Protecting cross-state corridors of Old Florida from development sounded impossibly ambitious when advocates crossed 1,000 miles of wilderness to highlight how much the state had to lose.
Nine years later, the Florida Legislature’s embrace of the Florida Wildlife Corridor in a $300 million land-preservation effort is making conservationists think how much they might finally gain.
“This is such a huge opportunity for conservation in the state,” said Jim McCarthy, president of the Jacksonville-based North Florida Land Trust, which spends a lot of time preserving parts of one leg of the statewide wildlife corridor.
“If you’d asked me if this was going to happen two months ago, I would have said no,” McCarthy said. While stressing repeatedly that nothing’s final until Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the state budget and a separate Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, he conceded the obvious: “This is a big win for us.”
05:10 AM EST Share It is called Project Pineapple on building plans that are under review by the city. The bottling company will stay on North Main Street.
Bacardi USA is the Project Pineapple that committed to lease a NorthPoint Industrial Park warehouse.
Broker Wayne Schuchts, principal with Avison Young in Miami, said May 3 that the rum bottler will move its distribution function from one North Jacksonville development to another.
“Bacardi needed more space and more efficiency,” said Schuchts, principal of industrial, land and office leasing.
Wayne Schuchts
He said Avison Young has represented Bacardi for 15 years.
Jacksonville-based Bacardi Bottling Corp. operates at 12200 N. Main St., 6 miles west of the NorthPoint facility.
The city issued permits May 4 for two tenants that will fill up Park 295 Industrial Park at southwest Interstate 295 and Duval Road in Northwest Jacksonville.
Medical supplies distributor Sarnova and power company APR Energy will build-out distribution space in Building B at 2619 Ignition Drive.
They will join Ulta Beauty Inc. and Quiet 3PF to take the 552,634-square-foot structure to full occupancy.
For Sarnova, Dav-Lin Interior Contractors Inc. will build-out 130,567 square feet of space in unit No. 2 at a cost of $2.45 million.
The permit application identifies the project as Sigma, which appears to be a placeholder name. Sarnova is identified on supporting documents.
12:53 PM EST Share New York-based credit agency Fitch says the grade is linked to a versatile financial position despite the pandemic.
Credit agency Fitch Ratings says the Jacksonville Port Authority’s rating on its $129.8 million outstanding revenue bonds remains at “A” and has a stable outlook.
The New York City-based international credit rating agency April 16 report cites JaxPort’s growing automobile and container activity and long-term contracts with container and cargo tenants as reasons for the stable rating.
Fitch called JaxPort’s financial and operating position “versatile” despite the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our diversity of business and strong relationships with our customers, along with the investments that have been made in our port by our federal, state, local, and private partners, have helped ensure that we can continue to grow and thrive in today’s industry,” JaxPort CEO Eric Green said in a news release May 5.