Special to Realty/Builder Connection
The wheels of progress are quickly turning in northwest Clay County, as the development of OakLeaf Plantation, Northeast Florida’s largest master-planned community, is taking shape ahead of schedule.
Located seven miles south of I-10 and immediately south of the Cecil Commerce Center, the 6,400-acre project is the first of its kind in the area.
Population growth has made the area a prime location for residential and commercial land development projects, and developer David Hutson, CEO of Jacksonville-based The Hutson Companies, is accommodating growth with his vision of a “new hometown.”
To date, The Hutson Companies has approximately 1,700 of the first 2,370 home sites within OakLeaf Village contracted to builders, and has closed on approximately 1,100 home sites for over $40 million in volume.
While development projects of this magnitude are often plagued with setbacks, Hutson says he is enjoying the payoff from having taken some preventative measures. After nearly a decade of planning OakLeaf Plantation, Hutson hit the ground running recently with the purchase of more than 30 bulldozers, back hoes and off-road dump trucks. As a result, Hutson’s team and his subcontractors moved over two million cubic yards of earth since the beginning of construction.
“The bulk purchase of equipment saved us more than two years of development time for the first portion of the project,” Hutson said. “The rapid growth of the area dictated the demand for new homes, and we have been more than excited to meet that demand as quickly as possible.”
The Hutson Companies have invested over $60 million in infrastructure for the entire project thus far, which has created many jobs during the economic downturn. According to Don Hinson, president of The Hutson Companies, the creation of jobs is an important aspect of development, as is providing infrastructure in anticipation of future build-out — the primary reason OakLeaf Plantation’s main roads were built first.
Although The Hutson Companies opted to spend more money up front on infrastructure, Hinson said the expense will be well worth the benefit of attracting commercial tenants and accommodating the increase in traffic. In addition, more jobs will be created through the development of office and industrial parks, as well as two Village Centers and a regional mall.
OakLeaf Village, the first phase of the predominantly residential development for the 11,000-home-project, also is ahead of schedule. According to Hinson, total build-out of OakLeaf Village is expected to occur sooner than the company’s initial five-year estimate.
Progress on the OakBrook Model Center also is in step with the rest of the development, as six Northeast Florida homebuilders are setting up shop with model homes.
The Hutson Companies recently broke ground on The Oaks, another OakLeaf Village community. Within The Oaks, Mercedes Homes, Panitz Signature Homes and Coppenbarger Homes are contracted to build executive homes on heavily wooded, 80-foot home sites. Prices will range from $300,000 to a half-million dollars.
In addition, OakLeaf Plantation’s Amenity Center is nearly 80 percent complete and it is scheduled for completion within 30 days. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for May 10. The Amenity Center features a 30-acre athletic club, family clubhouse, water park, fitness center, tennis and basketball courts, as well as numerous athletic fields and playgrounds.
Located adjacent to the 20,000-acre Jennings State Forest, the development includes 1,400 acres set aside for preservation area, neighborhood parks and greenspace.
The builder list for the community includes Admiral Homes, Atlantic Builders, Coppenbarger Homes, Crawford Homes, Mercedes Homes, Morrison Homes, Panitz Signature Homes, Providence Homes and Ryland Homes.
• Atlantic Builders already has pre-sales in the Litchfield and Piedmont communities of OakLeaf Village.
• Admiral Homes started presales late last year and pre-sold 29 homes and has built 23 more on spec. OakLeaf Plantation’s first resident, an Admiral Homes owner, have moved in.
• Crawford Homes, the newest addition to the builder list, plans to build first-time and first move up homes priced from the low $100s. Pre-sales on Crawford Homes may start this month.
• Mercedes Homes sold 10 homes within two weeks of opening its model. • Morrison Homes, Providence Homes and Ryland Homes also are in pre-sales with homes ranging from the $100,000s to more than $400,000.
• Panitz Signature Homes has 15 reservations have been taken within the month that it has been on the OakLeaf Plantation builder list. • Coppenbarger Homes is in the process of building model homes in OakLeaf Village.
• Vestcor will develop condominiums during the year. The development, known as The Cottages at OakLeaf, will consist of 240 units, and prices will be announced at a later date.
Future plans include five new school sites in the Clay County school district, a new public library, new regional mall, 2.5 million square feet of commercial space, over 1.6 million square feet of office space and over 1.7 million square feet of industrial/flex space. The community also will feature an 18-hole championship golf course.