Logistics company Kenco is leasing a Northwest Jacksonville warehouse at Park 295 Industrial Park.
The city is reviewing a permit application for James R. Vannoy & Sons Construction Co. Inc. to make tenant improvements in the 217,268-square-foot Building E at 2895 Ignition Drive at a project cost of $4.4 million.
Plans refer to it as Project Charge. Plans include a multilevel charging rack. Sources say it will distribute, but not manufacture, batteries.
Tenant improvements call it an office build-out and warehouse electrical upgrades. A project description refers to customized freight delivery, storage and inventory management.
Kevin Grigson, Kenco senior vice president, said Oct. 6 that Jacksonville is one of several locations opening across the U.S.
“Kenco cannot disclose the specific customer but can share that they reside in the Durable Consumer Products industry. All employees at the building will be employed by Kenco Logistics Services,” he said.
Grigson said Kenco’s customer “is undergoing a large-scale supply chain transformation to position product closer to their distributors.”
“This move will help them deliver product to their distributors with shorter lead time and in a more cost-effective manner. Transportation costs are also a determining factor in location selection,” he said.
The Jacksonville facility will serve distributors in the Southeast, including Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.
“Jacksonville made the most sense to serve this region of the country in terms proximity to their distributors, transportation costs, real estate and labor availability.”
Grigson said Kenco Logistics will have 25 to 30 employees, including management, lift truck operators, clerical and administrative staff, and more.
Plans show 28 dock doors and two drive-in doors.
Kenco is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Kencogroup.com describes itself as a third-party logistics service provider.
It says Jim Kennedy Jr. and Sam Smartt started the company in 1950 with a warehouse in Chattanooga.
It says Kennedy drafted the industry’s first management fee contract warehousing agreement with DuPont in 1969. “DuPont remains a customer of Kenco to this day,” it says.
“Since that first contract in 1969, Kenco has grown into a fully integrated logistics provider managing over 100 distribution facilities in 33 states. Kenco currently serves over 350 clients with varying logistics needs across a wide range of industries,” the site says.
It has facilities in Orlando and Miami.
Kenco’s logistics includes distribution and e-commerce fulfillment, comprehensive transportation management, MHE (material handling equipment) fleet services, and innovative, data-driven supply chain solutions.
The Jacksonville plans show that Vannoy Construction of Jefferson, North Carolina, is the contractor. StudioNorth Architecture of Kansas City, Missouri, is the architect. Codes-ABC Inc. of Orange Park is handling code compliance.
NorthPoint Development of Kansas City is the developer.
The city issued a permit Oct. 24, 2022, for NorthPoint Development to build the 217,268-square-foot industrial shell Building E at a project cost of almost $11.42 million. Vannoy was the contractor.
The city had issued a foundation permit in May 2022 at a construction cost of $1.53 million, boosting the project to almost $13 million. The Kenco build-out boosts that to more than $17 million.
The structure is on 12.32 acres at southwest Interstate 295 and Duval Road in Northwest Jacksonville.
The 175-acre Park 295 has 139 developable acres. Park 295 owners plan about 1.7 million square feet of industrial development among five buildings.
Four of the five buildings now are fully leased. Building A awaits development as a build-to-suit for lease to a tenant.
Through NP Jacksonville Industrial LLC, NorthPoint paid almost $4.77 million in August 2018 for the property.
Newmark Phoenix Realty Group Director Richard Antczak, President and principal John Richardson and Senior Vice President and principal Ladson Montgomery are the agents and the landlord representatives.
Mark Scott, partner with Foundry Commercial in Jacksonville, and Barrett Bukfin, a principal with Cresa real estate services in Dallas, represented Kenco Logistics.
“It was a complicated transaction,” Antczak said Oct. 4.
He said the commodities to be stored and distributed required specialty work, including flooring.
“We worked hand-in-hand with the city and the fire marshal,” Antczak said.
“It was a deal that took a little bit longer because of the specialized equipment and infrastructure needed for that,” he said.
“It’s a nice one to get across the finish line.”
Antczak expects build-out to start over the next month and take three to four months for completion.
“It was a nice deal for Park 295.”