Developer Aegis-Gibson wants to build up to 3,000 homes on 1,118 acres of farmland north of Hastings in St. Johns County, according to a permit application.
Water Lily, a mixed-used development, would provide housing to those 55 and old and would include 280,000 square feet of commercial space.
If approved by the county, the development would become the largest 55-plus community in St. Johns County, surpassing Del Webb Ponte Vedra, which currently has 1,998 homes. The developer anticipates completion in 2038.
“Our vision is to create a community that harmonizes residential and commercial spaces while protecting the environment and supporting the existing community through essential infrastructure improvements,” Aegist Gibson Project Manager Ashley Allen said in a September press release.
Surrounded by farmland, the agricultural parcel is situated at County Road 214 and 13 North, roughly 15 miles west of the Interstate 95 Interchange with County Road 207.
Firm representatives are currently meeting with county committees and are modifying their application to address outstanding questions and concerns.
A public hearing on the proposal is expected early in the new year, Allen told The Citizen.
Water Lily would require a rezoning of the area from Planned Rural to Planned Unit Development.
Repurposing the agricultural swathe, the developer said, would “drastically reduce fertilizer runoff into the river,” referring to the nearby St. Johns River.
“The project will preserve over 275 acres of wetlands, maintain canopies of specimen trees and plant more than 25,000 native trees, a significant environmental enhancement as much of the current land has been used for farming, leaving it without tree cover,” the company said.
The venture would also include the construction of a fire station that would cover existing homeowners who are currently far removed from emergency services, Aegis said.
Cognizant of the intensifying debate over development in one of Florida’s fastest growing counties, Allen said Aegis is prepared to address community objections.
She argued that parabolic demand for housing in the area necessarily requires more development.
“You can’t stop people from moving to St. Johns County, or Northeast Florida,” she told The Citizen. Developments like Water Lily, she asserted, will ease housing pressures in concentrated areas like St. Augustine.
The inevitability of growth, Allen said, should be acknowledged and thus managed in a “sustainable” fashion.
Critics of the area’s development pace counter that it is eroding St. Johns’ bucolic appeal and replacing it with runaway urbanization, resulting in increased traffic, resource strains and shrinking open spaces.
Demand, they assert, is not entirely organic and partially driven by the proliferation of new homes.
Those concerns were voiced at a recent public hearing on a separate proposal to build 3,300 homes roughly 10 miles away.
The county’s Planning and Zoning Agency voted unanimously to recommend the rejection of the Verde “Agrihood” application earlier this month, arguing that there were too many unanswered concerns about the plan.
Nearly 20 public speakers at that meeting called for a forceful pulling of the reins on development, arguing that it was careening at an irresponsible pace.
The Board of Commissioners will vote on that proposal next month.
4 Responses
Stop the MADNESS WE HAVE NO MORE ROOM
In 1925 a development was plotted for parts of the same property. A house built 1925 near the lower left portion from development is still occupied.
We simply can’t put in that amount at one time…no way. The fertilizer runoff from lawn fertilizer in huge developments like this is far more dangerous than commercial farming. That’s a ridiculous statement.
The overbuilding with poor infrastructure is a nightmare. This has got to stop. We already have bobcats and deer in our backyards with the wildlife being forced out of habitats. Keep mass clearing these pieces of land and wonder why we’re getting tornadoes all over the area now that we didn’t have 10 years ago. The county has lost its mind to continue to allow this and not create proper infrastructure, zoning laws, etc.