Rezoning moves forward for West Jacksonville Publix development

Plans to develop a Publix-anchored shopping center, the Plaza at Normandy, moved forward on Nov. 10, earning rezoning approval from Jacksonville’s City Council.

Council approved rezoning Ordinance 2026-0774 with a 16-0 vote for the project at 11351 Normandy Blvd. Council members Rory Diamond, Rahman Johnson and Ju’Coby Pittman were away from the dais during the vote.

The rezoning changed the property from a 2022 Planned Unit Development to a new PUD. A PUD allows uses, regulations and standards tailored to a property.

The 2022 PUD was approved to allow for multifamily residential units with commercial parcels and possibly a hotel. The 2026 PUD would revert the entitlements back to a commercial development, including an anchored grocery store. That grocery store has been identified as a Publix.

“While the original development sought only commercial use, the subsequent and most recent rezonings attempted to incorporate a mix of residential and commercial outparcels located along the project frontages. … The landowner is now seeking to return to the earlier plan of development to permit an anchored grocery shopping center,” reads a written description of the PUD from the city’s Planning Department.

“The new PUD will permit the landowner to achieve the original design, intending a grocery anchored center, offering convenience and competition to the Publix at the northwest corner of this commercial node,” the description reads. “Considering the large retail developments programmed at this intersection, the potential users of the property would support those developments and serve to benefit the residents who currently reside in the vicinity as well as those who will or are working at the larger employers existing less than two miles away.”

Wagner Property Group sold its 2-year-old retail center, The Plaza at Normandy, July 6 for $20.685 million.

Through WPG-Normandy LLC, Wagner Property Group sold the property at 11341 Normandy Blvd. to Brighton Commons LLC and Commonwealth-Griggs LLC, according to the notice of the deed recorded July 22 with the Duval County Clerk of Court.

State corporate records show that Brighton Commons LLC was registered with the state July 16. The manager is The Mount Vernon Co. Inc. of Boston.

TSCG announced the sale July 21 of the newly developed Publix-anchored shopping center at northwest Normandy Boulevard and Chaffee Road South.

The TSCG investment sales team was led by Anthony Blanco, partner and senior managing director of investment sales. The buyer was represented by Laurie Ann Drinkwater of Marcus & Millichap.

TSCG said the fully leased center was sold on behalf of Wagner Property Group, a Tampa-based private developer, to a 1031 exchange buyer. Fidelity.com explains that a 1031 exchange allows estate investors to sell a property and reinvest the proceeds in a similar property, deferring capital gains taxes that would otherwise be due upon the sale. It is named after Section 1031 of the IRS tax code.

“We continue to see significant investor interest in well positioned, grocery-anchored centers like The Plaza at Normandy,” Blanco said in a news release.

“This Publix already ranks among the top-performing stores for customer visits in the Jacksonville market.”

Built in 2024, The Plaza at Normandy totals 58,691 square feet and was 100% leased at the time of sale, TSCG said.

Lakeland-based Publix Super Markets Inc. occupies 46,791 square feet with what the release said was its newest prototype grocery store featuring a drive-through pharmacy and an adjacent 2,100-square-foot space leased to a liquor store.

Other tenants include Xtreme Wings, Hair Cuttery, Nail Art Studio & Spa, UPS Store and AT&T Wireless.

Separately owned outparcels with McDonald’s and Wawa were not a part of the transaction.

“With more than 6,600 housing units under construction nearby and an Amazon fulfillment center employing over 1,200 people just down the road, the property is well-positioned to benefit from that growth,” Blanco said.

The site is east of the First Coast Expressway and northeast of AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center, where Amazon has a fulfillment center at 13333 103rd St.

The TSCG investment sales team included Blanco; Mallory Silva, marketing coordinator; and Spencer Kinsella, associate vice president.

Based in Atlanta, Miami and New York City, TSCG’s Investment Sales team provides strategic advisory and transaction services for the acquisition and disposition of income-producing retail properties across the eastern United States.

TSCG says it is the largest privately held retail-focused commercial real estate services company in the United States, specializing in tenant representation, landlord services, intelligence and investment management.

It has more than 20 offices, including in Jacksonville.

Rezoning moves forward for West Jacksonville Publix development

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