JAXPORT approves two leases with Amport

One lease extends the auto processor’s current lease at Blount Island Terminal, while the other provides 22.4 new acres of property at the Dames Point Marine Terminal.

   The Jacksonville Port Authority’s Governing Board on Tuesday approved two long-term agreements with automobile processor Amports, which expanded the company’s leased space at the port to more than 170 acres, JAXPORT announced.
   One agreement, which goes into effect Aug. 1, was an extension of the company’s existing leased property at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Terminal, which consists of 80,000 square feet of processing buildings and a 22,000-square-foot body shop, according to Amports’ website. The second agreement provided Amports with 22.4 new acres of property for auto processing and storage space at JAXPORT’s Dames Point Marine Terminal, the port authority said, and takes effect July 1.
   Both leases are for 25 years with two five-year renewals that must be approved by mutual agreement.
   Amports will vacate 20.3 acres on Blount Island to accommodate SSA’s expanding international container terminal in exchange for the space at Dames Point, the Jacksonville Business Journal reported. JAXPORT said the auto processor also plans to develop an additional 40 to 45 acres at Dames Point by 2023, which will be paid for upfront by Amports but rebated up to $10 million by JAXPORT, according to the Jacksonville Business Journal.
      “Over the next few years, the expectation is for permitting, design and construction to take place on the additional acreage for completion by 2023,” a JAXPORT spokesperson told American Shipper via email. “Upon completion, this additional space will complement and expand automotive throughput at the Dames Point Auto Terminal, providing additional capacity for Amports and our mutual OEM customers to ship through JAXPORT.”
   The additional throughput would be dependent upon Amports’ productivity per acre and their customer needs, the spokesperson said.
   Amports, which has locations at 10 terminals across the U.S. and Mexico, handles the processing and delivery of passenger cars and trucks for Audi, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, GM, Honda, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Porsche and VW in Jacksonville.
   The port handled 665,432 automobiles in its fiscal year 2018, according to its website. It handled 364,049 vehicles units through March of the current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, representing a 10% year-on-year increase.