With a favorable Jacksonville City Council vote to increase a property tax refund, FlexCold LLC is more than doubling the size of its North Jacksonville cold-storage center at a construction project cost of $19.6 million.
The city is reviewing a permit application for ARCO Design/Build to add 171,583 square feet of space at FlexCold’s first phase at 11180 Blasius Road.
Council voted 17-1 on Jan. 24 to approve Resolution 2023-0015 that includes the Recapture Enhanced Value Grant property tax refund on what is expected to be a $115 million, 346,000-square-foot facility.
Council member Rory Diamond was the only vote against the incentives bill. Sam Newby was absent for the vote.
FlexCold announced Oct. 20, 2022, it opened the 150,000-square-foot Phase 1 of the warehouse.
That came as the city reviewed civil engineering plans for a proposed 170,440-square-foot expansion as FlexCold Phase 2.
Council had approved a REV grant capped at $1.1 million in April 2021 for the project before the South Carolina-based international frozen protein distributor announced it would enlarge the facility.
FlexCold told the city the expanded facility would create 40 full-time jobs, up from 20 in the original agreement, at an average annual wage of $55,422 plus benefits.
FlexCold must have the jobs in place by Dec. 31, 2025, to receive the city grant.
Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2023 with completion estimated in summer 2024.
The terms of the REV grant remain a five-year, 50% refund of the increased taxable value of the property.
ARCO Design/Build LLC is the contractor and England-Thims & Miller Inc. is the civil engineer.
The firms filed mass grading plans for the project’s Phase 2 on Jan. 17.
According to a previous news release, FlexCold’s Jacksonville facility will offer more than 350,000 square feet and more than 55,000 pallet positions of chilled and frozen storage; cooling and freezing with temperatures ranging from minus 10 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit; on-site blast freezing; and 100 jobs.
Sizes were rounded in some of the reports.