Roosevelt Square Mall landlord issued $68.5 million mortgage loan

Roosevelt Square Mall landlord issued $68.5 million mortgage loan
Portion of a detailed plan submitted for a stormwater management system appears to indicate two new buildings (green) north of Chick-fil-A and an increased space (blue) where Chase Bank and Metro Diner are located.

Although Chick-fil-A has recently re-opened after renovating the dining room, expanding its kitchen, and adding a drive-thru bypass lane, there has been no signs of any other development at Roosevelt Square Mall.

While no plans or construction schedules have been released, Dewberry Capital was issued a $68.5 million five-year mortgage through Roosevelt Square Limited Liability Partnership.

Stein Mart did recently renew its lease through January 2029 for its current 46,000-square-foot space. The Jacksonville-based retailer intends to significantly renovate the store, and has already begun a new layout, adding more space for clothing and reducing the home goods space. The façade and roof will be upgraded as well.

Stein Mart, which has been a tenant at the mall since 1985, expects to be flanked by Ulta Beauty and PetSmart when the landlord completes major redevelopment.

The 56-year-old shopping center started as an enclosed mall, then after Dewberry Capital bought it in 1997, they converted it into an open-air mall. At that time, Publix was located where Stein Mart is and a pharmacy was in the end unit along San Juan Avenue. The end unit has been used off and on for pop-up seasonal stores, such as the Halloween Store, and may be the location of the new PetSmart.

Dewberry received an Environmental Resource Permit in March for “construction of a surface water management system to accommodate re-development of a portion of an existing commercial site known as Roosevelt Mall. The receiving waterbody is Ortega River” according to documentation from the St. Johns Water Management District.

Recently engineers surveyed the parking lot behind Publix, preparatory to a stormwater management system on 5.2 acres at the southeast corner of the lot, next to the retention pond.

The former Belk store building is expected to be demolished, while there are plans for two new smaller buildings between Chick-fil-A and the building which houses Chase Bank and Metro Diner. Construction plans submitted in March by Mark Dowst & Associates for a stormwater management system show those two buildings on the plan.

The Chase Bank/Metro Diner building is also shown on the plan to be increased in size, but sources at Dewberry Capital have declined to respond to inquiries.

There was also talk of a 300-unit apartment according to a September 2016 master plan shared with District 14 Councilman Jim Love earlier this year, but Dewberry Capital again declined to respond.


By Kate A. Hallock
Resident Community News

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