Best multi-age planned communities (Jacksonville, Plantation: salons, condos, how much)

[ohjuly]

First time poster here! We are looking for a planned community in Northeast Florida; one that includes different generations and has amenities such as activities for children, pool, workout room, walking trails.... as well as hopefully a town center. It would be very nice to have a home with some type of view or larger-ish lot, to have some privacy (even if that means a higher price point). More importantly, we want a place that has a sense of community; where residents participate in activities together. My husband and I are in our mid fifties, live in NJ, and are hoping to become snow birds. THANKS in advance!

[Robyn55]

Most of the newer communities here tend to attract young people with young children. They're not multi-generational. Older communities will have some older people like me - just because they haven't decided to downsize and move.

This area really isn't a snowbird area (although I do know a few people who are snowbirds). Because we get cool/cold in the winter. Snowbirds are generally looking for warmer winter weather. Robyn

[EricBoyd]

Seems like Nocatee might fall into the "multi-age" category. Del Webb has a place in there. https://nocatee.com/communities/del-webb-ponte-vedra/

[snuffybear]

Nocatee or World Golf Village. But, like they said above, it's not that warm in winter (ranges 45-65 most days, and swings up and down).

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by EricBoyd

Seems like Nocatee might fall into the "multi-age" category. Del Webb has a place in there. https://nocatee.com/communities/del-webb-ponte-vedra/

The Del Webb place is a "stand-alone" 55+ community in Nocatee. So your neighbors would all be older people. Note that I am not a big fan of 55+ communities. There are lots of discussions about 55+ communities in the Retirement Forum. The OP should look there if he/she has any interest in them.

Are there any largish lots in places like Nocatee these days? I really haven't explored Nocatee in depth - but the houses I see passing through are pretty close together. Just like some of the new developments here - where the houses seem to be built on top of one another. It is possible for builders/architects to design places that are well-suited for minimal side set-backs - but I kind of doubt that mass builders are fussy about these things (and how much can you do with a lot that's 60' wide?).

Also - when it comes to any kind of view - I suspect you'd be talking about a house that's adjacent to a retention pond or a marsh/wetlands area/swamp (only difference between a marsh/wetlands area and a swamp is the prices of the houses that are built near them ). I don't have any problems with houses like that in general - but would want a very healthy setback from any such water bodies because of possible flooding issues. FWIW - we live adjacent to tidal wetlands. About 150' away from the mean high tide line. But water comes within 50' of our house during normal strong winter full moon high tides (and we have had worse during tropical storms). Robyn

[mawipafl]

Since snow-birding is your plan, that must mean that a job commute won't be a factor. (Correct?) So, that leaves you wide open to choices.

Although it's not always true, the words "planned community" and "larger-ish lots" are usually not found in the same sentence. However, in some planned developments the builders took great cares to site houses on postage stamp lots to give a feeling of more space and privacy. You do have to look hard to find these since many developers seemed to squish in as many houses as possible with "privacy" not in the vocabulary.

I think it might be hard to give a list of places to look -- there are so many communities here in our gigantically-sized First Coast area (basically encompassing Nassau, Duval, parts of Clay and St. Johns counties).

Just a random mentioning of a few (amenities to varying degrees, multi-age, sense of community, house lots with some sort of view (retention ponds, golf courses, conservation areas)) - believe me there are many more, and I feel like I'm doing a disservice by just listing so few ...

Fleming Island (Clay County) has Eagle Harbor and Fleming Island Plantation.

I'm on the Northside in a smaller community with a few amenities but an active neighborhood, some large some small lots, some with views of conservation, marsh, ponds.

Fernandina/Amelia Island - that area in and of itself can have an overall sense of "community", and there are a number of planned developments there.

East and South of Jacksonville proper and out to the beaches there are a host of communities - too many to mention.

St. Johns - as mentioned above Nocatee, World Golf Village, and others. A newer one is RiverTown which might be of interest. I don't know a ton about it, but looking at its facebook page, sense of community is big.
https://www.facebook.com/RiverTownFlorida/
and its website
RiverTown-Mattamy Homes

The one thing you're hoping for, a town center within a development, isn't so easy to find. Most, if not all, of the planned communities don't have them, but retail and restaurants have built up near them.

Edit adding a P.S. ... ohjuly - welcome to CityData!

[sunlover23]

The Palencia neighborhood has many of the things on your checklist: diverse ages, large lots, town center (slowly growing with some unique shops), and overflowing with amenities!

[ilfaith]

Originally Posted by sunlover23

The Palencia neighborhood has many of the things on your checklist: diverse ages, large lots, town center (slowly growing with some unique shops), and overflowing with amenities!

As much as I love living in Palencia for its' "family friendly" atmosphere and amenities (I have three school-aged boys), it really is a great neighborhood for all ages. Many of the women with whom I play tennis are empty-nesters in their 50s and 60s, and they take advantage of a variety of activities. While I would say most of my neighbors do live here year-round, I've met several who go back and forth to residences up north.

Palencia has a number of book clubs, a travel club, bible study groups (if that's your thing), a walking club (we have miles of walking paths and boardwalks though the wetlands).

If you are inclined to join the country club, there is golf, a wine club, weekly trivia, and various themed dining events. Tennis, the pools (one of which is adults only), and fitness center are open to all residents. We have tennis teams at all levels, for men and women. A variety of classes are offered at the fully-equipped fitness center, from Pilates and Yoga, to Tabata and Zumba, along with the usual cardio and weight machines.

Palencia has a variety of housing stock, from condos and townhouses to million dollar estate homes (some with views to the Intracoastal). Our "Market Street" is finally filling in with interesting shops and services, and we have a couple of traditional shopping strips adjacent to the community (with the usual nail salons and dry cleaners, etc).

And of course you are a stone's throw from historic St. Augustine, and all its tourist distractions.