White Castle's First Northeast Florida Restaurant and New 50,734-Square-Foot Publix Get St. Johns County Permits

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. - St. Johns County has issued building permits for two commercial projects: Northeast Florida's first White Castle restaurant and a new 50,734-square-foot Publix supermarket. The White Castle project received a permit Oct. 28 with a reported construction cost of $1.95 million, according to News4JAX, while the Publix project received a permit Oct. 29 for $6.5 million, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. Both developments are planned in St. Johns County, although neither retailer has announced an opening date in the cited reports.

The White Castle will be built near International Golf Parkway in the World Commerce Center development, while the Publix is planned for the intersection of Veterans Parkway and Longleaf Pines Parkway. The two permits cover different types of retail development, with the White Castle designed as a restaurant with drive-thru service and the Publix planned as a supermarket. Together, the reported construction costs total $8.45 million, based on the figures published by News4JAX and the Jacksonville Daily Record.

White Castle receives $1.95 million construction permit

St. Johns County issued a building permit Wednesday, Oct. 28, for the planned White Castle restaurant, according to a News4JAX report based on Jacksonville Daily Record reporting. The project carries a reported construction cost of $1.95 million and would become the chain's first location in Northeast Florida. An opening date was not announced in the report.

The proposed restaurant will measure 2,764 square feet and include another 270 square feet of outdoor seating, according to News4JAX. The plans also call for dual drive-thru lanes. Those features are part of the restaurant development described in the permit reporting.

The site is located on an outparcel at a Walmart Supercenter development under construction at World Commerce Center, according to News4JAX. The development is identified at 3405 International Golf Parkway, near International Golf Parkway and Florida 16. The location is just south of Tocoi Creek High School and approximately two miles west of Bass Pro Shops, Buc-ee's and Costco.

The reported $1.95 million construction cost represents approximately $705 per square foot when divided by the restaurant's 2,764 square feet. That calculation uses the reported project cost and restaurant floor area, without including the separately described outdoor seating in the denominator. It is a comparison of the reported figures rather than a breakdown of individual construction expenses.

White Castle joins development at World Commerce Center

White Castle's proposed St. Johns County location is part of the commercial development around World Commerce Center, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. The publication reported on the project April 13. The county's Development Review Committee discussed the project May 6, according to the Daily Record's coverage.

Gatlin Development Co. is identified as the owner through IGP WCC Project LLC, based on property appraiser information cited by News4JAX. Steinemann & Co. is the developer, and Archall Architects of Columbus, Ohio, is the project's architect. Those companies are associated with the proposed White Castle development described in the permit coverage.

The Jacksonville Daily Record also identified other commercial tenants associated with World Commerce Center in its reporting. They include Chase, Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Panda Express and Wells Fargo. White Castle's proposed restaurant would add another named business to the development described by the publication.

The Daily Record's coverage also described a separate restaurant project involving Smalls Sliders. That business received a build-out permit Feb. 18 for a location off County Road 210 east of Interstate 95. The Smalls Sliders project is separate from White Castle's permitted restaurant at World Commerce Center.

White Castle expands beyond its existing Florida locations

White Castle was founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921 by Billy Ingram, according to the background information reported by News4JAX. The chain has roughly 400 locations and is known for its Original Slider. The outlet also reported that Time magazine named the Original Slider the most influential burger of all time in 2014.

The company's Florida locations listed in the News4JAX report are Clermont, Daytona Beach, Kissimmee and Orlando. The St. Johns County project would establish the chain's first Northeast Florida restaurant. The county permit marks a construction milestone but does not establish when the new restaurant will begin serving customers.

The planned St. Johns County restaurant would include indoor restaurant space, outdoor seating and two drive-thru lanes, according to News4JAX. Those details distinguish the project from a restaurant proposal identified only by its location or building size. The reported permit provides a construction cost and physical layout, but the opening schedule remains unannounced.

Publix gets $6.5 million permit for 50,734-square-foot store

St. Johns County issued a building permit Thursday, Oct. 29, for a 50,734-square-foot Publix supermarket, according to Jacksonville Daily Record reporter J. Brooks Terry. The reported construction cost is $6.5 million. The store is planned for the northeast corner of Veterans Parkway and Longleaf Pines Parkway in Saint Johns.

The site is northeast of The Church of Eleven22 campus and Creekside High School, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. The publication also placed the planned supermarket approximately 3.8 miles southeast of the Interstate 95 and U.S. 98 interchange. The location identifies a separate retail development area from White Castle's planned site near International Golf Parkway.

Based on the reported figures, the Publix construction cost equals approximately $128 per square foot. That calculation divides the $6.5 million permit value by the planned 50,734-square-foot store area. The result provides a numerical comparison of construction cost and floor area, not an itemized accounting of the project.

The Publix building would be substantially larger than the proposed White Castle restaurant. The reported Publix floor area is 50,734 square feet, compared with White Castle's 2,764-square-foot restaurant. The buildings serve different commercial purposes, so their reported costs per square foot are not direct measures of equivalent construction work.

Publix project has been in review since 2025

The planned Publix at Veterans Parkway and Longleaf Pines Parkway was publicly confirmed before the October 2026 building permit, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. On Oct. 8, 2025, a Publix spokesperson confirmed that the company had signed a lease for a store at the intersection. The statement established the retailer's plans for the location before the later construction authorization.

The St. Johns River Water Management District issued an environmental permit for the project Oct. 9, 2025, according to the Daily Record. County review began Nov. 10, 2025. Those earlier steps preceded the building permit issued Oct. 29, 2026.

HGR Construction of Altamonte Springs is identified as the contractor for the supermarket, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. ACC Project Longleaf LLC is the landowner, and Prosser | Prime AE is the civil engineer. The report associates those companies with the development of the planned Publix at Veterans Parkway and Longleaf Pines Parkway.

The sequence establishes several reported milestones for the store, beginning with the lease confirmation in October 2025. Environmental permitting and county review followed before the October 2026 building permit. The cited Daily Record report did not announce a store opening date.

New Publix compared with SilverLeaf supermarket

The new Publix would be smaller than the SilverLeaf Publix that opened March 26, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. The SilverLeaf store measures 55,700 square feet and is approximately 8.5 miles south of the planned Veterans Parkway and Longleaf Pines Parkway location. The Daily Record identified SilverLeaf as the largest Publix in Northeast Florida.

The proposed 50,734-square-foot store would be 4,966 square feet smaller than SilverLeaf. That difference comes from subtracting the proposed store's floor area from SilverLeaf's reported 55,700 square feet. The comparison concerns store size rather than construction cost, since the reports identify a permit value for the new project but not a comparable construction figure for SilverLeaf.

The two locations also have different reported development milestones. SilverLeaf opened March 26, while the Veterans Parkway store received its building permit Oct. 29. The cited reporting provides no opening date for the newly permitted supermarket.

Two permits mark separate construction milestones

The White Castle and Publix permits were issued on consecutive days, according to News4JAX and the Jacksonville Daily Record. White Castle received its permit Oct. 28 for a $1.95 million restaurant project, while Publix received its permit Oct. 29 for a $6.5 million supermarket project. Both are located in St. Johns County, but the permitted developments have different sites and building plans.

The combined reported construction value is $8.45 million, calculated from the two permit amounts. White Castle's planned restaurant includes 2,764 square feet, 270 square feet of outdoor seating and dual drive-thru lanes. Publix's permitted project involves a 50,734-square-foot supermarket at Veterans Parkway and Longleaf Pines Parkway.

The permits establish that both developments have reached the building authorization stage described in the outlets' reports. News4JAX reported the White Castle permit using Jacksonville Daily Record information, and the Daily Record separately reported the Publix permit on Oct. 29. Neither report provided a confirmed opening date for the respective business.