Baptist Health is taking more interest in St. Johns County, purchasing land in the SilverLeaf development.
Baptist paid $5.65 million on March 23 for the land.
The property can be used for the development and operation of a medical campus of up to 150,000 square feet, according to the deed. The property is zoned as vacant commercial.
Baptist Health had not returned a request for comment as of Wednesday afternoon.
In February, SilverLeaf applied for a major modification to its planned unit development, requesting that 300,000 square feet of hospital use be added. It has yet to be approved by the St. Johns County Commission.
SilverLeaf is approved for 10,700 residential units, 1,770,000 square feet of mixed use and commercial space, and 3,500 acres of conservation land.
The Hutson Companies is developing SilverLeaf. It also developed OakLeaf Plantation and Johns Creek.
Baptist Health is developing Baptist HealthPlace at Nocatee. The health and wellness center, which will include primary and specialty health care, a YMCA, a Healthy Living Center and a cafe, is slated to open this summer.
Jacksonville-based health systems are planning to expand into fast-growing St. Johns County.
On March 24, an Ascension St. Vincent’s spokesman said the health system plans to build a hospital in northern St. Johns County along Interstate 95, but could not provide information on the location or timeline.
“The area and type of facility were selected based on present and future community need. We are currently in the preliminary planning phase for this exciting new project,” said spokesman Kyle Sieg.