D.F. Miller Partnership wants to build the facility on 200 acres between Harts Road and CSX Corp. tracks about a mile south of the intersection of U.S. 17 and Florida A1A. The facility would process goods being shipped north on the rail line through Nassau County.
The partnership also plans to extend William Burgess Road from Harts Road to U.S. 17, said project engineer Nick Gillette. The extension will cost an estimated $3 million.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd.'s new shipping facility at the Port of Jacksonville should open in January, while South Korean giant Hanjin Shipping is expected to open its terminal at the port in 2011.
To help handle the expected increase in railroad traffic, CSX has announced plans for a $40 million upgrade to its tracks and a spur line through Nassau, connecting rails along U.S. 17 to its main line running northwest through Callahan toward Waycross, Ga. It isn't yet known where that spur will be built.
"They're talking seven or eight trains a day on that rail. You might as well have it produce jobs," Gillette said.
Nassau County Economic Development Executive Director Steve Rieck said the project would be a shot in the arm for Yulee and Nassau County.
"That site is well-suited to that kind of development," Rieck said. "He's got enough area on the main line to serve that situation very nicely without impeding on traffic on the main line.
"There will be a tremendous amount of product from overseas. People will need places to put stuff before it arrives at its final destination, inbound and outbound."
The request to rezone the site from residential to industrial is unusual in Nassau County, where the lion's share of development has been residential subdivisions and retail commercial for more than five years, county Engineering Services Director Douglas Seaman said.
"The market five years ago was heading toward residential," Seaman said. "Now we can diversify and bring good jobs here."
The County Commission would have to approve the zoning after review by the Planning and Zoning Board, Seaman said. Hearing dates have not yet been set.
A new rail crossing on William Burgess Road will likely close the Harts Road crossing, Seaman said.
Gillette said once the crossing is closed, Harts Road would have two cul-du-sacs at the tracks.
It's also possible that if Miller installs a new traffic signal at William Burgess and U.S. 17, it could mean the end of the signal at Harts Road and U.S. 17, Seaman said.
Gillette said Miller hopes to recoup some of the money spent on the extension from Nassau County in the form of reimbursement from county impact fees.
Seaman said any decision to allocate those funds will require at least six months of work and a vote from the County Commission.
Seaman said the county also will work to secure Florida Department of Transportation funds to help pay for the road's construction.