Julington Creek, Switzerland and Fruit Cove Neighborhood

Northwest St. Johns County, which includes Fruit Cove, Switzerland and Orangedale, is experiencing real estate boom, while retaining much of the area's rural charm. Bordered by the St. Johns and Duval county lines to the north, the St. Johns River to the west, County Road 208 to the south and Interstate 95 to the east, the northwest sector has grown more than 55 percent in the past 10 years.

Julington Creek Plantation, which is a subdivision encompassing 4,119 acres and more than 12 distinctive neighborhoods, is among the top 10 master-planned communities in Florida. The community offers recreational facilities and a large selection of homes ranging in price from the $130,000s to over $1 million.

The St. Johns County School District is the highest-rated school district in Northeast Florida. The Fruit Cove School, an $18 million school, has opened as a kindergarten through eighth grade facility.

The county also opened a $12 million, 700-student Durbin Creek Elementary School on Race Track Road last year. Julington Creek provides boating access to the St. Johns River. That will be alleviated with the completion of the new Goodby's Lake Boat Ramp.

Construction on Twin Creeks subdivision, located in northeast St. Johns County just south of Durbin Creek, is expected to begin in 2005. The community will have 5,000 residences (2,000 single-family and 3,000 multi-family) on 3,000 acres and will include 900,000 square feet of office and commercial space and 2 million square feet of light industrial space.

Businesses and shopping centers have moved in or are being planned in the area, the county has built a $1.2 million annex in Fruit Cove, and the new Baptist Medical Center South opened in February 2005

---

Julington Creek, Switzerland and Fruit Cove

Average home price: $236,022
No. of households: 7,049
2003 population: 21,701
2008 projected population: 27,711
Percent change: 21.7 percent
Household disposable income: $73,270
Source: Average home value based on Scarborough self-evaluation
All other data from Demographics USA 2003

Schools: St. Johns County Board of Education, (904) 819-7500
Elementary: Cunningham Creek, Fruit Cove, Julington Creek
Middle: Fruit Cove, Switzerland Point
High: Bartram Trail

St. Johns County Fire and Rescue:
Phone: (904) 823-2526
Fire/rescue station: 1120 Sheffield Road, Switzerland
10001 Cartwheel Bay Ave., Sampson

St. Johns Sheriffs Office:
Phone: (904) 824-8304
Field office: 725 Flora Branch Road, Julington Creek
Website

Source: The Times-Union