Drew Dixon
Jacksonville has scored another large business commitment to its growing industrial development on the city’s Northside.
Logistics and shipping company DHL Supply Chain is committing to building a 600,000 square-foot building near Kraft and Eastport roads. That’s in the middle of major industrial developments added to the area north of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville in the past decade.
The DHL logistics and distribution facility is expected to cost $64 million to build and is projected to employ at least 100 people once the building is completed by the end of 2025. JAX Chamber and its business development wing, JAXUSA Partnership, are credited with recruiting DHL to build its facility in Jacksonville. The deal was approved by the Jacksonville City Council previously under the code name “Project Empire.”
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said the DHL commitment is a major feather in the cap of the city’s business ecosystem.
“We welcome DHL Supply Chain and thank them for choosing Jacksonville. Their new facility and the 100 jobs that will be created to support it are a reflection of our reputation as America’s logistics center,” Deegan said in a prepared statement. “We are proud to have the world’s leading contract logistics provider expand its operations in our fast-growing city.”
JAXUSA Partnership President Aundra Wallace said business development in the past decade in Jacksonville provided a more attractive reason for DHL to locate its facility in Jacksonville.
The Northside, in particular, has seen major industrial additions in recent years, including Amazon facilities and several liquified natural gas operations added to that area, among other industrial additions. The area is also close to port facilities located on the St. Johns River just a short distance from the mouth of the river to the Atlantic Ocean.
“This is a great win for our community and another example of international logistics companies seeing Jacksonville as a key location in the Southeast,” Wallace said.
“We have all the ingredients needed to reach customers throughout the Southeast — a deep-water port, access to interstates and rail and a talented workforce. We thank DHL for investing in our community and look forward to watching the company grow here.”
