A development group is seeking a preliminary recommendation from city officials to annex and rezone a 1.29-acre parcel near the Interstate 75, U.S. Highway 27 interchange to construct a new Dairy Queen.
Requests to annex, rezone, and change the future land use of the parcel will be presented to the Ocala Planning and Zoning Commission for a preliminary recommendation during its regular meeting on Wednesday, November 13.
The parcel is located at 4001 NW Blitchton Road, around a quarter of a mile away from the Interstate 75 interchange with the roadway.
According to county records, the parcel is owned by CLD Properties LTD, which is registered to Bradford Dinkins of Dinkins Construction. The agent representing the company is Tracy Rains of Dinkins Realty, LLC, and the project planner is Kristina L. Wright.
A site sketch filed by the organization shows plans to construct a 2,208-square-foot building that will house a “Dairy Queen Grill and Chill” restaurant.
Owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the fast food chain premiered its DQ Grill & Chill restaurant concept in 2002. Since then, over 2,000 locations have opened across the country.
The DQ Grill & Chill concept offers an open-air design, separate “grill and chill” kitchens, booths, large gathering tables, and outdoor patios, according to the DQ franchising website.
Currently, the 1.29-acre property is zoned for county community business (B-2). The developer is trying to have the property rezoned to city community business (B-2), according to the city staff report.
According to a city staff report, the property in northwest Ocala was previously developed as a saloon until it was destroyed by a fire and demolished in 1995. Since then, the parcel has sat vacant and has been used as overflow tractor-trailer truck parking for nearby commercial properties.
The new Dairy Queen may be replacing another location in Ocala that has been closed for at least a week.
Several local residents have reported the closure of the Dairy Queen located at 4430 W Hwy 326. Ocala-News.com could not confirm whether or not the location is permanently closed, or if its closure is related. A call to that establishment led to a disconnected voicemail. Additionally, the establishment has been “closed” to UberEats deliveries since August.
Outside of the northwest part of the city, Dairy Queen operates one other location in Ocala along East Silver Springs Boulevard.
Regardless of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation on Wednesday, the three requests will be introduced to the Ocala City Council during its regular meeting on December 3. The measures will then be up for a final vote on December 17, according to city records.
The Ocala Planning and Zoning Commission next meets at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 13, at Ocala City Hall (110 SE Watula Avenue).