2. Westside Plaza

Westside Plaza was built near the interchange of Interstate 10 and Lane Avenue in 1970. Located on 12.66 acres at 5800 Ramona Boulevard, the 126,000 Square foot shopping center was once occupied by Home Depot and Piccadilly Cafeteria. Outside of an Office Depot, the shopping center has been largely vacant since the relocation of Home Depot and closure of Piccadilly. Westside Plaza is now the latest large aging shopping center in line for redevelopment. Westside Plaza of Jacksonville LLC plans to demolish and replace most of the center with 25,628 square foot retail building on the west end and a 136,879 square foot building on the east end of the property. The existing Office Depot will occupy about 30,000 Square feet.

1. Southgate Plaza*

Located just east of St. Nicholas Town Center, Southgate Plaza was one of the first strip shopping centers to open in Jacksonville’s Southside in 1957 at 3428 Beach Boulevard. Containing 140,000 square feet and ample parking, the shopping center’s original list of tenants included W.T. Grant, F.W. Woolworth Company, Toy Town, Lerner Shops, Thom McAnn Shoes, Western Auto and Winn-Dixie.

In the decades that would follow, the shopping center lost its luster as sprawl carried new growth and retail through the Southside and into Northern St. Johns County. Now largely vacant and owned by Jacksonville-based Demetree Brothers, Inc., Southgate’s location is on the verge of being highly desirable again. Anticipating the potential departure of its largest tenant Sav-A-Lot (lease runs to 2020), Demetree is considering repositioning the center to take advantage of the opening of a new I-95/Atlantic Boulevard interchange and the site being within a six minute location of downtown.

Marketing efforts currently underway illustrate a redevelopment with 90,000 square foot shopping center anchored with three big box stores and two outparcels along Beach Boulevard, potentially tying into and extending the length of the St. Nicholas Town Center corridor.

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Davis is a certified senior planner and graduate of Florida A&M University. He is the author of the award winning books “Reclaiming Jacksonville,” “Cohen Brothers: The Big Store” and “Images of Modern America: Jacksonville.” Davis has served with various organizations committed to improving urban communities, including the American Planning Association and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. A 2013 Next City Vanguard, Davis is the co-founder of Metro Jacksonville.com and ModernCities.com — two websites dedicated to promoting fiscally sustainable communities — and Transform Jax, a tactical urbanist group. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com