The proposed Tidal 210 town home development in St. Johns County continues to move forward.
The St. Johns River Water Management District received an application for an environmental resource permit July 25 for the proposed gated community of 297 town homes off County Road 210 about one-half mile east of Interstate 95.
The water management district has 30 days to request additional information during its technical review. Applicant Mattamy Jacksonville LLC has 90 days to respond.
The county began reviewing the project’s civil plans on the same day it received the application.
Applicant and project civil engineer Prosser | Prime AE of Jacksonville is scheduled to present the project Aug. 20 to the St. Johns County Development Review Committee.
Clearing both reviews will allow the developers to apply for a building permit.
According to project documents, the development is “designed to provide a high-end, gated town home project in the northern part of St. Johns County, in an area where a hospital, medical offices, commercial/retail space, restaurants and offices already exist east of Interstate 95 and other businesses, including a Publix pharmaceutical production facility, will be located in the near future.”
The market-rate housing development will not be age restricted.
Gate Petroleum Co. sold the 65.3-acre site July 1 for $13 million through Durbin Creek National LLC. The buyer was project developer Mattamy Homes through Mattamy Jacksonville LLC.
In May, the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners voted to rezone the property from Commercial Highway Tourist to Planned Unit Development. The vote was 3-2 with Commissioners Sarah Arnold, Christian Whitehurst and Clay Murphy voting in favor, and Krista Joseph and Ann Taylor in opposition.
The rezoning request failed in March when the Planning and Zoning Agency split 3-3 on it. The agency makes recommendations to the full commission.
During the agency and commission meetings, nearby residents voiced concerns about traffic.
Project attorney Ellen Avery-Smith told the agency that the prior zoning allowed for developments that could have generated much more traffic than Tidal 210, including hotels, motels, drive-thru restaurants, service stations, charter schools, retail stores, tourist-related businesses, banks and storage facilities.