Space and beyond for old Daytona shopping center?

DAYTONA BEACH — The aging Volusia Square shopping center on the corner of Williamson and West International Speedway boulevards is mostly empty storefronts these days, but a California developer has emerged with an ambitious plan to change that.

Not by attracting big-box retailers to fill the vacancies created by the departures in recent years of Toys 'R' Us, Hobby Lobby, TJMaxx, hhgregg and other tenants.

Instead, developer Chad Hagle is proposing to convert the shopping center into an aerospace business park for companies interested in becoming part of the Space Coast's growing private commercial space flight industry.

Hagle, who hails from the Los Angeles area but also has an office near Orlando, has yet to close on his purchase of the shopping center from Phoenix, Arizona-based Cole REIT Advisors LLC.

Nevertheless, he has already begun marketing the Volusia Square property under a new name: Space Square.

Hagle's page on the business networking website LinkedIn states that he has been managing partner of Space Square Florida since April and has been CEO of California-based Aventine Development Corp. since its launch in 2001.

"So thankful for the leadership of (U.S.) Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Florida) and all of the local, state and federal leaders standing behind the mission of Space Square!" Hagle wrote in a recent LinkedIn post.

He also posted an aerial photo showing how close the Space Square site is to Daytona Beach International Airport and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

That posting was accompanied by Hagle's comment: "Daytona is a hub for aerospace. The future is bright." 

Local business leaders had nothing but praise for Hagle's plans.

"This (Space Square) could provide a home for companies that may not be an exact fit for the Embry-Riddle (aviation/aerospace) research park," said Keith Norden, CEO of Team Volusia Economic Development Corp.

Hagle's Space Square plans coincide with the recent decision by New Jersey-based aerospace startup Orbit Beyond to locate its manufacturing operations in Port Orange, where it has agreed to lease a portion of the Raydon Corp. building off of Williamson Boulevard.

Team Volusia has begun listing Space Square as one of the available sites in Volusia County in its recruitment pitches to companies considering either relocating or expanding here.

"The main thing is it's a new product where a prospective company could move in," Norden said.

Hagle's plans to transform Volusia Square into a haven for aerospace companies call for an extreme makeover of the site to give it a futuristic Jetsons-like look, as depicted in renderings posted on his spacesquarefl.com website.

Space Square offers "over 200,000 square feet of custom research and development space in Daytona Beach, one point of Florida's Space Triangle," the website states.

"Join a community of innovation, creativity and collaboration," the description of Space Square continues.

Amenities available to Space Square tenants include "communal and co-working spaces (that) encourage collaboration and strengthen the already strong space community Florida's Space Triangle is known for," the website states.

The 382,527-square-foot Volusia Square shopping center is at 2455 W. International Speedway Blvd.

Florida's Space Triangle includes Brevard County, home to Kennedy Space Center and the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, and Orlando, home to the University of Central Florida.

Reached by telephone, Hagle declined to comment on his plans for Space Square. "Our company has a firm policy about not commenting on properties either in the planning stage or under development," he said.

Davey Brown, a commercial Realtor with JLL who represents Volusia Square's current owners, confirmed that his client has agreed to a contract to sell the majority of the retail center to Hagle.

The pending sale includes the standalone outparcel buildings where Pier 1 Imports, Arby's and Buffalo Wild Wings and other businesses continue to operate.

"They have long-term leases," Brown said of those tenants.

However, the deal would not include the still-open Home Depot store, which is owned by the home improvement retail chain, or the empty Toys 'R' Us building.

The site map for Space Square on Hagle's website includes the former Toys 'R' Us building as one of the available units for lease, but it is not known whether a separate agreement has been reached to buy the property and its respective parking lot.

Norden, whose Team Volusia organization was formed in 2011 to recruit companies to Volusia County, said he believes Hagle's Space Square project has a good chance of succeeding.

"There are companies that are interested," he said. "We've presented the information about Space Square along with other properties."

Volusia Square's close proximity — roughly a half-mile — to Interstate 95 also makes the site appealing to companies looking to be suppliers to private space flight companies such as Blue Origin and SpaceX.

"We're not talking about attracting companies like Blue Origin or Northrop Grumman or Boeing. We're talking about small to medium-sized manufacturers of parts and components used in aerospace as well as professional services such as engineering or R&D (research and development)," Norden said.

Jim Cameron, senior vice president of government relations for the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, said he was referred to Hagle in April by Frank DiBello, the CEO of Space Florida in Brevard County.

"He (DiBello) said, 'I've got a guy I want you to meet,'" Cameron recalled. "When someone comes with the recommendation of Frank and Space Florida, you listen."

Said DiBello of Hagle's proposed Space Square project: "I think there are a number of companies that will find Daytona is close enough (roughly 50 miles) to Kennedy Space Center and is an attractive community. I see (Space Square) as the beginning of the extension of the growth of the space community in Volusia."

Cameron proceeded to put Hagle in touch with Rodney Cruise of Embry-Riddle and other local business and community leaders, including Kent Sharples of the CEO Business Alliance, Volusia County Council member Deb Denys, and Ernie Audino, local district chair for Waltz, whose congressional district includes Volusia and Flagler counties.

Norden said Hagle could start redeveloping Volusia Square by year's end, but added the timing of those efforts will be "market-driven."

"I look at it as a fast-paced project," he said.

Local real estate broker Carl Lentz IV, managing director of SVN Alliance Commercial Real Estate Advisors, said "it makes sense" to convert Volusia Square into a business park, as opposed to trying to attract retailers to fill the large empty storefronts there.

Volusia Square, which opened in 1986 and is badly in need of updating, has "shown it's not viable" as a destination for national retailers, who are more likely to prefer one of the area's newer shopping centers, such as Tanger Outlets, Tomoka Town Center or One Daytona, he said.

"There's a need to repurpose older, bigger retail spaces," Lentz said.

Cameron of the chamber agrees.

"Taking that shopping center there that's pretty much dormant and transforming it into an R&D business park is going to bring new life," Cameron said, adding that the jobs those new aerospace companies bring to Space Square will also benefit the center's existing retail and restaurant tenants.

"We see Embry-Riddle's Micaplex as a place for businesses in the embryonic stage. When they grow to the next level and need more space, they can then come over here to Space Square," Cameron said.

"It keeps those companies here in Volusia County and it's going to help Embry-Riddle graduates stay here as well," he said. "We want to keep that aerospace talent at home and this is going to help do it."

Rodney Cruise, senior vice president for administration and planning at Embry-Riddle, said, "We are excited about what Space Square could do for our community. We think it's complementary with the Micaplex.

"The concept of taking an old shopping center and converting it to a high-tech business park is fantastic," Cruise added. "It's an opportunity to bring companies to the area that can create high-paying jobs."

Hagle formed what became Aventine Development Corp. in late 2001 with business partner and former Stanford University roommate Damon Dunn, a former NFL player, according to a 2014 article by the (Long Beach, California) Press Telegram newspaper. The company started out developing stores for Walgreen and CVS Caremark Corp in various states, including California and Arizona, before eventually also developing shopping centers.