A wholesale club the same size as a BJ’s is proposed on Blanding Boulevard in Middleburg, but no tenant has been named yet.
Quick Facts
- What: a 106,371 square foot wholesale club with three commercial outparcels
- Where: Blanding Boulevard near Gregory B. Clary Way, Middleburg
- Parking: 486 spaces
- Plan date: conceptual site plan dated Oct. 8, under review with Clay County
- Tenant: not named; the size matches a BJ’s Wholesale Club planned in Pasco County
- Cost and timeline: not included in the plan
Shoppers in Middleburg may have a new wholesale club on the way, though nobody has said yet which one.
A conceptual site plan dated Oct. 8 and now under review with Clay County shows a 106,371 square foot wholesale club along Blanding Boulevard near Gregory B. Clary Way. The plan was first reported on Oct. 19 in a Jax Daily Record story.
That building size is what has people talking. According to the Daily Record, it is “the same as that listed on a permit under review in Pasco County for a BJ’s Wholesale Club in New Port Richey.”
What the plan shows
Besides the main building, the plan shows:
- 486 parking spaces
- three commercial outparcels of about 1.16 to 1.19 acres each, totaling more than 3.5 acres
- a deceleration lane along Blanding Boulevard
- a proposed traffic signal
- stormwater ponds and open space
The Daily Record reported that the plan “does not identify a retailer, confirm a lease or establish construction approval.” It also does not include a project cost or a construction timeline.
The Pasco County match
In Pasco County, BJ’s is part of The Marketplace at Trinity development in New Port Richey. A BJ’s Wholesale Club permit there, filed June 11, shows a building size of 106,371 square feet, the same figure on the Middleburg plan.
A matching building size is a clue, not a confirmation. Retailers often reuse a standard building design from one location to the next. Until a tenant is named in county filings or by the company, the Middleburg store’s operator remains unknown.
BJ’s has been growing in Florida
BJ’s Wholesale Club has been adding Florida locations. In a May 22 news release, the company announced new clubs in Ocala, Lecanto and Port St. Lucie, saying the expansion “strengthens BJ’s presence in the Florida market up to 46 clubs.” The release said the company plans to open 25 to 30 new clubs every two years.
“We are committed to growing our footprint in both new and existing markets to bring the value of a BJ’s Wholesale Club to even more members,” Bill Werner, BJ’s executive vice president of strategy and development, said in the release.
On Oct. 20, BJ’s announced its new Ocala club will open Oct. 23. Neither release mentions Clay County or Middleburg.
What happens next
A conceptual site plan is an early step. Before anything gets built, the project will need to make it through Clay County’s development review and get construction approval. ClayFLNews.com will keep watching county filings for the applicant’s name, a tenant and any changes to the plan.
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