The company that developed OakLeaf Plantation in Duval and Clay counties is proposing another expansive neighborhood, this one in St. Johns with up to 10,700 residential units and 1.7 million square feet of commercial space.
The Hutson Companies, based in St. Augustine, submitted plans for review by the St. Johns River Water Management District to develop SilverLeaf, a master-planned community on 8,500 acres between County Road 210 and County Road 16A.
The developer is connecting those roadways by constructing 7.5 miles of roads, including a new street — SilverLeaf Parkway — and extending St. Johns Parkway farther south.
The community, which will take eight to 10 years to build-out, will start with three neighborhoods, said Kathy Merrow, Hutson’s marketing manager.
Those will be Holly Forest, with 143 single-family homes and 210 multifamily townhomes; Meadow Ridge, with 195 single-family homes; and SilverLeaf Village, with 467 single-family homes.
A map of the community shows numerous parcels to be built into other single-family, multifamily and commercial or retail projects along both sides of SilverLeaf Parkway and the extended St. Johns Parkway.
On the site plan, they are listed as East Village Neighborhood, River Chase Neighborhood, Village Walk Neighborhood and Southern Pines Neighborhood.
Merrow said Hutson hopes to have its plans approved soon so it can start building by the end of 2018 or in the first quarter of 2019 so that model homes will be available by the end of the first quarter.
Hutson will name its chosen homebuilders when the deals are signed.
Initial plans call for the community to comprise about 64 percent single-family homes and 36 percent multifamily units, which are condominiums, townhomes and apartments.
Merrow said those percentages could change.
Merrow also said Hutson does not have information to share about retail and commercial companies interested in operating within the community.
Of the 8,500-acre property, the developer is planning on leaving almost 4,000 acres as preserved land to include walking trails.
St. Johns County officials did not return calls or emails for comment.
