Publix Super Markets is weighing a full wipe-and-rebuild of its long-running Old Arlington grocery at 7117 Merrill Road, according to filings connected to a local utility review. A master site plan tied to the proposal would swap out the existing building for a modern supermarket and a separate liquor store at the Dames Pointe Plaza corner of Merrill and Townsend. The request is still early in the process while JEA reviews whether the site can get the utility capacity it needs.
What Publix proposes
The master site plan, submitted with the JEA paperwork and listing Edwards Engineering Inc. as the applicant, calls for demolishing the current 58,528-square-foot store and replacing it with a 54,964-square-foot supermarket and a 2,100-square-foot liquor store. Those figures, reported by the Jacksonville Daily Record, put the combined project at about 57,064 square feet.
Property history
The store occupies roughly 5.8 acres, and county and commercial records show the building dates to 1975. Publix acquired the site in 2007, after Rowe’s Enterprises had operated the former Albertsons location there. Commercial listings and public records confirm the year built, the acreage and the 2007 sale to Publix, according to LoopNet.
The shopping center and neighbors
Dames Pointe Plaza, the strip center next to the freestanding Publix parcel, is listed at 6999 Merrill Road and is anchored by Publix. The center’s lineup includes tenants such as NAPA, Lift 365 Fitness and Hibbett Sports, per brokerage materials from The Shopping Center Group. Those listings underscore that a rebuilt Publix would likely remain the main traffic magnet for the plaza.
What happens next
JEA’s service-availability review is a routine first hurdle that checks whether water and sewer capacity is available for a proposed project and assigns an availability number used in later permitting, according to JEA. If capacity is confirmed, the developer typically moves into detailed plan review, utility coordination and city permitting before any demolition crews or construction teams roll onto the site.
Why it matters
Publix has a track record in Northeast Florida of taking older stores down to the slab and rebuilding rather than sticking to quick cosmetic upgrades, a strategy that has already reshaped several Arlington shopping centers. Past rebuilds have shown that these projects can shuffle tenant lineups and change traffic patterns, making this Old Arlington proposal one to watch as it moves through JEA review and city approvals, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.
