Jax Vision Care is relocating Downton to the Levy Building at 201 N. Hogan St.
Now at 100 W. Bay St., the optometry practice expects to move to almost 3,000 square feet in the Levy Building by the end of January.
The office has operated at 100 W. Bay St., near the Jacksonville Landing, for more than 20 years.
Jax Vision Care bought the practice in 2013 after the 2012 death of optometrist Peter Liane. The Downtown office had been Liane Downtown Eye Associates, but is now Jax Vision Care at Liane Downtown.
Office Manager Michele Parsons said Thursday the Bay Street lease expires at the end of January and the owners decided to start fresh in the Levy Building in what they consider the business district.
The Levy Building is at Hogan and Adams streets, near City Hall, the Duval County Courthouse, the Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse and Downtown office towers.
“We are looking to cater more to the businessmen and women of Downtown Jacksonville with convenient hours and a more convenient location,” Parsons said.
The space is the former Southlight Gallery. A permit application shows Tenant Contractors Inc. will renovate the space at a cost of almost $98,000. Walburn Studio is the architect.
Plans show the doctor’s office, three exam rooms, testing, a lab and other uses, as well as a large waiting and display area.
Parsons said Jax Vision Care also has an office in North Jacksonville at 2255 Dunn Ave.
Jax Vision Care is a full-service optometry and retail practice. It has 10 employees and two doctors who work among the Downtown and North Jacksonville offices. Dr. Jeffrey Brown and Dr. Colleen King, the optometrists who formed Jax Vision Care in 2009, alternate among the two locations.
The Downtown hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday. The office remains open during lunch hours.
Jax Vision Care also intends to elevate its profile at Hogan and Adams streets. While it’s operated at West Bay Street for 20 years, Parsons says it found that Downtown visitors to Art Walk and One Spark often said they weren’t aware of the business until now.
PHH anticipates $2M remodeling
PHH Mortgage’s move to Deerwood Center involves an almost $2 million renovation of space on the second and third floors at 8800 Baymeadows Way W.
PHH Mortgage signed a lease for 103,000 square feet at the five-story structure among the first, second and third floors.
Dav-Lin Interior Contractors Inc. is the contractor for the project. Kaspar Architecture and Development is the architect.
Plans show the second floor will include open-office areas along with conference, training, mail, data/server and break rooms.
The third floor will comprise the reception and lobby area along with the boardroom and conference, interview, training, mothers and other rooms, as well as open-office space. Plans show a health kiosk and a security and badge office.
The first-floor work includes renovations of the cafeteria, which will be under a separate permit.
PHH Mortgage intends to move in the first quarter, freeing a three-story, 150,000-square-foot building it has occupied at 5201 Gate Parkway. Deutsche Bank will lease that structure.
American Tire expansion plans filed
Plans were submitted for American Tire Warehouse’s proposed Westside expansion.
The company, based near Charlotte, N.C., wants to add 50,000 square feet of warehouse space to its existing 71,507-square-foot leased operation at 7051 Stuart Ave.
EnVision Design & Engineering is the civil engineer for the project.
American Tire Warehouse distributes replacement tires in North America. A company spokesman said in September the expansion should be completed in July.
The Jacksonville distribution center, one of more than 140 in the company’s network, serves a 75-mile radius. It has 25 Jacksonville employees and expects to add more.
Property owner Sam Easton holds the property through 7051 Stuart Avenue LLC. He previously estimated the expansion at $3 million.
La-Z-Boy applies for a $300,000 renovation
Buyers of the former TigerDirect store in St. Johns Town Center are moving quickly to renovate it for a La-Z-Boy furniture gallery.
PRO Building Systems Inc. is the contractor for the $300,000 project to renovate the interior of the building at 10207 Buckhead Branch Drive, according to a building-permit application.
Furniture Galleries of Atlanta bought the building last week for $6 million and its president said it would spend another $600,000 in renovations.
The company already owns two area La-Z-Boy stores. The new one will be remodeled for La-Z-Boy’s new concept.
Retail notes
• Jason Ryals, principal with Colliers International Northeast Florida, represented Clothes Mentor in its lease negotiations at Claire Lane Center at 11112 San Jose Blvd. Sleiman Enterprises owns the center.
• The build-out for Hibbett Sports at 5871 University Blvd. W. is shown as a $90,000 renovation of 4,110 square feet.
• The Vitamin Shoppe will build-out space for a new store at Parkway Shops at River City Marketplace.
@MathisKb
(904) 356-2466