DHL Supply Chain is building its “Project Empire” distribution center in North Jacksonville at a job cost of $72 million now that the city issued a permit Aug. 12.
ARCO National Construction of Richmond Heights, Missouri, is the contractor for the 603,200-square-foot distribution warehouse on 47.13 acres at 10030 Eastport Road.
GMA Architects of Richmond Heights, Missouri, is the architect. BGE Inc. of Jacksonville is the civil engineer. Environmental Resource Solutions LLC of Jacksonville is the environmental consultant.
The city issued a foundation permit May 17 at a cost of $565,113.
The property is at southwest Kraft and Eastport roads in North Jacksonville. It is south of Interstate 295.
RES Jacksonville I LLC of Westerville, Ohio, is the developer and land owner. RES Jacksonville is part of Excel Inc. of Westerville.
Excel does business as DHL Supply Chain and the two share the Ohio address.
Plans identified the project as DHL.
Bronx, New York-based Zion Jacksonville LLC sold the North Jacksonville property Nov. 28, 2023, to RES Jacksonville I LLC for $10.26 million.
The undeveloped industrial land was part of 892 acres owned by Zion, which is positioning its property for development.
City Council approved Resolution 2023-0603 on Sept. 26, 2023, for the city to execute a $1.5 million Recapture Enhanced Value Grant for Project Empire, described as “a major international logistics and distribution company,” to build a facility at Kraft and Eastport roads in North Jacksonville.
The legislative summary described a 400,000-square-foot, $64 million center to provide logistics and distribution services throughout the Southeast U.S.
The economic development agreement said it will be completed by Dec. 31, 2025, and create 100 full-time jobs by Dec. 31, 2026.
Empire’s 100 full-time employees will include logisticians, warehouse receiving and shipping personnel.
The site plan with the foundation permit showed the larger 603,200-square-foot center.
Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn in San Francisco founded the company in 1969.
DHL, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Germany-based Deutsche Post in 2002, has four divisions. One is Supply Chain for contract logistics, providing warehousing, managed transport and value-added services.
DHL Supply Chain’s U.S. headquarters is in Westerville.. A new distribution center there brought DHL’s total footprint to about 15 million square feet in Ohio and more than 161 million square feet in North America.