Southeast Toyota Distributors completes $145M vehicle processing center at Jaxport’s Blount Island (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — A massive new facility for Southeast Toyota Distributors at Jaxport’s Blount Island terminal is finally complete.
The longtime automotive distributor, which got its start in Jacksonville decades ago, marked its commitment to the city with a seismic investment to relocate from Talleyrand to Blount Island in 2022.
Nearly four years later, JE Dunn Construction announced Tuesday that it finished construction of the $145 million vehicle processing center, opening the door to a larger footprint for the company at the port.
Local firm kasper architects + associates designed the industrial building, which spans 380,000 square feet on an 88-acre site.
The revamp of its Jacksonville facilities was years in the making forA massive new facility for Southeast Toyota Distributors at Jaxport’s Blount Island terminal is finally complete.
The longtime automotive distributor, which got its start in Jacksonville decades ago, marked its commitment to the city with a seismic investment to relocate from Talleyrand to Blount Island in 2022.
Nearly four years later, JE Dunn Construction announced Tuesday that it finished construction of the $145 million vehicle processing center, opening the door to a larger footprint for the company at the port.
Local firm kasper architects + associates designed the industrial building, which spans 380,000 square feet on an 88-acre site.
The revamp of its Jacksonville facilities was years in the making for Southeast Toyota.
To anchor itself to the city for the next several decades, the automotive distributor penned a deal to return to its original home on Blount Island and enter a fifty-year $180 million lease with the Jacksonville Port Authority.
The space was formerly occupied by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Solutions.
As a receiving point for cars overseas and from U.S. plants, the new Southeast Toyota processing center handles the final stage of preparing vehicles for dealerships, performing inspections and adding accessories among other tasks.
Years before completion of the project, Jaxport already took steps to capitalize on the freed-up space.
The shuffle allowed Jaxport to catalyze growth for a sizable tenant in 2024, as marine terminal and logistics company Enstructure signed a 30-year agreement to lease and develop the property vacated by Southeast Toyota.
Last year, Jaxport purchased the former Southeast Toyota parcels to move forward with the lease agreement.
Photo courtesy of Southeast Toyota