Fresh Markets breaks ground
Officials from the City of Jacksonville, along with executives from Regency Centers, Fuqua Development and The Fresh Market, took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Shoppes on Riverside last month.
The 49,870-square-foot shopping center development is poised for growth on the edge of Downtown. The center, which is a joint venture between locally based Regency Centers Corporation and Fuqua Development of Atlanta, will play an important role in the redevelopment of the Brooklyn neighborhood.
Council Member Greg Anderson, Paul Maxwell, Regency Centers, Council Member Warren Jones, Heather Correa, Fuqua, Hap Stein, Chairman and CEO, Regency Centers, Mayor Alvin Brown, Jeffrey Fuqua, Principal, Fuqua Development, Jim Thompson, Regency Centers, Ken Towery, The Fresh Market, Mike Kinsella, Regency Centers
Located across Riverside Avenue from the YMCA and Haskell Company, with easy access to Interstate 95, the $14.7 million development will be constructed by Jacksonville-based Elkins Constructors, Inc., and will serve local residents and the Downtown business community. To date, tenants include The Fresh Market grocery and Northeast Florida’s first Corner Bakery Cafe.
“I would anticipate that in the next 30 days we’ll have two or three more deals signed,” said Patrick McKinley, senior leasing agent for Regency Centers. “Then after that they’ll just keep coming in. We’re looking for a good merchandise mix of national, regional, local retailers. We’re trying to create a place where the retailers and the community wants to stay and shop and hang out.”
McKinley noted that they are targeting October for The Fresh Market’s opening with about half of the retail space committed and the rest opening a few months after.
“We’re delighted to be a member of the Jacksonville community and excited about the new store at the Shoppes of Riverside, our fourth Jacksonville area location. We’re looking forward to extending our community outreach; we’ll be partnering with a number of food banks locally and we’ll also provide food donations to many charities throughout the community,” said Ken Towery, of The Fresh Market. “Nationally, we’re a partner with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and also with Cupcakes for a Cause. We’ll be participating in several local campaigns to raise funds for those charities.”
Towery noted that they opened their first store in Jacksonville in 1996. He stated that about 90 jobs would be hired locally for the new store.
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