Lockwood Ridge Publix set to open

EAST COUNTY — The Oct. 17 grand opening of a 45,000-square-foot Publix at State Road 70 and Lockwood Ridge headlines the latest projects finished by developer Benderson Development.

Publix anchors Benderson’s Lockwood Commons project, which was built earlier this year.

Publix will host a grand-opening ceremony beginning with a ribbon cutting at 7:45 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 17.

The first customers inside the store at 8 a.m. will receive a free reusable Publix bag.

“The Lockwood Ridge corridor has really been a place underserved by daily retail,” said Mark Chait, executive director of leasing for the Southeast region at Benderson. “There’s a lot of new development in the area, and we think Publix and our other offerings will enhance those communities.”

Other tenants in the Lockwood Commons plaza include Beef O’Brady’s, Purity Cleaners, Hair Cuttery, Perfection Nails, Subway, Pet Supermarket, Achieva Credit Union and Chinese and sushi restaurants.

All tenants have signed leases, and they will open in phases over a short period of time.

To accommodate increased traffic, an eastbound turn lane into the plaza has been installed.

In other Benderson happenings, at The Shoppes at UTC, home to BJ’s, Marshall’s and Guitar Center, a new 3,900-square-foot Mediterranean eatery, Apollonia, has opened in the former Urban Flats space.
Gigi’s Cupcakes, sitting between Nate’s Place and Carmel Café, has opened, as has Party City.

In that plaza, Nordstrom’s Rack continues to build out its 35,000-square-foot space, which will open Nov. 7.

Across University Parkway, in The Square at UTC, which houses Home Depot, Bayside Pet Resort & Spa is preparing to open a second location in a 2,500-square-foot space.

And, slightly farther west, in The Market at UTC, Orange Theory Fitness and a Subway restaurant have opened.

Ryder Bikes will open there in early November, and Half Shell Oyster House is coming from Sarasota the same month.

Benderson already has begun vertical construction on the west side of Cattlemen Road, across the parking lot from Bed Bath & Beyond, on Fidelity Investments, an 8,300-square-foot space.

Fidelity Investments will be ready by the end of the year.

Panera Bread will occupy a 4,100-square-foot space in the first phase of the Mall at University Town Center project, The District at UTC.

The plaza, located on the west side of Cattlemen Road, just south of University Parkway, is home to Super Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and Michaels, among other national retailers.

Chait expects Panera to open in the first quarter of 2014.

Taubman Centers, partners with Benderson in The Mall at University Town Center, has not yet announced its first major wave of tenants for the mega mall.

The project’s named tenants to date are Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Dillard’s and Seasons 52, a restaurant.

Taubman has said it will announce a wave of tenants this fall. 

Contact Josh Siegel at [email protected].