Developers behind Nocatee, eTown propose 6,000-acre development in Southeast Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 6,000-acre development could be moving into Southeast Jacksonville with thousands of homes and commercial space.

More land owned by the Davis family, which has previously been developed into eTown and Nocatee, is now up for re-zoning.

The 6,000-acre lot could become more than 10,000 housing units, commercial space including retail and offices, and parks.

Christopher Davis lives in a home in Wells Creek that backs up to the undeveloped land.

“Going in my backyard, it reminds me of the reason why I purchased this property out here — because it is surprising what is left of undeveloped Jacksonville,” he said.

While he prefers it’s not developed, he said he understands the need for more housing.

The land is part of District 11, which has seen one of the largest booms in Jacksonville. It is currently represented by Council Member Danny Becton. He said the developers first came to him in 2019, and have since gone to several local and state agencies like JEA and FDOT for review.

“It’s a development of neighborhoods, commercial offices, everything you would think of in a little mini city as we’ve seen in eTown and Seven Pines,” he said.

Now the property is back for re-zoning and is currently being developed by Big Creek Timber, LLC. Action News Jax reached out to the developers for comment, but so far, we have not heard back.

Becton said this is a development focused on decades of growth in Southeast Jacksonville and the developers have already started the process to set up infrastructure, like donated land for a fire station.

“What’s next is to have a conversation about what their vision is going to be.” But he said he suspects it will look similar to developments like Nocatee and eTown.

The proposal goes before its first public hearing at a Public Commission meeting on March 9.

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