Question for Nocateans... (Jacksonville: sales, waterpark, home)

[Shannon4426]

I was wondering, for those of you that live in Nocatee, do you shop/dine mostly in the Southside area or in Ponte Vedra beach? Or somewhere else?

I'm wondering mostly because in curious to see how development in NW St Johns county will unfold in the future. Truth be told, I like to fantasize that as Nocatee comes closer to build out, the prime commercial area that could be convenient to Nocatee/JCP/Durbin/210 communities/Palencia and even WGV would be Phillips highway along the Nocatee border. Since buyers in Nocatee are pretty discriminating, I like to envision non-franchised coffe shops, quality restaurants and maybe eventually a smaller version of St. Johns Towncenter.

So what do you think? Am I just dreaming? When Nocatee's built out (along with all the other NW SJ communities) we'll have quite a large population in the area. Could you see this happening on Phillips, or another location? I grew up in south Florida where US1 is main street, so it's easy for me to envision. I'd love to hear what your opinions are!!!

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by Shannon4426

I like to envision non-franchised coffe shops, quality restaurants and maybe eventually a smaller version of St. Johns Towncenter.

I thought where th Publix is in Nocatee, was supposed to be like a smaller version of the St. Johns Towncenter.

[Shannon4426]

Yes, I thought of that too. But I was thinking more along the lines of 4-5 big box stores with 20 or so smaller retail/restaurants. I've seen several centers like that go up across the state with the same anchors at each location.

[donisanasfan]

i like to envision non franchised coffee shops as well....but then I remember this is jacksonville, and somehow it will get screwed up and it will be generic strip malls and chains.

[LilMikey]

We end up at the avenues area more than the Pvb area mostly because the target there is closer and the wife always needs something at target. Pvb is much nicer for dining and 'date night' though. Honestly, we probably end up getting dinner off of old at Augustine more than either though.

[hlauburn]

I never knew there was a name for us...Nocateans, huh?!

Personally, I split my time between PVB/Marsh Landing and Avenues area stores/restaurants. My kids go to school in PVB, so if I'm over there, I definitely hit that Target, banks, restaurants. But if I need to do a Walmart run, I'll go over to the Avenues. I sort of like being in between the two, although I sometimes wish there were at least a few really close stores or restaurants (even fast food) closer.

I was in the Taylor Morrison model home yesterday and they have a large computer drawing of what Nocatee should eventually look like, including doubling the size of the waterpark and a vibrant town center with restaurants and boutique-type stores. The sales agent threw out "8 years" for a timeframe on getting to that point.

Honestly, I am really surprised we haven't seen anything opening up on Philips Hwy, particularly between Nocatee and 295. There's always a constant flow of traffic through there and a lot of commercial property, and with the opening of 9B in the Fall, I would expect that would just increase. I think it would be a little close for another Walmart or Target, but a strip mall maybe with some satellite restaurants would be a good start. I seems like the ideal location to me since it would catch all the Philips traffic as well as be accessible to "Nocateans".

We can dream, right...

[madcapmagishion]

I always thought it was Nocatonian's.

[Shannon4426]

Originally Posted by donisanasfan

i like to envision non franchised coffee shops as well....but then I remember this is jacksonville, and somehow it will get screwed up and it will be generic strip malls and chains.

But it's not Jacksonville, it's Ponte Vedra/St. Johns, so it should be different, right? Maybe they could do it differently...maybe you should run for an office.

[donisanasfan]

I do plan on opening my own coffee shop as soon as the population reaches the level to be able to support it. I promise you the coffee will fantastic, the baked goods will be fresh ( not taken out of the freezer and put on the shelf like a certain franchise I know) and the service will be fast. Other then my own place of in the future , I really do not see any more originality in St Johns county then in Jacksonville, maybe even less if that is possible.

[Shannon4426]

Originally Posted by donisanasfan

I do plan on opening my own coffee shop as soon as the population reaches the level to be able to support it. I promise you the coffee will fantastic, the baked goods will be fresh ( not taken out of the freezer and put on the shelf like a certain franchise I know) and the service will be fast. Other then my own place of in the future , I really do not see any more originality in St Johns county then in Jacksonville, maybe even less if that is possible.

And you'll stay open late on Fri. & Sat. nights, and have open mic or a jazz bands? And kareoke on Wednesdays? I'll be there for sure

But seriously, Nocatee attracted a person like you, and you can't be the only one. And as Nocatee's population multiplies, the number of people like you will multiply also. That's my hope for the area.