Nocatee still growing, despite slow economyBack to News

The Florida Times-Union

Jason Holder and his family were among the first residents of the neighborhood of Coastal Oaks when they moved into their new home in that Nocatee community in May 2008.

The economic downtown was depressing the sale of new homes, so for a while the Holders had much of the place to themselves. Often they were the only family using a park near their house, Holder said.

But that is slowly changing.

"A bunch of people have moved in since," Holder said. "Now sometimes there are five or six families in the park."

The number of new homes currently being built in Nocatee, a 14,000-acre development west of Ponte Vedra Beach, is not what its developers envisioned when they broke ground in 2005.

But in the weak real estate market that continues to limit the sale of homes throughout Northeast Florida and much of the nation, it was the fastest-growing planned community in 2010 in the Jacksonville metropolitan area.

In a recent report released by Metrostudy, a national provider of real estate market information, there were 189 new housing starts in the seven active Nocatee neighborhoods under construction.

There are 707 houses completed or under construction to date, with a 30-year plan calling for 14,000 homes when the entire community is finished.

Richard Ray, managing partner for the PARC Group, the management company for Nocatee, said 2011 is looking even better "because the pace of home sales so far this year is almost a 75 percent increase over last year."

The real estate market in Northeast Florida "has not and may never return to 2006 levels," he said. "But the pace is sustainable."

Construction of Nocatee Parkway, the main thoroughfare through the community that straddles the St. Johns County and Duval County lines, took two years to complete. That work happened when real estate sales were booming nationwide.

The first family moved into Nocatee's Austin Park neighborhood in April 2007, and "it wasn't long after that we saw major changes in the real estate market and overall economy," Ray said. "2008 and 2009 were the most challenging years."

New houses are currently under construction in each of the seven neighborhoods, which vary in price and offered amenities.

Greenleaf Village, which opened in April, features single-family homes between 1,400 and 3,000 square feet starting at about $170,000. The neighborhood has had more than 30 sales to date.

In the highest end neighborhood of Coastal Oaks, homes range from 1,800 to 5,084 square feet and start at about $300,000. That gated neighborhood, which has a community pool, is projected to have 900 homes when it is complete.

The pool is open, and a few new houses are under construction on streets around it.

Ray said many more neighborhoods are planned for the future, with room for more growth. The community water park, a fitness club and a dog park opened last year. But existing roads have sparse traffic, and some currently dead end at the edge of woods.

Because Nocatee has homes that appeal to different types of people, Ray said Nocatee's 11 builders are seeing a broad range of buyers.

Some are first-time home-buyers. Some are moving into a larger home. Some are empty nesters. The gated Riverwood community is for people age 55 and older who are seeking an active lifestyle.

It is projected to have 1,700 to 2,000 homes when it is complete. About 250 have been built.

Ray said his company monitors other planned communities around Florida, and compared to them, "we've been very pleased with our pace of sales. The overall market in Northeast Florida continues to strengthen."