Stuart Korfhage, former Managing Editor of the incredible shrinking St. Augustine Record, writes an uncritical painful paen to developer-Senator TRAVIS JAMES HUTSON's SilverLeaf development for the Jacksonville Business Journal:.
SilverLeaf ranked the ninth fastest-growing master-planned community in U.S.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY
The massive SilverLeaf development in St. Johns County was ranked as one of the country's fast-growing master-planned communities in the nation in 2023.
Developed by The Hutson Companies, SilverLeaf was the ranked ninth on the list of fastest-growing communities with 902 sales in 2023, according to RCRLO, a Real Estate Company that surveys master-planned communities across the nation.
Nocatee, in northern St. Johns County, was ranked 27th after selling 586 homes last year, a 52% increase over 2022.
Travis Hutson, senior vice president for the Hutson Companies, said SilverLeaf saw a 25% increase in closed home sales and a 12% increase in average lot prices.
But there's still plenty of expansion planned. SilverLeaf, located between County Road 210 and State Road 16 at St. Johns Parkway, is comprised of approximately 11,000 acres. It has entitlements for 16,300 homes, 2.9 million square feet of mixed use and commercial space, and has more than 4,350 acres of conservation land.
"We have an additional four miles of county collector road completion, a near lease out of our first commercial complex with new businesses, and the opening of our first apartment community," Hutson said in a release. "Our growth is expected to continue into 2024 with eight subdivisions currently under construction and two more in design, along with another county collector road."
Added Chet Skinner, vice president of Skinner Bros. Realty: “We have seen a strong demand for commercial and retail businesses interested in opening in SilverLeaf. We see the true potential for the SilverLeaf Community and are excited about future possibilities within this project.”
The list of fastest-selling communities was led by The Villages, with more than 3,000 homes sold. Click here to see the entire list of RCLCO's top-selling communities.
I wonder who will be living on that star ship. Cheap charlies from the failed city of Jacksonville? Republican political tourists? People from other states too greedy to pay taxes? All of this due to lack of highspeed rail (public transport), greed, and poor planning and zoning. Just think, whoever invested in such a thing created jobs only for the duration of the build instead of investing in commercial ventures that could have brought jobs to the county in the long run. Another get rich quick scheme by the hogs.
ReplyDeleteSo they did such a good job with it that it’s become one of the most desirable places to live? Shame on them for building such a good community.
ReplyDeleteIt's not socially or environmentally healthy to build huge residential neighborhoods like that a ways away from businesses etc and no public transportation. Think about the young people who can't drive growing up in a maze dependent on their parents for longer to take them to do something interesting and different all the time. What's to do up there etc. Now imagine some kid growing up near St. George Street or across the bridge. Get it?
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