by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
While many builders are taking pause during the downturn in the economy, Sessions Development and Wood Development are doing just the opposite: their development, Durbin Crossing, a 2,086-acre development of regional impact located between Racetrack Road and CR 210 in St. Johns County, has just added 331 new lots to the community and has no thoughts of slowing down.
“We opened the new lots for two reasons,” said Jason Sessions, vice president and partner of Sessions Development. “We were coming short on inventory on certain lot categories, so we needed additional inventory for our builders in certain lot sizes. Since construction costs have come down so much right now, we thought it was a good idea to go ahead and build the whole thing at this time.”
Sessions said they do have builders that will be purchasing the new lots.
“Homes are selling great,” said Sessions. “According to Metrostudy, we are the No. 1 selling community in Jacksonville, right with Bartram Springs. We feel that once Bartram Springs closes out, the buyers will come to this community. We are outselling all the communities in the area two-fold. That’s another reason we added the new lots because we feel that once the market rebounds this community will sell out very quickly.”
How is this possible in this market?
“The markets that are having trouble are those that aren’t selling,” he said. “There are a lot of communities that are vacant and that aren’t selling. But, if you drive around here, there are probably 30 homes under construction because people are buying. The location and the amenities are the key to the success of this community.”
Sessions Development has been in Jacksonville for almost 10 years.
The company started doing apartment conversions and has owned Durbin Crossing since 2003. Originally, most of their background was in South Florida.
Orange Park-based Wood Development has built mostly residential projects in St. Johns, Duval and Clay counties since the 1980s. This is the first project between Sessions Development and Wood Development.
Builders include Beazer Homes, Holder Johnson Homes, Ryland Homes, Mercedes Homes, Providence Homes, Richmond American Homes, Ryland Homes and Toll Brothers.
Durbin Crossing broke ground in 2005. Sessions Development has had it under contract since 2001.
“We’ve been working on it for quite awhile,” said Sessions. “It took a number of years to get the permitting completed. When that was completed, we began construction and it has moved pretty quickly since then.”
Currently, the community has about 300 residents. There will be 1,600 homes at buildout, which Sessions said should be in 6-7 years.
Homes are from $200,000 to over $1 million.
The land for Durbin Crossing was purchased from Rayonier, the giant timber company. Sessions said he has financial investors that backed the purchase and development of the community.
“We have a team of investors,” said Sessions. “I’ve been doing development on my own the better part of 15 years.”
The community offers two amenity centers for its residents, each within walking distance of one of the master-planned, fully operational amenity centers.
The South amenity center has a 5,000-square-foot clubhouse with party room, full catering kitchen and community boardroom, a large pool with junior Olympic length lanes and starting blocks, waterslide feature and a separate children’s pool. A fitness center with cardio equipment features personal flat-screen televisions. Residents also have access to the outdoor recreational areas, including a multi-purpose field with four lighted tennis courts, basketball court, volleyball court and children’s play area.
The North amenity center, a smaller version of the South center, has a clubhouse with part kitchen and club room, an oversized family fun pool with a splash park, a children’s play area, two lighted tennis courts, basketball court and a multi-purpose playfield.
Sessions said that the developers have made it a priority to preserve as much of the natural beauty as possible in Durbin Crossing.
“We’ve gone to great lengths so that more than half of the 2,000 acres that comprise Durbin Crossing have been left undisturbed for residents to enjoy from their homes and at their leisure,” said Susan Wood of Wood Development. “It’s an exceptionally rare gem in St. Johns County.”
Additionally, residents have the new 35-acre community park system that includes two new parks in St. Johns County.
Durbin Crossing Park, designed, constructed and funded by the developers of Durbin Crossing, features recreational areas, including baseball and multipurpose fields, and plenty of leisure space for visitors to enjoy the natural beauty of the park.
Veterans Park, a contribution from the nearby Aberdeen community, has numerous soccer fields, a skate park and the first dog park in the area.
Future plans of the community include multi-family and a village center that will include retail and office space. Sessions said they need to wait for the rooftops before construction can begin on village center.
“I would say within the next five years, that land will be sold and built on,” he said. But the residents need not worry where to shop. There are two Publix grocery stores and other retail within a couple of miles.”