by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Perhaps the current status of the residential end of World Golf Village was summed up best when Karen Palmer, Davidson Realty vice president of residential sales, said, "It took 10 years to be an overnight success."
The World Golf Village opened in 1998 with lots of fanfare, a few homes and fewer customers. Slowly but surely, the concept of a self-contained community - complete with two golf courses, a hotel, condominiums and shopping - has taken root. While the growth has been slower than surer, proof that World Golf Village is coming into its own is in the numbers: meaning, units built and units coming.
According to Palmer, it has taken seven years for World Golf Village to become about 25 percent built out. It will only take about three years to complete the remaining 75 percent. Palmer said a natural disaster in the Northeast Florida area in 1998 was devastating to the communities along Interstate 95 and really hampered World Golf Village's initial growth.
"When we opened, the big fires of '98 were a real stumbling block," said Palmer, who joined Davidson Realty in December 2003. "Also, we were not considered to be in St. Augustine and we were not in Jacksonville. It really was its own destination."
Palmer admits the area is still lacking in one facet - retail. But like everything else associated with the community, that too is coming. The addition of a Publix grocery store may serve as the catalyst for other retail giants to set up shop.
"The grocery store was huge. It was the first big jump because there wasn't a lot of shopping here," said Palmer. "The big box retailers are coming and there is talk of something similar to the St. Johns Town Center."
Residentially, there's proof of growth everywhere. The roads in both the Slammer & Squire and King & Bear developments are littered with cleared lots, For Sale signs on homes and bare lots, recently finished units and dozens and dozens in various states of completion.
Some of the neighborhoods either under construction or in the planning stages include:
Palmer said today there are nearly 2,000 completed homes, condos, town homes and patio homes in World Golf Village. Considering the original build out called for 7,200 units, it would be easy to assume not a lot has happened in the past seven years. But one look around and it's obvious the pace of development has quickened to the point of almost disbelief.
"This is just the beginning. We are just a small part of the 7,200," said Palmer. "When all is said and done, there will be closer to 60,000 units within a 10-mile radius of here. Nocatee is coming. Silverleaf, with 10,400 units, is coming. And MuraBella is going in across the street. LandMar recently purchased what we call the ÔSouthtrack' which will be 2,200 units and they are already talking with builders.
"Most everything has been sold to various builders. Some builders have presold so much they have stopped selling. The rest of World Golf Village will be built in the next three years. I don't think that's unreasonable."
Palmer said the concept of living in a gated, golf-oriented community appeals to more locals than one might think. The notion that snowbirds are buying condos and town homes on fairways faster than they can be built simply isn't accurate.
"A lot of our buyers are from this area," said Palmer, who owns in World Golf Village herself. "I wanted the lifestyle, one that comes with a more upscale community.
"This area is becoming more and more desirable. New communities are coming and the land costs are becoming so great. I am sure within 10 years, this entire area will be built out. You won't be able to recognize it."
What then of Davidson, which currently specializes in World Golf Village sales?
"We are making the transition to becoming a more traditional real estate office," explained Palmer. "We are already selling all of the Northeast Florida area."