If you live in Northeast Florida there is no doubt you’ve heard of all the wonderful, thriving neighborhood communities in St. Johns County, but if you’ve driven around the area, you’ve likely noticed a need for commercial property. Like most developments, residential precedes commercial growth, and St. Johns County is ready to flourish with new businesses. “St. Johns County is a fantastic place for businesses to call home. Not only is the residential population continuously growing, but the location is conveniently situated between Jacksonville and St. Augustine. With so many new developments coming soon to the area, the opportunities are really exciting,” shares Davidson Realty President, Sherry Davidson. We’re rounding up just a few of the exciting additions coming to St. Johns County. 

World Commerce Center

At the intersection of Interstate 95 and International Golf Parkway, you’ll find World Commerce Center, a 996-acre property with approvals in place for residential, office, medical, retail, warehouse, and hotel developments. The popular “attraction” Buc-cee’s has already called World Commerce Center home since February 2021. Businesses, including GreenWise Market, 7-Eleven, and Panera Bread, are coming soon to the new development. 

Grand Cypress

In late May 2021, Gatlin Development Co. Inc. purchased the land at 6256 and 6322 Race Track Road, the site of a former racetrack and poker room that closed in 2021, from Bayard Raceways Inc for more than $16.5 million. The site sits at southwest U.S. 1 and Race Track Road. Gatlin Development plans to build a $250 million mixed-use development called Grand Cypress. The more than one hundred acre property will include a grocery store-anchored shopping center, retail, restaurant space, 588-unit luxury multifamily community, and a 256-unit upscale boutique multifamily complex. The commercial space tenants will be announced soon.

Greenbriar Helow

Another massive development likely coming soon to northwest St. Johns County is Greenbriar Helow. Landowner, Joseph Helow, of Helow Properties Ltd., hopes to rezone the property from open rural land to a planned unit development. Located off Greenbriar Road, Longleaf Pine Parkway, and Veterans Parkway, this new development could include single-family, multifamily, and senior housing, natural preservation land, retail uses, and offices. If the rezoning is approved, the development would allow for up to 3,500 single-family homes and more than 2.5 million square feet of non-residential development. 

Development in St. Johns County is showing no signs of slowing down. With an attractive location and a rapidly growing residential community, these new developments are sure to provide some much-needed commercial property to the area.

 
 
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Feb
 
19

The Vision of World Golf Village

Posted by: Sherry Davidson in News
 

Behind anything great, you find a great story. World Golf Village is no exception. In the 1980s, St. Johns County had less than 100,000 residents. It was inevitable that the area would blossom with the right vision and execution. Jim Davidson, President of Davidson Development, was the man for the job. 

Jim could see the pieces of the World Golf Village puzzle come together. “Not only could Jim see the Jacksonville market heading south and knew this was the perfect area between Jacksonville and St. Augustine, but he could see the pine trees becoming the development he envisioned,” shared Davidson Realty President and Jim’s wife, Sherry Davidson. “Jim saw beyond the golf courses, lakes, and homes and saw people walking their dogs and pushing their children in strollers on the sidewalks.” 

Jim was persistent in bringing World Golf Village to life. He met regularly with land planners, engineers, attorney’s and an environmental team to make sure the pieces came together as he planned. Although many along the way didn’t believe, Jim never doubted he could get the job done right. Once the World Golf Village developer financed a new interchange on Interstate 95, the development became extremely attractive to commuters, as World Golf Village was one of only a few options for buyers in St. Johns County who worked in Jacksonville. 

The pieces continued to come together after Jim brought the PGA TOUR and other golf organizations on board to build the World Golf Hall of Fame. From there, Jim assembled various partners for the golf courses, the hotel, and the retail stores to further bring attraction to the area. World Golf Village turned out to be exactly what people were looking for, including the Davidsons. Jim and Sherry Davidson were one of the first homeowners in World Golf Village and still live in World Golf Village to this day. 

While building World Golf Village, the Davidsons worked hard to protect the environment to ensure the community maintained its natural beauty. More than 2,775 acres, nearly half of the project site, was set aside for preservation. These efforts were recognized by the Florida Association of Realtors ®  when the Davidsons received the ENVY award in 2002. The ENVY award honor is given to developments that preserve Florida’s natural quality of life. 

The infrastructure added by World Golf Village paved the way for the development of other communities in the area like The Hutson Companies’ SilverLeaf, which will have 10,700 homesites, 2,650,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial space, and more than 3,500 acres of conservation land. It is clear that World Golf Village blazed the trail. 

The master planned community has prospered over the last 23 years and is regarded as one of the most desired communities on the First Coast. With more than 6,000 homes and more than 15,000 residents, World Golf Village provides a place to live that is picture perfect. Whether you are a golf lover eager to take advantage of the award winning golf courses or a family wanting to give their children the opportunity to attend fantastic public schools or interested in enjoying an active adult community, you have a home in World Golf Village.

World Golf Village has a vibrant history to be proud of and a legacy to look forward to, as it continues to be a highly sought-after area. No one knows World Golf Village better than Davidson Realty. If you are interested in calling World Golf Village home, contact Davidson Realty at (904) 940-5000.

 
 
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