Kevin Meerschaert
Jacksonville-based Sea Breeze Food Service plans to expand its Northwest Jacksonville facility by more than 16,000 square feet. The project is possible in part from nearly $240,000 in grants from the Northwest Jacksonville Economic Fund.
Sea Breeze says it will make a $3.8 million investment to include additional space for dry and frozen foods as well as a test kitchen and meeting space. The grant, totaling $238,909, will pay for the extension of a sewer line and road improvements adjacent to the food distribution center.
Mayor Alvin Brown recently reactivated the economic fund, a program that provides grants to eligible businesses. Brown said the the money will go a long way to bringing more jobs to the area.
“The Trust Fund Board approved this grant fund to help the locally family-owned businesses expand and grow in northwest Jacksonville,” Brown said.
Sea Breeze owner Mike Griffin said that without the subsidy, the expansion would have been impossible. “The mayor came out and talked to us,” he said. “And the response from the city was unbelievable, the support was unbelievable.”
The new extension will be built on a former brownfields site, with plans to use federal grant money to help pay cleanup costs.
