boardwalk and a culinary studio and demonstration kitchen.
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In Tamaya, homeowners will be able to embrace the Northeast Florida lifestyle at the Jacksonville community’s $11 million Residents Club, complete with resort-style pool, an event lawn and a yoga and Pilates studio. And at TrailMark, a new master-planned community adjacent to World Golf Village, residents will soon have access to a kayak launch at Six Mile Creek at one of the neighborhood parks, as well as miles of bike and walking trails throughout a natural
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landscape of oak hammocks. People of all ages are increasingly buying a lifestyle when they purchase a new home and developers in Northeast Florida are working hard to give them what they want. “We put in a lot of time and effort and expense,” said Bruce Parker, managing director of BBX Capital Real Estate, at Beacon Lake’s mid-November groundbreaking. Compared to the way they COMMUNITY CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
The $11 million Residents Club at Tamaya in Jacksonville will include a resort-style pool, tennis courts and a 4,500-squarefoot fitness facility.
Special to the Daily Record
By Maggie FitzRoy Contributing Writer
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