March 28, 2024

Northeast Florida Business Briefs - Dec. 2005

Bob Snell | 12/1/2005
CLAY COUNTY -- The Florida Wildlife Federation and a Clay County environmental group have challenged the county commission's master development plan for the 30,293-acre Lake Asbury area. The groups claim the plan will "adversely impact conservation lands, wetlands and species habitat" while encouraging urban sprawl.

A citizens group formed in the wake of the county's illegal dumping scandal has announced it will seek to recall County Commissioner Christy Fitzgerald, the board member with close ties to the former Department of Public Works head at the center of the controversy.

JACKSONVILLE -- Armor Holdings (NYSE-AH) inked a $110.1-million contract with Oshkosh Truck Corp. to produce armor kits for the Marine Corps' Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement program.

Ron Baker, Jacksonville Port Authority's deputy executive director and CFO, has been named chairman of the Florida Ports Financing Commission.

Portland, Ore.-based Wallace Theaters will build a $14-million, 14-screen Hollywood Theater at the River City Marketplace, the first cinema complex on the city's Northside.

Jeffrey Goldhagen will leave the Duval County Health Department after failing to negotiate a contract with the state Department of Health. Goldhagen, who led the local health department for 12 years, was fired and then temporarily rehired last summer following a dispute with state officials over a $25,000 teaching contract Goldhagen negotiated with the University of North Florida.

Orlando developer Cameron Kuhn announced plans for River Watch at City Centre, a 33-story high-rise project that features residential condominiums, a hotel, parking and first-floor retail and commercial space.

Developers unveiled plans for Thomas Creek Preserve, a 6,000-acre mixed-use community near Jacksonville International Airport. The subdivision will be built in two phases, with construction scheduled to run from 2007 to 2018.

EverBank named Blake Wilson president and CFO and John Surface executive vice president of corporate development.

State Sen. Jim King (R-Jacksonville) is under a state Senate investigation for accepting -- with three other GOP politicians -- a $48,000 trip in July to the Toronto headquarters of gambling conglomerate Magna Entertainment. Magna is lobbying the Legislature to allow nighttime racing at its Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach.

NASSAU COUNTY -- MaVynee Oshun Betsch, the American Beach historian and preservationist known as the "Beach Lady," has died. Betsch was the great-granddaughter of African-American insurance mogul A.L. Lewis, who purchased the land surrounding American Beach in the 1930s so blacks could have a place to enjoy the ocean when other beaches were segregated.

Annandale Millwork/Allied Systems Corp. of Winchester, Va., a manufacturer of residential building products, will open a 60,000-sq.-ft. warehouse in the old S&G Packaging plant on U.S. 17 in Yulee, employing 52.

OCALA -- HydroMentia has been awarded $1.8 million by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to build a nutrient recovery facility at Lake Okeechobee. HydroMentia's system uses algae to remove pollutants such as phosphorus, which damage lake ecosystems.

ORANGE PARK -- The town council raised its building height limit from 55 feet to 75 feet, clearing the way for construction of a $7-million Holiday Inn on Wells Road near I-295.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY -- County commissioners want to donate a 15-acre parcel in the World Commerce Center for construction of a veterans nursing home for northeast Florida. The state Department of Veterans Affairs is looking for land for a $5-million, 120-bed home.

Developers have started construction of a four-lane, $80-million parkway that will serve the massive Nocatee development. The road is scheduled to open in two years.

Flagler Hospital will spend more than $30 million to build an outpatient medical campus south of World Golf Village. The project includes an urgent care center and a 35,000-sq.-ft. medical office building.

Tags: North Central, Northeast

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