People need places to eat, drink, shop, cut their hair and gas up, so eTown is making way to provide such services for the coming influx of residents and visitors.
Owners of the eTown development in Southside are seeking to rezone and change the land use of about 121 acres for commercial development.
Westland Timber LLC, led by President Jed Davis, seeks to rezone property between southwest Interstate 295 and Florida 9B, just north of the western extension of eTown Parkway.
It wants to rezone the land from industrial light to commercial community/general-1.
That allows for a range of uses that include retail sales and services, banks, hotels and motels, day care centers, plant nurseries, gas stations and other uses. Even more uses are possible if an exception is sought.
Eastland Timber LLC owns eTown, a mixed-use development east of I-295 and Florida 9B where homebuilders have purchased property and announced communities.
ETown and the parkway also extend west of Florida 9B, where the additional acreage is targeted for rezoning.
The property is marketed as eTown and the road is E-Town Parkway.
The unopened E-Town Parkway will exit from Florida 9B east to the largest part of eTown, where the residential and some commercial areas are under development, and west to the commercial area.
Meanwhile, Eastland Timber LLC, whose vice president is Davis, is asking the city to rezone 626 acres at eTown for a planned unit development for a “carefully planned clustered residential development.”
The PUD application filed Oct. 4 says Eastland Timber LLC and the affiliated ETown Development Inc. propose to rezone the property, which is east of I-295 and south of Atlantic Coast High School, from RLD-50 to a PUD.
The PUD district will provide for a master-planned single and multifamily residential neighborhood with active and passive recreation.
The written description emphasizes that “the total number of dwelling units allowed within the ETown Residential PUD shall not exceed 1,700 residential units.”
According to the written description, the PUD proposes the clustered development “for the efficient use of land that allows for the preservation of a significant portion of the Property for conservation purposes.”
The PUD also proposes architectural standards “that will facilitate an aesthetically pleasing common development theme that is internally and externally compatible.”
The PARC Group developer announced that the first two neighborhoods in eTown will include Edison by Toll Brothers and Marconi by David Weekley Homes and ICI Homes. It said both will open in summer 2019.
The Edison will comprise 266 luxury and single-family homes starting in the high $300,000s. Marconi homes will start in the mid-$300,000s.
The St. Johns River Water Management District is reviewing plans for Toll Southeast LP Co. Inc. to develop its two parcels.
And the proposed Village Center commercial project in eTown is in city zoning and site plan review. The PARC Group has applied for a permit to build the foundation for its eTown welcome center at 11003 E-Town Parkway, east of Florida 9B.
Other residential builders also have plans for eTown. Catalyst Development Partners will build apartments and Pulte bought property but has not announced plans.
