Oakleaf Plantation (Kendall, Orange Park, Pine Ridge: HOA, crime, to buy)

[CONSULTANTHoffman]

MRoth while Oakleaf is a great community the schools in that area are much below expectations. I might recommend trying Eagle Harbor or Fleming Island for better schools. Also I am not a fan of Clay county, you might do much better in adjoining St John's county.

[Zima]

I'm skeptical of equating "A" graded schools with superior education say to a "C" rated. Some "C" rated schools are really "A" schools but because of AYP annual yearly improvement are not. D and F schools are issues and create stigmas for faculty and students. Also, in a high schools, the schools grade is determined by Sophomors half way through the year. So, if you think freshmen and a half are qualified to give a school a grade then by all means- look at the state website to find "A" schools, then a community in the district and buy a house. All I'm saying is, don't put the cart before the horse.
In my opinion, some Duval schools can offer quality education. What's wrong with say Fletcher, Mandarin or Sandalwood? Mandarin HS is what qbout 3,000 students? Someone sends there kids there. Oakleaf just feels too isolated and suffocating for me. That whole area south of I-10-Chaffee, especially now with the huge FDOT 75 million dollar project, seems like an area that will be a major clusterfu** in 3-5 years. Does anyone see this or am I on the outside here. ?

[Sailorbutch]

mawipafl, do you mind if I ask you how much you pay for HOA or CDD, if any? Thanks for your advice. We are about to do our househunting in February and I will most likely heed your advice/experience. Thank you!

[mawipafl]

Sailorbutch ... Eagle Harbor's CDD fee can vary a little depending on the neighborhood (lot size). The fee is divided into two parts: the bond repayment and the operating/maintenance portion. Ours is about $2100 per year (respectively about $1600 and $500). We don't have any HOA fees.

Fleming Island Plantation's CDD fee is less, but I'm not certain of its structure. I'm also not certain if there are HOA fees, but I don't think so. An informational website for this community Fleming Island Plantation- Homepage

Eagle Harbor has a website Welcome To Eagle Harbor Online
Some of it is restricted to residents only, but much is public.

Other communities:
Pace Island Fleming Island Plantation- Homepage
Margaret's Walk Margarets Walk - Home Page
Magnolia Point http://www.magnoliapointgolfclub.com/home/index.php (broken link)
Habersham Harbor Habersham Harbor News : Home
Harbor Island Harbor Island : Orange Park Schools
Oak Creek (Denmark Drive off US 17)
Hibernia Plantation
There are other communities/neighborhoods in Clay County as well.

Two great websites for Clay County househunting are the tax collector Clay County, Florida Tax Collector - Home and the property appraisor CCPAO: Home
At both sites you can search by property address for current taxes and values. Once we had decided on Clay County and had begun to narrow down our list of potential houses, we used these sites extensively to do comparisons.

[jrmutley]

We (me, wife & two sons - 8 & 6 yrs old) moved to Oakleaf from Pittsburgh a little more than a year ago (July 2006) and love it. There are some issues. But, what community doesn't have a few warts?

It seems to me that a lot of the negative Oakleaf comments on this thread are coming from those who don't live here. I think that is because Oakleaf has become the 500 lb gorilla in the room...as far Clay County developments are concerned. I don't have an opinion on Fleming Island, Eagle Harbor, etc other than they seem like places that are at least as equally nice. But, people in those communities always seem to have an opinion on Oakleaf.

Here are some of my thoughts from living here the past year.....

Traffic on Argyle Forest was as bad as everyone says. However, now that the widening project is complete, Argyle is a breeze. The only time that there can be a problem is at Argyle & Blanding during AM rush. With the Argyle widening complete, I actually think that living in Oakleaf is a bit of an advantage. We hit Blanding right at I295. That means no long trek up Blanding or 17...both much worse than Argyle.

As more of Oakleaf Town Center opens, there will be fewer reasons to go out to Blanding. I agree with the comments that the Blanding area of Orange Park doesn't have much visual appeal. But, what does that have to do with Oakleaf...especially when we won't have to drive out there anymore for our shopping/dining needs. Now, if we can just get them to build a movie theatre.

Our kids go to Argyle elementary. It is much better than the school in Pgh that they went to. Next year, they will go to the new Oakleaf Village Elementary. It is just a couple blocks from my house!!! They are so looking forward to walking/biking to school! If the new school is anything approaching our experience with Argyle Elem (or, what I hear about the current new Oakleaf school) we will be happy. Unless you have or will have high school age kids in the few years, no concerns there either. The new HS is going to break ground next August to open in 2010.

What I am getting at is, in my experience from living here, the combination of amenities (which I'll get to in a minute), close location of quality schools (both currently existing and about to open soon), and very close shopping/dining options (again, some exisitng -some opening soon) makes Oakleaf a nice place to live and raise a family. The only negative...traffic...has improved on Argyle with the recent widening. Of course, if you have to traverse the Buckman during rush hour (like I do) it can be a hassle. If that thought completely turns you off, you shouldn't be looking in Clay County anyway.

Now...as for the amenities...they are a great selling point. I didn't want to make this big move to Florida unless my kids had easy access to a pool. The Oakleaf pools are fantastic. The other amenites are great too...parks everwhere...paths for biking...fitness centers...etc. Heck, since moving here I have been using the fitness center 3 days a week and lost at least 25 lbs. But, there is a negative side to them as well.

When you pay these kind of CDD fees (about $1,600 if you live in a single family home, something less if you live in a condo/townhome) you tend to have certain expectations. Then, when those expectations aren't met it can tick you off. For example, late last summer there was a rash of vandalism (spray painting on some of the paths and bridges), vending machines in public areas are often broken (again, vandalism), problems with kids on the basketball courts, inappropriate behavior at times in the swimming pools, fitness equipment in constant need of repair (although they just replaced two treadmills), insufficient security (although I hear steps have been taken to fix this), etc.

I'm sure that these are common problems in all communites. But, when you are paying that CDD, those issues seem to be magnified a good bit.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by jrmutley

When you pay these kind of CDD fees (about $1,600 if you live in a single family home, something less if you live in a condo/townhome) you tend to have certain expectations. Then, when those expectations aren't met it can tick you off. For example, late last summer there was a rash of vandalism (spray painting on some of the paths and bridges), vending machines in public areas are often broken (again, vandalism), problems with kids on the basketball courts, inappropriate behavior at times in the swimming pools, fitness equipment in constant need of repair (although they just replaced two treadmills), insufficient security (although I hear steps have been taken to fix this), etc.

I'm sure that these are common problems in all communites. But, when you are paying that CDD, those issues seem to be magnified a good bit.

Honestly JRMutley, I don't think these are common problems in comparable communities around Clay/Duval/St. Johns .

My neighborhood has plenty of pre-teens and teens and we've never had anything even remotely similar happen in the 5 or so years the neighborhood has been around. The worst thing I've experienced from our neighborhood kids is gum on the sidewalk in front of my house a couple of times.

I don't know why these problems are occurring in Oakleaf, but I hope the community can get a handle on it.

[jrmutley]

Don't get me wrong. If you notice, other than those final comments, I am very satisfied with Oakleaf. My point was, when you pay an extra CDD you almost get an attitude of "ownership". As a result, when you see fellow residents mistreat community amenities (no matter how isolated that activity is) it is bothersome. My examples were just to illustrate the type of general behavior that I was talking about.

As far as those specific examples go, they are being addressed...

A more advanced photo ID system to access the amenities has been instituted.
The security company was recently changed. The new company seems much more active.
The Clay County Sheriff's Office has been much more visible in the area.
I belive that there has been a recent push to start community watch groups.
Issues with the fitness centers have been caused by the originally purchased equipment nearing the end of their life cycles. Some of that equipment has been changed. From what I have read, others are going to be changed soon.

So, all is not bleak. I was just trying to illustrate one of the negatives that can come with amenities/CDDs. The "I'm paying all this money and the darned treadmill is broken again" type of thing. I'm certain that a lot of it is caused by very rapid growth in a short period. The true test is how we handle these "growing pains".

[titaniummd]

Originally Posted by jrmutley

It seems to me that a lot of the negative Oakleaf comments on this thread are coming from those who don't live here. I think that is because Oakleaf has become the 500 lb gorilla in the room...as far Clay County developments are concerned. I don't have an opinion on Fleming Island, Eagle Harbor, etc other than they seem like places that are at least as equally nice. But, people in those communities always seem to have an opinion on Oakleaf.

I am guilty, as charged.

My friend lives there and I wanted to live near her and her family. From a investment standpoint, it was over-saturated and lots of rentals by speculators were being rented to people who do not have the sense of community that you and my friend share. When I was shopping for houses, the 2 lane road was not going to 'cut it' but I realize that there are so many alternate routes.

With the new shopping center opening, the widened road, and the amenities, it is a wonderful place to live.

---
The problems that are experienced regarding amenities, now, is just a reflection of the concentrated population that live there. It is best to address those concerns to the HOA, safety and social committees to get those addressed.



I didn't like the traffic when I drove through as I was looking for houses

[mawipafl]

Our "mistake" when househunting last April was to go to Oakleaf first. Coming from northeastern PA where master-planned communities of this scale do not exist, Oakleaf seemed chaotic and claustrophic -- tons of construction (homes, commercial, roadways) and smaller house lots than we were used to.

Thus, our first opinion of Oakleaf was quickly remove it from the list.

But - my opinion has now changed. Not only am I now used to self-contained types of communities, but Oakleaf is also quite different now. I meandered over there just last week and was so amazed at the ease of traveling Argyle Forest and the number of neighborhoods now complete. Although I don't regret our ultimate choice of the Fleming Island area, I can imagine that life at Oakleaf must be really nice, too.

So, I take back everything I thought and said (well, almost everything :-)

[mawipafl]

jrmutley - I fully understand what you mean about sense of ownership when one pays CDD/HOA fees ... one of the horrible rain storms in September tipped over two trees at the entrance sign to our particular neighborhood, and the Eagle Harbor staff did quickly remove them, but they've not been replaced yet -- and I really can't help having the mindset of wondering "hey, when are you going to replace my trees?"