The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners approved a request to rezone 34.12 acres northeast of Interstate 95 and County Road 210 for Fountains North, a mixed-use development where a hospital plans to build.
The property was rezoned from open rural to planned unit development to allow two development options of 650,000 square feet.
Option one proposes 500,000 square feet for a hospital; 70,000 square feet of medical and professional office use; 30,000 square feet for outpatient surgical; 50,000 square feet for retail and restaurant use; and 300 multifamily units.
Planner Bradley Wester, with the Driver McAfee Hawthorne & Diebenow law firm, said the hospital client is under contract to acquire the property but he was unable to disclose the name.
Wester represents property owner Jacksonville-based DAR Investments II LLC.
Option two proposes a 120-room hotel; 80,000 square feet for medical and professional office use; 200,000 square feet for retail and restaurant use; 30,000 square feet for outpatient surgical; 300 multifamily units; and 130 assisted living facility rooms.
Hospitals are expanding in Northeast Florida.
Spokesperson Kyle Sieg said March 24 that Ascension St. Vincent’s is planning to build a hospital in northern St. Johns County along I-95.
“We can confirm that we are planning to build a new hospital in north St. Johns County along I-95,” Sieg said in a statement.
“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,” he said.
He would not provide further information on the specific location or timeline of the hospital’s construction.
Sieg did not elaborate May 6.
“We’re not able to provide comment at this time,” he said in an emailed statement.
The development is an extension of The Fountains commercial planned unit development under construction to the south.
Grocery store to anchor Benchip development
The county commission also approved rezoning the Benchip Commercial development at northwest Florida 207 at Wildwood Drive.
The commission rezoned the 33.4-acre property, owned by Jacksonville-based Benchip LLP, from open rural, commercial general and planned unit development to PUD.
That will allow 500,000 square feet of nonresidential uses in two phases.
The first phase along Florida 207 plans commercial and office uses with an anchor grocery store, retail office space and three outparcels.
“On the anchor (grocer), we’ve had some preliminary talks, but nothing we can comment on yet,” said Michael Danhour with Benchip LLP by email.
The second phase, west of phase one, is limited to neighborhood commercial and office uses.
Access to the property will be from Florida 207 and the future San Juan Road proposed to the north for the Entrada PUD.
