News
Jacksonville, Fla. (Oct. 20, 2022) – As the properties within Jacksonville’s Rail Yard District become more desirable for the Dennis + Ives mixed-use development, SERVPRO of Jacksonville South recognized an opportunity to sell its current property at 1716 Harper Street, which the restoration services company had outgrown years ago.
Selling the Rail Yard District property to 95 Arch Partners QOZ Fund LLC (developer of Dennis + Ives) opened the opportunity for SERVPRO to buy a larger property nearby, and just last month, the company – with the help of the Jacksonville office of Foundry Commercial – purchased a 32,200 square foot building at 750 Cassat Avenue in the Riverside submarket.
“We have been constrained from being able to grow at the pace the market is demanding, and it’s been both frustrating and expensive to have to piecemeal together the facilities and equipment necessary to do our jobs well and serve this community how we want to serve it,” said Bryce Clark, Owner of the SERVPRO Jacksonville South location, among others in the area.
Currently, SERVPRO of Jacksonville South employs 45 people, but anticipates adding another 10 to 15 to the roster within the next year. The company’s fleet alone stands at 35 – and growing – vehicles. SERVPRO works closely with property owners and insurance companies to cleanup and restore properties following catastrophic events such as fires and floods. As part of their customer promise, the company aims to restore damaged items to their previous condition, and in turn, needs ample space to complete such restoration efforts. Constrained in their Harper Street space, SERVPRO of Jacksonville South had been renting outside storage units for this purpose – a temporary solution that was obviously cost-prohibitive in the long-term – so the purchase of the larger property on Cassat Avenue affords the company more space on-site to complete these restorations.
The new property on Cassat Avenue most recently served as a Beauty Max but had also previously been a Winn-Dixie supermarket. Foundry Commercial, a full-service real estate services and investment firm with offices across the Sun Belt, represented SERVPRO in both the sale of the property at Harper Street as well as the purchase of the property at Cassat Avenue.
“Our client had developed a level of business that was no longer served by the property in the Rail Yard District, so they were excited when they were approached by the developers of Dennis + Ives about the opportunity to sell,” added John Cole, Associate, Foundry Commercial. “Converting the new property from retail to a more industrial use is certainly unique, but in this day and age when industrial properties remain in high demand, it’s helpful to work with a client who understands the value of repositioning the asset in such an advantageous location.”
Construction to convert the Riverside property is already underway and is expected to be complete within the next six months. For more information about the transaction, John Cole at 904-327-1772 or john.cole@foundrycommercial.com.