Vacant land owned by Jacksonville’s Davis family around the Interstate 295 East Beltway and the new Florida 9B is in line for high-profile development, starting with a 569-lot residential project called Cypress Bluff.
Estuary LLC, a company led by the Davis family, is seeking approvals to develop Cypress Bluff on almost 342 acres east of Florida 9B and less than a mile south of the 9B intersection with I-295.
A conceptual master plan calls the entire project the Davis/9B parcel. The St. Johns River Water Management District is reviewing an application for the project.
The Davis family is a major Southside land owner and is known as well as the founder of the Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. chain.
The PARC Group, a 25-year-old Jacksonville-based company, works with the Davis family as a master developer. The PARC Group is developing Nocatee on 13,300 acres owned by the Davises in Ponte Vedra between Jacksonville and St. Augustine.
Nocatee, now with at least 16 residential communities, is between U.S. 1 and the Intracoastal Waterway.
Roger O’Steen is founder and chairman of The PARC Group. Rick Ray is president and CEO. Greg Barbour is chief operating officer.
Jed Davis, grandson of the late J.E. Davis, the legendary chairman of Winn-Dixie, formerly was an officer with PARC.
The PARC Group is the applicant’s master developer for the Cypress Bluff project. Environmental Services Inc. is the consultant and England, Thims & Miller Inc. is the civil engineer.
The first phase of the Cypress Plaza development includes about 3,000 linear feet of collector roadway and associated utilities.
The “E-Town Parkway” consists of 0.6 mile of a four-lane divided roadway with a two-lane roundabout.
Jed Davis and his father, A. Dano Davis, are managers of Estuary LLC along with Burr Smith and E. Ellis Zahra Jr., according to state corporate records.
Dano Davis also served as chairman of Winn-Dixie.
The first phase of the Davis/9B project consists of Cypress Bluff and the roadway. Future development will comprise single-family, multifamily and commercial projects.
The Daily Record has reported that Florida 9B was attracting potential housing and commercial projects from The PARC Group on Davis/9B property. Cypress Bluff is the largest and most defined project to date.
The I-295 East Beltway formerly was known as Florida 9A. The first 3-mile phase of Florida 9B connects I-295 to Philips Highway, which is U.S. 1, at Gran Bay Parkway.
The second 3-mile phase will connect Florida 9B from U.S. 1 south to I-95 in northern St. Johns County and is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2016.
Meanwhile, The PARC Group is marking its 25th anniversary of master-planning communities such as Nocatee and Pablo Bay. Nocatee is considered the nation’s fifth best-selling master-planned community in rankings by John Burns Real Estate Consulting and real estate advisory firm RCLCO.
Nocatee sold 838 homes in 2013, up 65 percent from 2012, also making it the fastest-growing of the nation’s top 10 master-planned communities.
The PARC Group reports that it has focused on communities with amenities such as nature trails, water parks, pools, golf, tennis and fitness centers. It has been named “Developer of the Year” for the past seven years by the Northeast Florida Builders Association.
The group also has developed country club communities, office parks and condominiums.
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