The city has issued permits for the foundations and shell structures for the first three flexible and light industrial buildings at Imeson Landing Business Park in North Jacksonville.
Merritt Properties LLC asset manager Pat Franklin said May 5 the buildings will be delivered in September for tenant occupancy in early 2023.
“We cater to small business,” Franklin said during the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association Northeast Florida Chapter 2022 Bus Tour.
The first three buildings total 137,800 square feet with leasable spaces starting at 3,000 square feet.
Arco Design/Build is the contractor for developer Merritt Properties of Baltimore.
JLL Managing Director Luke Pope and Senior Associate Ross Crabtree are the leasing agents.
The investment so far in the almost 25-acre project at 1250 Imeson Park Blvd. is at least $11.6 million, comprising the property purchase and construction costs.
Through Merritt-JAIM1 LLC, the developer paid $1.9 million for the land Nov. 17. It bought the property from Imeson Investments Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina.
The city approved site clearing in January at $775,000.
It followed with foundation construction permits March 29.
The city issued permits May 5 for shell construction of Buildings 100 and 200 and May 12 for Building 300.
Construction permits totaled almost $8.93 million for the initial three of the project’s five proposed buildings.
• Building 100 is 39,000 square feet. The foundation cost is $95,184 and the shell construction is $2.57 million. The total is $2.67 million.
• Building 200 is 40,000 square feet. The foundation cost is $92,296 and the shell is almost $2.61 million. The total is $2.7 million.
• Building 300 is 58,800 square feet. The foundation is $113,086 and the building shell is almost $3.45 million. The total is almost $3.56 million.
Imeson Landing is described in its marketing brochure as a flex/light industrial business community at northeast Imeson Park Boulevard and Zoo Parkway.
The remaining two buildings total 128,400 square feet.
The brochure shows Building 4 at 68,400 square feet and Building 5 at 60,000 square feet.
“Given all of the tenant demand and new development, the smaller tenant still has very few options. Merritt’s park in Imeson is the first of its kind in Jacksonville for years,” Pope said in January.
In April, Franklin wrote about the investment in a Jacksonville Daily Record column.
“Jacksonville’s growth is staggering in all sectors of real estate,” he wrote
He said that research shows the flex/industrial sector alone delivered more than 12 million square feet of new product since 2017 while posting a positive absorption rate of more than 5 million square feet.
The average asking rent nearly doubled from $4.50 per square foot to $7.80.
“Currently, Jacksonville’s light industrial market sits at 5.3% vacancy,” he said.
“Construction of this product type has been limited over the last five years, with only a little more than 200,000 square feet having been delivered.”
