Eyeing the already busy corridor of SR 9B, Race Track, Road, and Durbin Park in Northeast Florida, Ferber Company’s Executive VP of Retail Development Services, Tom Mundy secured this site in January 2018 to offer an attractive mixed-use project for the area.

Site clearing began early in the tumultuous year of 2020 and after Aldi committed to its store, many other retailers followed. The site includes shopping and housing as well as 22 acres of wetlands which is untouched, creating a protected buffer for the single-family housing south of the site.

“The most challenging yet rewarding component of this project was convincing County Commissioners of the need for multi-family housing in the area,” Mundy stated. “After many public hearings on the plans, Commissioners agreed to the land use and rezoning for the project to go forward.”

Secondarily, the Ferber Company was tracking to close on this property amid the onset of COVID which was an unstable time in the market. After negotiating with the owner, the team was able to push back the closing and secure the necessary tenants and the housing partner, which was a wise decision as the North Florida market took off in the fall of 2020.