995-Acre Buy Locks in MXD Plans

JACKSONVILLE, FL-University Park-based Benderson Development has acquired 995 acres of land at the northeast quadrant of Pecan Park Road and Interstate 95 for $20 million. Plans for the project are still being developed, but Benderson’s broad plans for the site include the development of a regional activity center that will include residential, office and retail space, with 319 acres of the land to be used for industrial development.

The seller is Bacardi Bottling Corp., which was represented by Colliers Dickinson SVP Hobart Joost Jr. Joost tells GlobeSt.com that Bacardi sold the land because it is divesting of all non-core assets.

Joost adds that the impetus for the sale was the influx of Asian shippers to the Jacksonville Port. Mitsui is constructing a terminal and Han Jin has future plans to construct a terminal. With the West Coast ports at capacity, many Asian shippers are seeking East Coast locations to accommodate customers in the Sunbelt region. Jacksonville is an attractive East Coast location because Interstate 10, which connects the East and West Coasts, ends in Jacksonville.