(Staff writer and photographer Miranda G. McLeod toured Nocatee last month and filed this story and the photos)
by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
Richard Ray has given up keeping his company car washed. As a partner with the PARC Group, developers of the master-planned community Nocatee, Ray has given more than 30 tours of some 5,500 acres of development.
“It’s gotten a lot easier since the roads have been paved,” he said.
In all, there are more than 14,000 acres in the community that straddles Duval and St. Johns counties, but not all of it is slated for homes, streets and shops.
“There’s a lot of protected land,” said Ray.
Nocatee has been in the works for several years and Ray said it’s not hard to see the community coming together after so much time analyzing maps and meeting with builders, among others.
There have been more than 250 meetings with neighborhood and community groups, as well as government and environmental agencies to create the plan for the all-encompassing community.
While plans are in place for complete buildout around 2029, PARC developers keep their focus two years out. Last year the focus for 2006 was traffic and roadways.
Roadways have been put in and County Road 210, which cuts through the community, was moved in late January to the northern two lanes of Coastal Ridge Parkway. All four lanes will be completed this summer. Coastal Ridge Parkway currently connects to Nocatee Parkway, which connects travelers from the Intracoastal Waterway through 210 and ultimately Racetrack Road. Plans are in place for a future Nocatee Parkway Racetrack Road Extension. The extension will allow residents to avoid the Nocatee Parkway, if desired, for complete access to the community without dealing with through traffic.
“There’s a loop around the Town Center so residents don’t have to get on the parkway,” said Ray.
Because of the layout of the community, residents of Nocatee don’t necessarily need a car to get around. The community has 10-foot paths adjacent to the roads throughout Nocatee and there are numerous paths throughout greenways within the community. Residents can come in and out of the greenways, use the adjacent to the roads and get to their destination, said Ray.
“There’s a very natural feel here, with many villages,” he said.
The focus for this year and next year is commercial and retail development. No major tenants have announced they’ll be in Nocatee. There is a million square feet of retail and commercial space; 250,000 square feet of light industrial space; and 4.2 million square feet of office space.
During this first phase of development, there are no plans in place for a golf course for the community. There is a sector, however, set aside for a golf course in the future.
photos by Miranda G. McLeod