Three years after model homes opened in the Seven Pines master planned community, builders reached the goal of selling 500 lots by the end of 2025.
The community is at southeast Butler and Kernan boulevards on the last 550 acres of developable Skinner property zoned for single-family residential use.
House prices are from the upper $600,000s to more than $2 million.
The residential neighborhoods at Seven Pines are being jointly developed by David Weekley Homes and ICI Homes.
Regency Centers is developing The Village at Seven Pines, a commercial area in the northwest quadrant of the community.
Regency announced it will move its headquarters to The Village at Seven Pines as other retail and office spaces open.
Construction has begun on a Baptist HealthPlace medical facility, and plans call for other businesses that include:
In addition, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood is exploring opening its first Northeast Florida location in Seven Pines.
Smaller retail spaces will target businesses like dry cleaners, fast-casual dining and specialty shops.
Regency Centers bought the 22-acre retail property in September from Sawmill Timber LLC for $8.47 million.
Lot and home sales in Seven Pines have picked up since the completion of the Lodge, a community center with a gym, pools, a children’s pool play area and pickleball courts. The grand opening for the center was in January 2025. Other features nearby include fire pits and a playground in a wooded setting.
Plans include a lake that runs through the center of the neighborhood, with a kayak house next to the Lodge.
Property history
The name Seven Pines honors the seven Skinner brothers who oversaw the family’s businesses and land holdings, which at one time amounted to about 50,000 acres in Northeast Florida.
A.C. “Chip” Skinner III, president of Sawmill Timber LLC, said the land is
important to the family. Skinner said reunions and holidays typically attracted 150 or more family members to land in what is now Seven Pines.
“That particular piece of property, that 1,000 acres, is where our family gatherings and activities occurred,” he said.
The Skinners wanted to retain some say in how Seven Pines was developed, and David Weekley Homes and ICI Homes were awarded contracts for the property because they agreed to allow the family to be involved in development decisions.
That involvement helped lead to such touches as porches being included in home plans to foster a community atmosphere.
In addition, the family influenced street names, including the word “pine” and other terms related to the family history, such as Generations Avenue.
Tom McCall, COO of ICI Homes, said congregation is an underlying theme of the Seven Pines lifestyle.
The community offers 5- and 6-foot sidewalks to encourage walking, plus nature trails accented with art elements. Residents are encouraged to use their front porches for a morning coffee or post-work beverage. Nearly half the homes have alleyway garages so that a garage door is not the most prominent feature of a home’s frontage.
The property has personal memories for Chip Skinner. There, he learned to drive, shoot a gun and hunt.
“Chip said it the best,” McCall said. “He wanted a place he could bring his grandkids and say, ‘This is it. This was Skinner property. Look how proud we are of it.’
“They wanted the lifestyle, character and walkability and the family type of atmosphere that they were used to with their family.”
Amenities boost sales
McCall said sales benefited from the completion of the Lodge and other amenities, which offer prospective buyers a look at the lifestyle in the community versus seeing it in a brochure or hearing about it from a sales associate.
“Seven Pines is one of the few (master planned communities) that has not had a reduction of sales, but we’ve increased sales as we’ve completed the amenity and the community continues to come together and be developed,” McCall said.
The community is being built in three phases with the first two underway.
David Weekley Homes and ICI Homes expect to purchase the property for the final section from the Skinner family in late 2026, McCall said.
Each phase will have about 500 homes. McCall expects Seven Pines to be built-out in the next five to seven years, depending on the housing market and demand.
“It’s just a financial lever to spread out some of the acquisition costs, because it’s such a big project,” McCall said of the staggered purchases.
“It’s pretty common in residential.”