The site of the closed Piccadilly cafeteria at northwest Beach and University boulevards is under consideration for an AquaSonic automated express car wash, a new player developing in the U.S. market, starting in Florida.
AquaSonic.com says it is opening soon in Greenacres, New Port Richey, Ocoee and Tampa.
The company said in an Aug. 12 news release that its groundbreaking in New Port Richey “represents a much larger entrance into the car wash industry, as AquaSonic currently has an additional 17 locations in the pipeline across cities in Florida, including Tampa, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Jacksonville.”
It said the new locations are coming soon to New Port Richey, Tampa, Orlando, Palm Beach County and beyond in early 2025.
City utility JEA is reviewing a service availability determination request for a 5,600-square-foot AquaSonic at 3216 University Blvd. S., where the Southern comfort food cafeteria closed Sept. 26, 2023. It was the last Piccadilly in Jacksonville.
The site was marketed for re-use or for a raze-and-rebuild.
Piccadilly was known for its cafeteria line workers dishing up entrees with two sides and fresh bread.
The loopnet.com real estate site shows the 12,000-square-foot building, built in 1985, is available and that the structure can be removed for redevelopment of the 2.83-acre site.
Goldstein Commercial Properties Inc. is representing the property for a ground lease.
It is owned by a trust based in St. Augustine.
“We have the property listed and we are marketing the property for a long-term tenant to lease the property or renovate and or redevelop for a long-term credit tenant – and possibly a new build-to-suit,” said Goldstein Commercial Properties President Barry Goldstein when Piccadilly closed.
Dynamic Engineering Consultants of Delray Beach is the civil engineer for the AquaSonic project.
AquaSonic also filed a pre-application Sept. 23 with the St. Johns River Water Management District for an environmental resource permit for a Jacksonville car wash. Dynamic Engineering Consultants is the applicant.
AquaSonicCarWash.com says AquaSonic wants to add more than 20 sites by the end of 2024 in Florida and the Southeast and is looking for land.
Henley Investment Management says on HenleyIM.com that the London and West Palm Beach investor has spent the past two years developing the AquaSonic brand, which it describes as a “pioneering express tunnel car wash service” that uses technology to create what it says is the most “environmentally friendly, efficient and highest quality car wash” in the market.
It says it assembled a group of Florida investors to provide an initial $10 million investment for the first phase of the business, which will include the acquisition of the first three sites in Tampa and Orlando.
Henley, which is raising money through a series of funds, is targeting more than 100 car washes in the U.S. by 2029, which it said would make AquaSonic one of the biggest operators in the country.
The site said AquaSonic’s car washes will have a 140-foot tunnel wash lasting about 3 minutes.
License plate recognition technology will speed up the process for monthly unlimited wash club members, it said.
Henley says 60% to 80% of the water used in each wash will be recycled. Cleaning agents are collected to prevent them from entering water systems and each property will use “highly efficient” LED lighting.
Each site represents an investment of $8 million to $10 million, according to Perenews.com, a site for private equity real estate news.
Spotless Wash Solutions of Twin Falls, Idaho, is shown on a site option plan as the company providing planning and design services.