Daily Record Financial News &
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017
Lee Arsenault’s early years were spent moving around countries in Central and South America. The son of a man who worked with the State Department was never anywhere long enough to make true friends — until the family moved to Jacksonville.
A place to build a home
Lee Arsenault didn’t have long-term friends as a boy. He spent his childhood bouncing around Central and South American countries with his father, Paul Arsenault, who worked with the U.S. Department of State. “About every two or three years we’d move again, so all those friendships you make during that time of your life evaporate,” Arsenault said. “As a kid, it tears you up and your friendships become very shallow.” Finally, when he moved to Jacksonville in 1981, he was able to begin building lasting friendships. The 64-year-old CEO of New Leaf Construction and New Leaf Homes will be installed Jan. 18 as president of the Northeast Florida Builders Association. Arsenault was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela. He had siblings born in San Salvador, Paraguay, and Washington, D.C. He became fluent in Spanish, a skill he still uses. By the early 1960s the family had moved to Argentina, a country the Committee to Combat Terrorism characterized at the time as having “the most virulent terrorism in Latin America,” according to the Depart-
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I believe that whatever God lets us go through, good and bad, it’s to help us grow or to help someone around us grow. Lee Arsenault
Incoming president of Northeast Florida Builders Association ment of State. The perilous nature of his father’s profession hit home for Arsenault after an American, one of his dad’s colleagues, was assassinated by terrorists. Soon after, Arsenault recalled finding a .38-caliber revolver under the seat of his father’s car. His parents divorced in 1967 and Arsenault moved to the Florida Keys with his mother to help take care of the youngest four of his siblings. His teenage years were filled with jet
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Roost awaiting end to zoning challenge
Arsenault’s father, Paul, worked for the State Department, meaning the family’s passports received several stamps.
Lee Arsenault picks up sketches his company did for a nonprofit project with which he’s assisting. Arsenault becomes president of the Northeast Florida Builders Association this month.
By Clifford Davis Contributing Writer
www.jaxdailyrecord.com
The Local opening place near San Marco
Photos by Clifford Davis
Vol. 104, No. 043 • oNe SectioN
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skiing and fishing until graduation, as the Vietnam War loomed. Arsenault had a low draft number, which he knew meant likely being assigned to the infantry. “I’d heard stories about the infantry in Vietnam and I really didn’t want that,” he said. Instead, Arsenault voluntarily enlisted in the Army as an aircraft ordnance repairman. In other words, he’d be fixing rocket launchers, grenade launchers and machine guns on Army aircraft, and not slogging out foot patrols. Though the designation kept him out of foot patrols, it didn’t keep him out of Vietnam. After basic training in 1972, Arsenault was assigned to F Troop, 9th Cavalry Regiment. He flew with the maintenance crew helicopter that assisted malfunctioning helicopters from his unit in the field. “On the way to and from the field, I was the door gunner on the right-hand side,” he said. “But once we got out there, I had a foot locker full of gear to fix rocket launchers, components or unjam a mini-gun.” The unit was tasked with reconnoitering and attacking the North Vietnamese Army’s advance on its neighbor to the south. ARSENAULT CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
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As Roost Restaurants LLC continues working through zoning challenges for its proposed Riverside location, it is moving ahead with plans for a restaurant near San Marco. The Local is expected to open June 1, said partner Ted Stein. “We wanted to be as close to the neighborhood as possible. Being a part of the communities we serve is a core belief of ours,” he said. Roost Restaurants applied for permits to renovate space in Shops of Granada at 4578 San Jose Blvd., just off Hendricks Avenue. It is in the Miramar and Granada area. A state Division of Hotels and Restaurants application said The Local is a 65-seat eatery. Toney Construction Co. Inc. would build-out 2,656 square feet at a cost of $348,500. The space includes a walk-in cooler. The city also is reviewing a permit for interior demolition of the space in preparation for build-out. Stein said The Local will resemble The Roost with “the same great food in a smaller footprint.” He said The Local will be a counter-service concept focusing on breakfast, lunch and tapas. “We will also have great wine, local beer and some of the best coffee in town,” Stein said. MATHIS CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Senators back bid for F-35 jets at JIA
By The News Service of Florida State senators expressed support this week for the Florida Air National Guard’s effort to attract a squadron of military F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Jacksonville. Sen. Audrey Gibson, a Jacksonville Democrat who chairs the Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security Committee, inquired about additional natural sound buffers to help residents living near 352 acres the National Guard leases for the 125th Fighter Wing at Jacksonville International Airport. But she otherwise backed the effort Gibson to attract the F-35 jets, which Maj. Gen. Michael Calhoun, adjutant general of the Florida National Guard, said could have an economic impact of about $100 million a year on Northeast Florida.
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