Del Webb retirement community coming to Southside

Project on the Southside expected to start this fall with move-ins planned in spring.

The parent company of Del Webb Corp., the housing developer that introduced the age-restricted retirement community to the United States 40 years ago, plans to build a 916-home gated community in the Southside, the company said Thursday.

Del Webb, a division of Pulte Homes Corp., describes the project an active adult community geared toward people 55 and older. Whether it will be age restricted hasn't been determined yet, said Vicki Bratvold, Pulte's vice president of sales.

The Jacksonville community will be Del Webb's second in Florida.

"There are 100,000 active adults in Jacksonville and there are more moving here," Bratvold said. "There is not a community serving the needs of that lifestyle."

Bratvold said residents of Del Webb developments are usually empty-nesters who don't want to maintain their homes any longer and would rather spend their time in recreation.

Del Webb, best known for its Sun City retirement communities, operates 15 such developments in the United States. One of them is the 7-year-old Spruce Creek Country Club in Summerfield, near Ocala.

In Jacksonville, the community of single- and multi-family homes will be on 289 acres near Florida 9A and Baymeadows Road. Construction is expected to start in the fall and the first residents would move in about spring 2005, Bratvold said.

Prices for multi-family homes will start in the middle $100,000 range; single-family homes will start in the middle $200,000.

The development will feature a 10,000-square-foot amenity center with heated swimming pools and exercise rooms. The community will also include tennis courts, a putting green, bocce courts, walking paths, a dog park and picnic areas.

Source: Florida Times-Union

Housing village slated for North Jacksonville

Almost 1,100 acres in North Jacksonville are targeted for development as Thomas Creek Village, a housing and commercial center described as a master planned community developed around a village center.

Thomas Creek Village is proposed at Lem Turner and Braddock roads, about 2 miles north of Interstate 295.

Developer Jim Putnal, managing member of Lem Turner Road Development LLC, says construction could start in spring 2005 and be completed in eight to 10 years.

A rezoning application calls for up to 2,595 residential units, up to 200,000 square feet of commercial space and 25 acres to be donated for school or other public uses.

From 500 to 550 acres are described as conservation, 20 to 25 acres are designed for preservation and parks will comprise about 25 to 30 acres, a project summary states.

The summary says Thomas Creek Village is the first master-planned community designed to meet objectives of the North Jacksonville Vision and Master Plan.

Thomas Creek Village is planned as a pedestrian-oriented project containing a village center surrounded by residential development. Development is planned among four districts:


The Village Center, at almost 54 acres, is the focal point and includes a "mix of uses to support the surrounding neighborhoods ... for people to live, work, shop, go to school, exercise, receive services and be entertained." The center will include a village square, community park and recreation facility. It also will include up to 25 acres for school or public use, and also include some residences.

Village Urban Neighborhoods, within about 536 acres, are closer to the center and will include more dense single-family, town house and condominium development.

Village Suburban Neighborhoods, within about 465 acres, are more distant from the center and will include larger-lot single-family homes and will be within a half-mile of a park.

The Gateway Center, at 32 acres, is a residential and commercial center at the Lem Turner entrance to Thomas Creek Village.

Source: Florida Times-Union