About two months after Jacksonville City Council approved an incentive for the project, Forte Capital Management LLC of Miami Beach filed civil engineering plans with the city to replace a former Tyson chicken processing plant in West Jacksonville with 301,320 square feet of new industrial space.
The 21.05 acres is at 5421 W. Beaver St.
A preliminary site plan for “Beaver Street Industrial” shows that Forte intends to build a 210,600-square-foot Building 100 industrial warehouse and a 90,600-square-foot Building 200. A project description says it will be 301,320 square feet with 258 parking spaces.
Jacksonville-based England-Thims & Miller Inc., the civil engineer, submitted the plans Oct. 31.
City Council voted Sept. 10 to provide a $1 million incentive to Forte Capital Management LLC to demolish a dilapidated structure at the site and construct two buildings at the site.
Resolution 2024-0686 allows for the city to provide a five-year, 50% Recapture Enhanced Value Grant of $1 million for the project. A REV grant is a refund on ad valorem tax revenue generated by a new development.
Information attached to the resolution estimates the project cost at $35 million and says it will create at least 10 full-time jobs. The city Office of Economic Development generated the legislation for the deal as code-named Project Forte.
Forte President Chaim Cahane said at the time of the legislation that the project is a partnership with 7G Realty of New York. He said the partners were attracted to the site partly because of its proximity to Interstate 10, which is accessible to the southwest at the Lane Avenue interchange and southeast at the Cassat Avenue interchange.
The location east of Ellis Road also borders the Lineage Logistics Jacksonville West cold storage facility at 5459 Doolittle Road, which Cahane cited as another factor that drew in the partners.
Ed Randolph, executive director of the Office of Economic Development, told the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee in June 2024 that 200 to 300 abandoned cars and tractor-trailers had been dumped on the property.
Council member Tyrona Clark-Murray, whose District 9 includes the site, said the chicken processing plant closed years ago. Duval County records show that Tyson sold the property to Shep’s Discount & Salvage Inc. in 2003.
“I’m grateful for the vision that the developers have for this area,” she said, adding that the project was projected to yield a return on investment of $4 for every $1 in incentives.
Cahane said the space would be suited to a full range of industrial uses, including logistics, distribution and manufacturing. He said the partners do not have tenants lined up for the project.
With the city incentive in hand, Cahane said the developers would soon begin filing for permits.
Guy Preston, Seda Preston and Jack Heed with Colliers are the landlord brokers for Forte.