by Michele Gillis
Staff Writer
The PARC Group took the Developer of the Year honor in the annual Laurel Awards for the fourth year in a row for their master-planned community, Nocatee.
The awards are given by the Sales and Marketing Council of the Northeast Florida Builders Association and were presented recently at a banquet at Latitude 30 in Southside.
The PARC Group was selected for its concept for Nocatee, the master-planned community in Ponte Vedra. The Nocatee developers have built miles of new roads, opened seven communities and the Nocatee Town Center and created numerous amenities for its residents including the Splash Water Park and Greenway Trail system.
Nocatee is currently home to more than 750 families and was recently named Northeast Florida’s fastest growing new home community.
“I believe our momentum and continued progress in Nocatee, along with the fact that we have begun or completed several projects several years ahead of time, contributed greatly to our successes and this award recognition,” said Portland Swan, marketing director for The PARC Group.
The PARC Group has won nine Laurels in recent years for various marketing and advertising pieces. They won Laurels for “Best Landscaping for a Community”, “Best Special Promotion” for the Nocatee Farmers Market and “Developer of the Year” in 2007 for Pablo Creek Reserve and for Nocatee from 2008-10.
Swan attributes the company’s achievement to the progress the community has made this year.
The development opened two new communities this past year including Greenleaf Village and Kelly Pointe. The company finished the second phase of Nocatee Parkway in 2010, which was several years in advance of the required start date, opened the Nocatee Splash Water Park and began the last phase of the Valley Ridge loop road to the north of Nocatee Parkway.
So, what does the future hold for this nine-time Laurel winner?
“The PARC Group is currently planning two new communities and has begun construction on the second community park which will be completed at the end of the year,” said Swan.