Tony Sleiman's New Town Center

[Cheshire Cat]

It appears Tony Sleiman is serious about creating what he calls the next "Town Center".   Not sure we need another town center but I do know people love to shop.   Thanks for the story Daily Record! 

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=540668

Managing Editor
Developer Toney Sleiman envisions his property at northwest Atlantic and Kernan boulevards as a major retail center.

"It'll be the next St. Johns Town Center," said Sleiman, a prolific developer who owns the land at three of the four corners of the intersection.

He compares the potential of his property to the success of the 240-acre St. Johns Town Center retail and housing development at Butler Boulevard and the Interstate 295 East Beltway.

The Atlantic and Kernan property, now called Atlantic North but shown on plans as the Marketplace at the Fountains, has about 40 acres under development now, including plans for a new Belk department store and Earth Fare organic foods grocer. It would be the first Earth Fare in the market.

Sleiman says he owns 100 more acres at Atlantic North, stretching west to CarMax, that will be developed as he secures tenants.

"I'm going after everybody," he said about retailers, restaurants and other tenants.

Sleiman said he would develop the property in stages. "When I get somebody I like, I will put them in there."

Atlantic North has Academy Sports Outdoors and LA Fitness. Belk plans to build at the western end of the center, while the Earth Fare is scheduled to occupy a store next to Academy.

Four more stores are planned that will complete the center, from Belk on the west to LA Fitness on the east.

The southeast corner of Atlantic and Kernan is anchored by BJ's Wholesale Club and the southwest property is anchored by Walmart and Kohl's.

"If you want to be in that market, I own all three corners," he said. "It's a nice position to be in."

Sleiman said he has just two parcels remaining available at the southwest site, while seven are available at the northwest Atlantic North property.

Atlantic North could be renamed, Sleiman said, playing with the "marketplace" name.

He expects fast-food and restaurant chains to be among the tenants interested in the site. "Look at the traffic count on Atlantic Boulevard. There are 100,000 cars a day," he said.

Sleiman said a couple of the new stores in Atlantic North will be new to the market, but declined to identify them.

kmathis@baileypub.com

[carpnter]

At one point there was going to be a SuperTarget built on the same corner as Academy Sports, but when the economy went south back in 08-09 they shelved those plans and recently started adding the larger grocery sections to their regular stores.  I don't know if they will ever revive the plans to build a SuperTarget there.

[Cheshire Cat]

I know the St. John's Town Center has been quite a success.  I have marveled at it's appeal and been please for those who enjoy the shopping, restaurants etc.  What has concerned me however has been the outcropping of additional retail that to my eye at least seems to be nothing more than a collection of smaller shopping centers hobbled to the successful core of unique shops and restaurants.  I also marvel at the growing number of residential units.  Now I get that different things appeal to differnt folks and for some living on the edges of a conglomeration of commercial retail is a sort of Nirvana, but I wonder will all of this stand the test of time?  Is there a point where the novelty wears off, the retail is overworked and people just become board with the latest new thing?  I must share with you I remember when the first mall like shopping center came to Miami Beach many decades ago.  It was the grand new thing and it featured an outdoor mall with retail, restaurants and movie theaters.  A few years later the shine wore off and the developers set about the sizable task of trying to convert an outside mall into an enclosed, air conditioned center.  There is some truth to that saying that everything old is new again. 

[CityLife]

Can Sleiman create a decent little shopping area there? Sure, probably. Can he create "the next Town Center" or anything closely resembling it? Not a chance. Not unless he wants to give some of the existing Town Center retailers that will only have 1 store max in North Florida free or heavily reduced rent.

[copperfiend]

Other than Belk, I don't see anything that different from what we have by the airport or in Oakleaf.

[RiversideLoki]

What is it with developers sticking retail centers out in the boonies? Why doesn't Sleiman do something with the landing and move major retail in there, so it will be a major place to go to in the urban core besides drinking heavily and remarking on the closed shops?

[Cheshire Cat]

What is it with developers sticking retail centers out in the boonies? Why doesn't Sleiman do something with the landing and move major retail in there, so it will be a major place to go to in the urban core besides drinking heavily and remarking on the closed shops?

Hasn't he always said moving major chains to the Landing was problematic due to the parking situation?

[RiversideLoki]

What is it with developers sticking retail centers out in the boonies? Why doesn't Sleiman do something with the landing and move major retail in there, so it will be a major place to go to in the urban core besides drinking heavily and remarking on the closed shops?

Hasn't he always said moving major chains to the Landing was problematic due to the parking situation?

Yes, but the "parking situation" was that he was holding the city hostage for some reason if I recall. He wanted some large sum of money and/or more land to build a parking garage.

I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility to build a parking garage on the current parking lot surface area, but I'm no architect or engineer.

And besides, if he has the money to throw at another stripmall, surely he could invest in the Landing instead.

This post from 2010 has some good information.

[thelakelander]

This Sleiman development is the one that was of question during the mobility fee moratorium debates earlier this year and in 2011.  Atlantic North is a "power center". Nothing more, nothing less.  We have them all over town.  Other examples include Oakleaf Town Center, the Target portion of SJTC and the shopping center anchored by Best Buy, near Avenues Mall. 

Here's a 2010 Metro Jacksonville article about this shopping center:



http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-apr-marketplace-at-the-fountains-coming-to-east-arlington

Also, here's a copy of the site plan from Sleiman's website:

http://www.sleiman.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=V2oFhmn0Jl8%3d&tabid=547

You can also see it on this smaller image:

[thelakelander]

We've made this location a viable commercial node with the taxpayer funded expansions of Atlantic, Kernan, the Atlantic/Kernan overpass and eventually the expansion of Kernan from Atlantic to Monument.

No doubt, the new development at this intersection will be good for Sleiman and the businesses opening there.  However, they'll be the death of older retail centers and chain restaurant locations in the vicinity, such as Regency Square.  So the net plus on the local economy may be debatable.

The older sections of Atlantic will continue to decline as older commercial corridors such as Emerson, University Blvd and Baymeadows have.  The key for their futures will be their ability to reinvent themselves.  Emerson has struggled but Baymeadows appears to be morphing into a cultural district.

[Riverrat]

Oh, please. This man is delusional. He develops uninspired strip malls and power centers...nothing along the lines of Town Center or even River City Marketplace. He just has no vision and it saddens me he is the one in charge of The Landing in the heart of our core.

[I-10east]

Other than Belk, I don't see anything that different from what we have by the airport or in Oakleaf.

Huh??? Earth Fare? Unknown stores that will be new to the market?

[Cheshire Cat]

Ennis, what constitutes a "power center"?  Inquiring minds want to know.  Back in my day we didn't use the term so I am curious. 

[thelakelander]

A power center is basically a strip mall consisting of a string of big box retailers lined up side-by-side.  Here's wiki's definition:

A power center is an unenclosed shopping center with 250,000 square feet to 750,000 square feet of gross leasable area that usually contains three or more big box retailers and various smaller retailers (usually located in strip plazas) with a common parking area shared among the retailers. It is likely to have more money spent on features and architecture than a traditional big box shopping center.

Power centers function similarly to a traditional shopping mall, but are primarily built around the movement and access capabilities of private vehicles rather than pedestrian foot traffic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_center_(retail)

Here are a few photos of power centers to give you a better idea:

[Cheshire Cat]

I see thanks Ennis.  Nothing exciting here in my opinion but perhaps this will create some needed job opportunity's for Jacksonville.  I hope so anyway.