The continuous growth of Sea Breeze Food Service does not have plans to slow down any time soon; the company has plans to expand its Northwest Jacksonville facility by 16,000 square feet.

The company plans to invest roughly $3.8 million in the expansion, with the hopes of greatly increasing the need for extra space; including: dry and frozen storage, test kitchen, and meeting areas. Not only will the expansion add more physical room, it will also create an additional five jobs to the existing 74 workers the company has employed.

Before Sea Breeze can continue with their plan, the City council has to approve a request for $238,909 from the Northwest Jacksonville Economic Development Fund, for infrastructure and maintenance. The request would help for the expansion, as well as for projects like: connecting the building to the sewage system and repaving Keen Road.

According to Mayor Alvin Brown, “these grant funds will go toward helping them expand their operations and invest in Northwest Jacksonville, allowing them to bring more economic opportunity to this critical neighborhood.”

The company also has plans to request further federal funding in order to help pay for clean-up and remediation. So far, the development fund has allocated funds to two projects since its reactivation. Two of the projects they have already contributed to; include: $583, 587 to First Coast No More Homeless Pets to purchase and renovate property on Cassat Avenue, and $58,220 to the construction of a Church’s Fried Chicken.