Charlotte-based Company Acquires Orange Park Office Complex

October 17, 2018     0    1

 “Our company has been looking for opportunities to grow its portfolio in Jacksonville, and with its proximity to major interstates and nearby hotels, retail and restaurants, Wells Lake Commerce Center was a great fit,” Scott Phillips, senior vice president of acquisitions for Lat Purser & Associates, said in a prepared statement. The company's Jacksonville office will lease and manage the property.

Utility Expansion to Support First Coast Expressway

October 11, 2018     0    54

CCUA is in the process of selecting an engineer for the second phase but had no cost estimate for that portion of the project. Design is expected to begin in 2019 with construction targeted for early 2020. This 80-acre treatment plant will sit on what used to be the home of a secondary water treatment facility. The secondary water treatment that previously sat on the plot of land treated water to an extent, but CCUA Chief Operations Officer Jeremy Johnston, said the new facility will do significantly more to clean the water. “We use a biological treatment process that moves from aeration bays, to clarifiers and then there’s added filtration and chlorination at the end of the process, which makes sure that all of the microbes are essentially gone,” Johnston said. “It has a far lower level of nitrogen, phosphorus and other constituents in the water.” Once the water goes through this cleaning process, it is used for irrigation, not drinking water. Beyond the need for greater flow rates in the area, Johnston said CCUA also looked at nutrient levels of other plants. ...

Green Cove Springs Prepares for Population Boom

October 1, 2018     0    67

If you ask life-long locals like Ronald Roberts, they will tell you Green Cove isn’t the small town it used to be.  "At one time, I could walk the streets of Green Cove Springs and I knew nine out of every 10 people I met. Now, I don’t know one out of 10," said Roberts.  The outer beltway project is one factor. When the new highway is eventually built near Green Cove, it will bring thousands of new residents.  Another construction project will spark new growth. The Shands Bridge is being re-built taller so more shipping traffic can come through. It will be a boom for Green Cove’s port.  South Green Cove is the likely site for two new public schools in the coming years as well.  "If you just look at development on 17 Vallencourt, a construction company has moved their corporate headquarters here," said former mayor Mitch Timberlake.  Timberlake, now a city council member, says there is a lot of business going inside the city limits with new businesses, but the majority is going up right outside the town’s border in the greater Green Cove Springs area.  "We’ll probably see 50,000 people move into Green Cove in the very ...

Q&A: BofA market president positive on Jax region

September 21, 2018     0    88

What is the state of the banking industry in Northeast Florida?  We are in a very good spot. After the recession in 2008, and the recovery started in about 2010 and the economy of Jacksonville has benefitted from that. The area is very healthy: You look at the unemployment rate and new businesses that have been attracted here by JaxUSA Partnership – we have a very strong economy so that means that the banking business is healthy. All the banks over these last years have built up their capital positions and have continued to focus on lending. Our company focuses on our responsible growth strategy where we continue to lend and put money back out to businesses and the consumer side in a responsible way.  The banking Industry has changed locally with fewer community owned banks. How has that impacted customers and how do you see this dynamic between community owned and national banks continuing to develop?  There is always going to be a place for both. There are difference niches and needs that both can serve, but the one big trend ...

I-95 named second-best launchpad for autonomous trucking in U.S.

September 21, 2018     0    84

Rob Hooper, CEO of of Jacksonville-based Atlantic Logistics, has spoken at national conferences about the economics of autonomous trucks, a technology he sees as inevitable. Interstates are the perfect place to begin implementing autonomous trucks, he noted, because they provide commercial benefits in stable traffic conditions. "Interstates will be the first place automation will be utilized," said Hooper. "There's no pedestrians, no red lights. It's made to flow." Long-haul autonomous trucks would bring massive economic benefits, Hooper noted. The autonomous vehicles would be able to run 24 hours a day, versus human drivers' 11-hour cap, more than doubling the asset's use and allowing freight volumes to move more heavily at night to avoid peak congestion. There would be no driver to pay, a savings of 40 cents per mile. Insurance costs would plummet, while safety incidents would almost vanish. Fuel costs could be slashed, too, as autonomous trucks calculate their most efficient speeds. "Once it's doable and safe, the phase-in period is going to be dramatic," said Hooper. "Every incentive is going to be for massive, immediate adoption of this. Consolidation in the ...