8 replies to this topic

[PERIDOT]

Feel free to add/share additional information concerning the growth/development for Atlantic, Neptune, Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beaches.


▪ TJ Maxx is planning to open a new location in Jacksonville Beach.  The new store will be located in Pablo Creek Plaza, positioned in the space previously occupied by Pablo Theatres on Third Street, as well as encompassing additional retail space towards Office Depot’s location.  The store’s actual opening will take a while, but it is presently in the beginning stages of getting underway.    

▪ Beach Boulevard Road Construction Update
Description: Widen Beach Boulevard from four lanes to six lanes between San Pablo Road and Penman Road, including the replacement of two existing two-lane draw bridges with two fixed high level bridges with three lanes each.  
Status: Development by Superior Construction Company began in June 2006 and is 32%   complete. Relocation of existing utilities and construction of storm drainage continues. West of the Intracoastal Waterway, the bridge's substructure is complete, beam erection is nearly    complete, and placement of the roadway decks is ongoing. East of the waterway, pile driving and bridge substructure work is underway.
Schedule: The new northern bridge is scheduled to be completed and opened to traffic in the fourth quarter of 2007. Total project construction is scheduled to be finalized in the second quarter of 2009.

▪ Beaches United Methodist Church recently purchased the land where the United States Post Office is presently located, on the corner of 7th Avenue, North and Third Street.  The Post Office will relocate to the Beach Plaza on Beach Boulevard, between Max’s Restaurant and Ollie Koala’s, with construction for their new space beginning in August (next month).  

▪ A new restaurant, The Crabcake Factory,  is under development and will be located on Beach Boulevard where The Moon was originally anchored in the Beach Plaza.  This will be a 4 to 5 star restaurant, owned by the same company that owns Benny’s Steak & Seafood Restaurant at The Jacksonville Landing and who previously opened Vito’s Cafes in Jacksonville.  Chef Kahn Vongdara, originally from the landmark First Street Grille Restaurant, will be the head chef of The Crabcake Factory, with it being due to open in Sept.  

▪ Steps Shoe Store, originally located in Regency Square Mall, opened its new location in the Beach Plaza, located near VyStar Credit Union.    

▪ Nine West Shoe Store opened its new location a few weeks ago in the South Beach Regional Shopping Center, where Steinmart is located in South Jacksonville Beach.  

▪ Courtyard Marriott will be opening its new location during the month of September, located at 1617 N. First Street, Jacksonville Beach.   They are presently taking reservations for October 2007 on-line.    

▪ If you have not already noticed the signage that’s in place, Holiday Inn Express will be opening a new Jacksonville Beach location on Beach Boulevard in 2008...encompassing the area that stretches from the light at 12th Street and the corner of 11th Street, North.


Again, please feel free to share/add to the above noted information.  Thank you!

Edited by PERIDOT, 17 July 2007 - 01:40 AM.

[PERIDOT]

▪ The Metropolitan, (a mixed-use project of residential, office and retail space) located at 320 North First Street in Jacksonville Beach, gladly welcomes the following new retailers that plan to be open for business in late 2007:

-Chicago Pizza and Sports Grille - Sister restaurant/bar is located on the corner of Baymeadows and Philips.

-Mona Lisa Ice Cream & Coffee Shop

-Wine Excessory - Napa style retail store of wines, accessories and a bar.

[PERIDOT]

▪ Sea Turtle Inn to get spa treatment - There are plans underway for a $24 million conversion of the Sea Turtle Inn in Atlantic Beach into a luxury resort and spa called One Ocean.  The 193-room Sea Turtle, built in 1973, will remain open throughout the conversion and is expected to be completed in January 2008.

▪ Holiday Inn Express for Mayport - Mayport Lodging Inc. submitted an environmental resource permit            application to the St. Johns River Water Management District to build a Holiday Inn Express on the west side of Mayport Road, north of Dutton Island Road.

[Dale]

This place is dead.

[PERIDOT]

Dale, on Jul 28 2007, 12:40 AM, said:

This place is dead.

The beaches area of Jacksonville, FL may not be Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale Beach or even Panama City Beach...but dead it is not.  It's growing, maturing, developing and possesses a wonderful small town feeling.  It's so much better than what it was 10 or even 5 years ago...and just keeps getting better!


D.R. Horton Submits Atlantic Beach/Mayport Plans

The new use of a couple of mobile home parks that closed last year in Mayport and Atlantic Beach is becoming clear. National homebuilder D.R. Horton has submitted plans to build more than 1,000 condominiums on sites that were home to about 275 trailers in the Lakeside and Atlantic Village communities.

Property owners said last year that running a trailer park so near the beach was not profitable, and residents were forced to move as owners tried to unload the land.

Plans call for 534 two- and three-bedroom condos at the Lakeside site, which spans two parcels of undeveloped land north and south of the former mobile home park. Tentatively called Creekside, the 45-acre neighborhood would be built on the south side of Florida A1A, north of Assisi Lane, west of Mayport Road. Half the units would have attached garages. The one- and two-story units would range from 940 to 1,250 square feet.

The other project, called Fiddler's Reef, is on roughly 30 acres on the east side of Mayport Road, bordering Hanna Park, at the Atlantic Village site. Plans there call for a little more than 500 two- and three-bedroom condos, from 930 to 1,150 square feet. The one-story units would be built atop each other in three-story buildings like the builder's Summer Key project on the Southside.

Last month, D.R. Horton told the Times-Union's Shorelines that its Mayport homes would cost $126,000 to $150,000. Now the builder says prices will likely be closer to $140,000 to $190,000. D.R. Horton is under contract to buy about 75 acres on either side of Mayport Road from various property ownership groups, one of which lists Florida Rock Inc. executive John Baker as a managing member. Neither the sellers nor buyer would say for how much the property is selling, but the contracts are expected to close in October, pending rezoning and other regulatory approvals.

The two condo projects would be D.R. Horton's first in the Mayport area. Plans for either Mayport project are not yet posted online, but should be forthcoming once D.R. Horton takes title to the land.

Edited by PERIDOT, 03 August 2007 - 08:40 PM.

[radiostatic102]

Dale, on Jul 28 2007, 12:40 AM, said:

This place is dead.

It's not dead.  

I just visited there (I used to live in Neptune Beach) and it has REALLY changed a lot!  Jacksonville Beach has several new condo towers that are very pleasing to the eye, there is life and vitality there that was not there 10 years ago.  It has a new energy about it.  Also there are a lot more places to eat, which is great because I don't exactly like eating at Village Inn.

What DID make me mad is the closing of Joe's Crab Shack on the beach.  That was not a good idea.  I hope they reopen in the same area.

Also while I was there I visited Mayport, ate at Singleton's, but didn't ride the ferry.  I had better soon, or I may not be able to again.  

At any rate, Jacksonville is such a great place to live, especially if it's at the beaches!

Edited by radiostatic102, 03 August 2007 - 10:28 PM.

[PERIDOT]

▪ Surf, sand ... and a grocery, too! Some Beaches residents soon may have a grocer closer to home. Thomas Murray, vice president with WindCrest Development Group Inc. in Maitland filed an application for an Environmental  Resource Permit with the St. Johns River Water Management District for Middle Beach Commons, a 35,000-square-foot shopping center on 3.19 acres at 408 Beach Blvd., between Fourth and Fifth streets south in Jacksonville Beach. The center will include a 29,130-square-foot Publix and an additional 4,800 square feet of retail space.

▪ Adventure Landing at Jacksonville Beach is now featuring Meeting Facilities.  These facilities include:  
  

- Private Rooms - Food and Beverage Options - Can accommodate 10 to 100 people-

Please contact their Group Sales Department at 246-4386 for more information.

▪ The Fresh Market that is planned for Harbour Village, located on San Pablo Road and Atlantic Boulevard is scheduled to open at the end of October. In addition to Fresh Market opening, the following retail stores are due to also open in the very near future:
   - Bagel Bagel Café
   - Coastal Cottage (a Vera Bradley store)
   - Fandango (a cool, eclectic gift store)
   - Jamba Juice
Opening dates are dependent upon each individual businesses' schedule/agenda.

Edited by PERIDOT, 04 September 2007 - 01:37 PM.

[Florida]

How clean are Jacksonville's beaches? Is the water safe?

[PERIDOT]

Florida, on Sep 27 2007, 04:52 PM, said:

How clean are Jacksonville's beaches? Is the water safe?

Jacksonville's beaches (Atlantic, Neptune, Jacksonville) are very clean...and very friendly too!  The water is as safe as anywhere else in Florida.  We've had no misfortunate news to report regarding it not being safe.  http://www.visitjack...llebeaches.com/