FRIDAY December 21, 2018
Public legal notices begin on page 3
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
DEVELOPMENT
THE MATHIS REPORT
Daily Record
Element by Westin hotel planned for Jacksonville Beach An artist’s rendering of the planned Element by Westin hotel at 7 S. Third St. in Jacksonville Beach.
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KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
Fanatics setting up a satellite office The global e-commerce sports merchandise company already operates its East Coast headquarters in Jacksonville.
The 1-acre site at 7 S. Third St. has been vacant for more than a decade. BY DAVID CAWTON STAFF WRITER
An 80-room Element by Westin hotel is proposed near southeast Third Street and Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville Beach. The 1-acre property at 7 S. Third St. has been vacant for more than a decade since a Texaco gas station and convenience store was closed and demolished. Bobby Bhikha of Shivam Properties II LLC intends to develop the $10 million hotel. Property records show Shivam bought the land through a subsidiary in 2004 for $700,000. Bhikha said he plans to break ground by March after obtaining permits from the city of Jacksonville Beach and approvals from the St. Johns River Water Management District. Construction is expected to take 14-16 months. “We really think this is going to be a good fit for Jacksonville Beach because there’s no extended stay hotel in the area,” Bhikha said Tuesday. He said the three-story hotel’s amenities will include a pool and fitness center.
“We will not have a restaurant, but there will be complimentary breakfast and other snacks available for guests,” he said. Bhikha said his group planned to build up to five stories, but the city of Jacksonville Beach would not allow it. Through a referendum in 2004, 76 percent of Jacksonville Beach voters agreed to restrict new construction to 35 feet after a wave of high-rise residential and commercial buildings began popping up around the turn of the century. “We tried to get that exception but the city did not want to move on the limit,” Bhikha said. Bhikha said his group “spent a lot of time working with the city on the engineering to make sure it’s a good fit for Jacksonville Beach.” Bhikha said the land remained undeveloped for years because the company had to conduct environmental remediation to clean up contamination left by the gas station. “That’s done now so we’re moving ahead as fast as we SEE HOTEL, PAGE 2
Fanatics, the global e-commerce company that sells licensed sports merchandise, is working on plans for a satellite office in Jacksonville almost next door to the location of its East Coast headquarters. The city is reviewing a permit application for Fanatics to build-out 40,583 square feet of space at 8301 Cypress Plaza Drive, Building 5, in Cypress Business Center. No contractor is listed for the $1.71 million tenant improvement project. Gresham Smith is the architect. Plans show it as the Jacksonville Satellite Office with open office space, training rooms, collabs, huddle and conference rooms, phone rooms and a break room. Fanatics operates its East SEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
Crowley receives newest ship Jacksonville-based Crowley Maritime Corp. announced it has taken delivery of Taíno, its second ship powered by liquefied natural gas. Taíno will join its sister ship, El Coquí, transporting cargo between Jacksonville and Puerto Rico. The ship was built by VT Halter Marine Inc., of Pascagoula, Mississippi. The Taíno is scheduled to make its first trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 8. Taíno is named for the native Puerto Ricans who lived off the land and El Coquí is named for an indigenous island frog.
VOLUME 106, NO. 26 • ONE SECTION