For decades, Kmart gave people a reason to stop at 500 Atlantic Boulevard. Ten years after the store closed, the property remains a familiar landmark for a different reason: an empty retail anchor near one of the Beaches’ busiest commercial districts. Now, a proposed hotel and shopping center called Town Center West has reopened a debate that has followed the site through apartment proposals, neighborhood opposition and a court challenge. The question is whether this plan can finally turn years of redevelopment announcements into construction.

How Kmart Became Part of Jacksonville’s Growth—and Left Empty Stores Behind

Kmart’s Jacksonville story followed the city’s expanding suburban shopping corridors. As Ennis Davis documented in The Jaxson’s April 2020 article, “Finding new life for old Kmarts,” stores on Blanding Boulevard and at Beach and University boulevards opened in 1969. They served growing neighborhoods with large stores and expansive parking lots. Between 2012 and 2017, every First Coast Kmart closed.

The closures left properties built for a shopping model that no longer sustained them. Davis described how the Blanding Boulevard location was being converted into an Amazon delivery facility, while the Beach Boulevard property was slated for self-storage and new commercial development on part of its parking lot. Former shopping destinations were becoming places to distribute packages, store belongings and build smaller businesses.

When Did the Neptune Beach Kmart Open and Close?

The building’s history reaches back to the early 1970s. In April 2016, the Jacksonville Daily Record reported that property records dated development of the nearly 85,000-square-foot Kmart building to 1970. A separate retail-history archive, Kmart World, lists November 17, 1977, as the store’s opening date. Those sources do not establish the same milestone, so the construction year should not automatically be presented as the store’s grand-opening year.

What is clear is that Kmart operated at the location for decades before closing in July 2016. Its departure came during a broader round of Sears and Kmart store closures. By October 2026, a little more than ten years had passed since the Neptune Beach store shut down. The property has a long history, but the vacancy itself has lasted a decade.

The surrounding shopping center also reflects an earlier era of Beaches retail. The Daily Record’s 2017 reporting identified Kmart and A&P as its former anchors and said A&P closed in 1984. Lucky’s Market opened in the former grocery space in 2016. That history matters to many who shopped there with family members.

Why Has the Former Kmart Site Been So Contentious?

The disagreement has centered on what should replace the store. In November 2017, the Daily Record reported a proposal for 313 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail across an approximately 18.25-acre development site that included several addresses. Then-Mayor Elaine Brown raised concerns about the proposed density and requested variances. Residents’ objections focused on the effects of adding housing near an already busy commercial area.

The proposal changed repeatedly. By July 2018, TriBridge Residential had reduced the apartment count to 175 and proposed a 74-room boutique hotel, commercial space and a parking garage available to the public. The revised plan also offered pedestrian connections, stormwater improvements and other changes intended to address neighborhood concerns. Even after those revisions, the project failed to win the necessary city approval.

The dispute reached court. News4Jax reported in May 2019 that a judge rejected the property owner’s argument that the city had denied it due process when rejecting the apartment-and-hotel proposal. The report said the court found the city followed the essential requirements of the law. That ruling addressed the challenged approval process; it did not settle every future redevelopment question for the property.

What Happened to Saltwater Row?

Hotel and retail plans are also part of the site’s history. In February 2019, WJCT reported a proposal to demolish the former Kmart and build three two-story buildings on the front portion of the property, including a 44-room boutique hotel, restaurants and shops. Later that year, the Daily Record reported the announcement of Saltwater Row, another retail, entertainment and hotel concept. Apartments had already encountered neighborhood resistance.

Those announcements explain why residents may greet another rendering with both interest and skepticism. A development concept can change substantially between an announcement, city review and construction. The current application offers another opportunity to reuse the property, but its progress must be measured through approvals, infrastructure arrangements, demolition and building activity.

How Did the Old Kmart Lot Become Part of the Parking Debate?

The store’s closure did not remove its parking lot from everyday Beaches life. In January 2026, Action News Jax reported that the city identified the former Kmart lot as a paid parking option at $10.50 per day. That reporting came amid a broader dispute over Beaches Town Center parking prices and the burden on employees. The former retail property had become part of the area’s parking discussion even while its anchor building remained vacant.

Redevelopment brings that issue back into focus. Residents, workers and visitors need to understand which spaces would serve hotel guests, retail customers and any other permitted users. Construction could also change access before a new project opens. Clear information about parking access, payment and enforcement belongs in the redevelopment discussion from the start.

What Is Proposed for Town Center West in 2026?

The current proposal calls for a hotel and shopping center. According to the Daily Record’s October 13 report, TBR Neptune is seeking development-plan approval and variances for a 150-room hotel totaling approximately 133,580 square feet, about 90,000 square feet of shopping-center space and shared parking. The report links the property owner to Atlanta-based TriBridge Residential. These are proposed uses undergoing review, rather than a completed approval or a construction start.

The Community Development Board hearing is scheduled for October 21 at 6 p.m. at Neptune Beach City Council Chambers, 116 First Street. For residents who remember the apartment dispute, the distinction is significant: the application now being reported centers on hotel and commercial uses. Its effects on surrounding homes, traffic and parking still warrant detailed review.

Can the Infrastructure Support the Redevelopment?

Infrastructure has already emerged as a central issue. Beach Gazette’s September 30 account of a community meeting described questions about wastewater connections and water pressure for fire protection. Residents also raised concerns about light from hotel rooms facing neighboring homes. These are practical design and service questions that an attractive rendering cannot resolve.

The history gives Neptune Beach reason to expect a clear implementation plan. Residents should be able to see how the developer will address utilities, neighboring properties, parking and the transition from the existing building to new construction. After a decade without its former retail anchor, 500 Atlantic Boulevard needs a credible path from proposal to use. Town Center West’s next test is whether the public review produces that path.