Developer Becknell Industrial is setting the stage to prepare property at Westlake Industrial Park for construction of 1.2 million square feet of industrial space, possibly in one building.
The St. Johns River Water Management District and JEA are reviewing applications for the project.
The Water Management District received a pre-application Feb. 10 for an environmental resource permit for Westlake Industrial Lot 21. No tenant or use is noted.
The project description specifies a 1.2 million-square-foot industrial building, with one modified, one new and two existing stormwater retention ponds and associated infrastructure to support the site.
Indiana-based Pritchard Road Florida Becknell Investors II LLC is the applicant and owner.
City utility JEA issued a service availability determination letter Feb. 4 for Westlake Industrial Lot 21, described as 1.2 million square feet of industrial space.
Kimley-Horn Jacksonville, the project engineer, requested a development meeting with JEA for the last week of February.
A proposed site plan shows one building, but the dimensions were not noted.
Property records show that Pritchard Road Florida Becknell Investors III LLC paid $8.96 million for the vacant 171-acre site in December 2019.
Becknell Industrial and Colliers are marketing a proposed almost 1.04 million-square-foot fulfillment-distribution center for lease at 13522 Pritchard Road. The brochure said the 128.63-acre site is pad-ready for development.
Colliers Executive Vice President Guy Preston and Associate Seda Preston and Becknell Vice President of Leasing Matt Neumann are representing Becknell. They did not respond to a request for comments.
The site plan calls it Lot 21A.
A second-phase area is the 42.45-acre Lot 21B.
Marketed as Becknell at Westlake Industrial Park, the project is described as Class A new construction with access to the Southeast U.S. market by Interstates 295 and 10.
The property is west of I-295 and north of I-10, not far from the BJ’s Wholesale Club distribution center and Southeast Toyota processing center.
The site is 17 miles southwest of Jacksonville International Airport and 22 miles west of the JaxPort Blount Island Marine Terminal.
It also is within the Northwest Jacksonville Economic Development Fund boundary, which provides access to business incentives.
The applications appear to be a change in plans for the site.
Becknell applied to the city in 2020 to build a speculative 477,000-square-foot warehouse on the site, but that permit is shown as void as of Jan. 25, 2024.
That means the permit was discontinued by the applicant before the permit was approved or issued.
City building records show site-work permits were issued in 2019-21 to clear and prepare the site. “Pad ready” means it is ready for construction.
Colliers reported in a year-end report that the Jacksonville industrial market remained strong throughout 2024 and was “well-positioned for sustained industrial market strength in 2025.”
It found the overall industrial vacancy rate was relatively low at 5.5% at year-end “in the face of an elevated amount of new construction that totaled 4.8 million square feet by year-end.”
It said that leasing activity matched new supply and reached 4.8 million square feet.
“Leasing activity was intensified by a significant increase in activity on the tenant side, compared to last year. In fact, due to the threat of tariffs, there has been an uptick of tenants from overseas touring for space in the market.”
It reported Jacksonville continues to attract new companies despite tight market conditions, “drawn by the city’s competitive costs and high quality of life. Coupled with positive sentiment post-election and Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, Jacksonville is well-positioned for sustained industrial market strength in 2025.”