Dream Finders Homes LLC is headed into City Council hearings with its proposal to change the land use of almost 72 acres in Baymeadows that is best known as the Prominence Office Park.
The Jacksonville-based homebuilder is exploring a mixed-use development for offices and multifamily uses.
Dream Finders Homes bought the site June 28 at southwest Baymeadows Road and Interstate 95, with Prominence Parkway its main road into the park.
The site, comprising 15 parcels, is between Baymeadows Road, Philips Highway and I-95. It is in Council District 11, led by Raul Arias Jr.
Prominence Office Park comprises seven buildings totaling 754,691 square feet of space.
A Dream Finders site plan dated June 17 filed with city utility JEA shows four Parcels A through D for office and/or multifamily uses. Parcels E through G are for open space.
The Jacksonville Planning and Development Department started the application tracking July 9 for land-use Ordinance 2024-715. It was introduced Sept. 17 to Council.
The application shows public hearings scheduled at the Jacksonville Planning Commission on Oct. 3, followed by the first at Council on Oct. 8, at the Council Land Use & Zoning Committee on Oct. 15 and the second at Council on Oct. 22.
Jacksonville lawyer Paul Harden is the applicant.
Allowing a mix of uses
The land use amendment says the infill development project will allow a mix of uses under the Residential-Professional-Institutional land use category.
The property now is designated Multi-Use (17.02 acres) and Community/General Commercial (54.74 acres).
The legislation would transmit the proposed large-scale revision to the city’s Future Land Use Map Series of the 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
The transmittal would send the proposed amendment through the state’s Expedited State Review Process for review by state and regional agencies and the area military bases commanding officers.
It would then return to Council.
The legislation’s sign posting map indicates at least 23 signs will be put up along Prominence Parkway, Dix Ellis Trail and Freedom Crossing Trail within Prominence.
The site plan for Prominence Office Park dated June 17 shows office and/or multifamily uses.
According to the JEA filing, the maximum number of residential units would be 1,480 and the maximum office space would be the existing roughly 753,000 square feet.
One analysis by civil engineer Prosser Prime AE shows up to 562 units on Parcel A; 370 on Parcel B; 192 on Parcel C; and 355 on Parcel D.
JEA issued a service availability determination letter June 28, the day of the property sale, outlining the utility connections and services.
It is not clear what is envisioned for the seven office buildings if multifamily units are developed.
There are two office buildings on Parcel A; two on Parcel B; one on Parcel C; and two on Parcel D.
Dream Finders has not responded to requests for comment.
The sale
A limited partnership led by Dream Finders Homes LLC paid $22 million for 15 parcels, including the seven office buildings.
DFH Prominence LP bought the property from Crocker Partners V Freedom LLC.
The Daily Record reported Feb. 14 that the 36-year-old Prominence Office Park was being offered for sale, according to real estate firm JLL.
Prominence had been owned and managed by CP Group, previously known as Crocker Partners, with leasing handled by JLL Managing Directors Michael Loftin and Jesse Shimp.
The brokers handling the sale offering, which was labeled a “lender driven sale,” were JLL Senior Directors Matthew McCormack and Robbie McEwan, both in Capital Markets.
Invest.jll.com stated that the “Prominence Office Portfolio 2023” at 8900 Prominence Parkway was under contract, but did not say with whom or at what price.
Records show Bank of America held a $59 million mortgage note as of August 2018. The bank amended its financing statement in February 2023.
The offering said the office space was 50% leased.
The seven buildings, from 21,991 to 160,065 square feet of space, were built from 1988 to 1998.
Prominence Tenants
Southeastern Grocers Inc., the parent company of Winn-Dixie, is based in Prominence Office Park. Germany-based grocer Aldi said March 7 it completed the acquisition of Southeastern Grocers Inc., the parent company of the Winn-Dixie and Harveys supermarket chains.
Aldi said March 7 that it will maintain Southeastern Grocers’ Jacksonville headquarters and the leadership after the acquisition was completed.
Tenants include local, national and government organizations “who have occupied the campus for many years and remain committed to the location,” the offering said.
The deeds show that the buildings are on about 51.55 acres, while the remainder is 6.65 acres of vacant commercial land, 5.71 acres are parking lots and 4.14 acres are wasteland and right of way. That is a few acres less than that in the legislation.
A drive through the park showed signs for tenants that include Southeastern Grocers, Olympus Insurance, Digital Risk, Solera and AutoPoint.
The offering said that the Baymeadows are submarket had more than 5,000 new apartment units added over the past five years.
“The Properties offer investors a rare, large-scale value-enhancement opportunity in one of America’s top growth markets,” it said.
Value enhancement means a buyer would have the opportunity to reposition or repurpose the property for a higher return on its investment.