Stellar is a privately-owned design, engineering, construction, and mechanical services firm headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It has designed and built projects for a wide range of clientele, including Starbucks, Nestlé, Walt Disney World, and numerous others. Stellar employs more than 750 people, including architects, engineers, constructors, refrigeration specialists, and technicians. History Stellar was founded as the Stellar Group in 1985 in Jacksonville, Florida by Ron Foster, Sr. and four other associates. Its first project involved the renovation and construction of condominiums and a marina at the Epping Forest Yacht Club. Stellar went on to specialize in the design and construction of food processing facilities and low-temperature distribution firms, often building refrigerated warehouses. Stellar's early clients included beverage company, Tropicana Products. It broke ground on Tropicana's Bradenton, Florida-based headquarters in 1989. Over the course of the next decade, Stellar expanded its services by developing a commercial division with projects including religious establishments, automobile dealerships, and health care facilities. It also opened a power and utilities division to construct cooling systems for power plants and other structures. By 2002, the firm had worked on a variety of projects for clients including JEA, General Mills, and Nestlé. With Nestlé, Stellar was responsible for the design and construction of a $250-million food processing plant that began in Arkansas in 2002. The company also served as general contractor on the $850-million mixed-use development at the former Jacksonville Shipyards. In 2007, the firm officially changed its name from the "Stellar Group" to "Stellar." In 2008, it began serving as the construction manager for the new sanctuary at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville, a project that was completed in around one year. Also in 2008, Stellar began work on the Heinz food processing plant in Florence County, South Carolina. The firm was responsible for the plant architecture and all construction services at the 225,000 square-foot facility which opened in August 2011. In 2013, Stellar began work on Nestlé's research and development facility in Solon, Ohio again providing architectural and construction services. In 2015, Stellar completed construction of a 117,000-square-foot soluble coffee plant in Augusta, Georgia for Starbucks. The plant, which had been in construction for three years, produces the coffee company's VIA line of instant coffee products. Food Engineering Magazine named it the "Fabulous Food Plant" of the year in 2015. In 2016, the firm completed a $7.6-million renovation of the Walt Disney World Resort's Shades