City Intends to Fight for Wal-Mart Grocery

A seemingly endless legal battle over a planned Wal-Mart grocery store on the Southside is headed for one more round in the courtroom.

Jacksonville filed its plans to appeal a ruling that overturned a City Council decision to allow a 40,000-square-foot grocery store at Atlantic Boulevard and Bartram Road.

A state administrative judge ruled the proposal violated the city's plan for future development and, in September, the Florida Cabinet upheld the decision.

The city is appealing the decision to the First District Court of Appeal. That court's decision is expected to be the final ruling in the case. Attorneys from both sides said a ruling could come in the spring.

In October 2003, the council voted 13-2 to approve the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, the Arkansas-based retailer's new stand-alone grocery store. Dozens of nearby residents packed council hearings on the issue, saying the location is outside the commercial district and that the 24-hour business wouldn't fit in the neighborhood.

The proposed site is just west of the busy intersection of Atlantic and University boulevards.

D.R. Horton Plans $60 Million Project Near I-95, JTB

D.R. Horton, Jacksonville's largest residential builder, bought 30 acres of land in the southeast quadrant of J. Turner Butler Boulevard and Interstate 95, planning a development of nearly 400 townhouses and a high-tech hotel for the rapidly growing area near Philips Highway.

Texas-based D.R. Horton Inc. purchased land near the 7000 block of Bonneval Road on Oct. 15 from Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation USA Corp., the world's largest automobile retailer and owner of the Mike Shad chain of dealerships in Jacksonville.

D.R. Horton plans to clear the land and build about 400 townhouse units, creating a gated community with a pool, cabana complex and playground area.

The development will have 33 buildings of 12 units each, with one garage per unit. Pricing for the units will be from the $120,000s to the $160,000s, and sizes will range from 1,015 square feet to 1,550 square feet.

D.R. Horton has already secured planned unit development zoning for the property and expects construction to begin in January in order to have the units available for occupancy by next summer.