New recreational park, public library coming to Nocatee community

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Construction of a new recreational park and public library serving the Nocatee community is scheduled to begin this year after a recent decision from the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners.

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This month, the St. Johns County BOCC unanimously authorized an estimated $123 million plan to construct 5 regional parks and community centers across the county, including the park and library project in Nocatee.

The $43 million plan for the new Northeast Community Park in Nocatee includes:

• Fields for baseball, softball, soccer and multipurpose uses
• Pickleball and sand volleyball courts
• Picnic pavilions
• Paved walking paths
• A fishing pond with a kayak dock
• A children’s splash pad
• Play areas and a climbing wall
• A community center with indoor space to support the Supervisor of Elections

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The plans also include the construction of a full-service Public Library branch to serve the community’s 32,000 residents.

“The PARC Group thanks the St. Johns County Commissioners for making this project possible,” said Rick Ray, CEO of The PARC Group, the developers of Nocatee. “We especially appreciate the efforts of Commissioners Christian Whitehurst and Henry Dean for championing the addition of a full library, a long-awaited and welcome addition to the Nocatee Community.”

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The new facilities will be built on 49 acres of land donated to the county by the Davis Family and The PARC Group.

Construction of the 5-park campus project is expected to begin in 2024 and be completed by the end of 2026.

As for the next steps, a financing package will be presented to the St. Johns County BOCC for consideration at a future meeting date, according to the County Administrator. The county said no property taxes will be used to pay for the construction costs; it plans to use a combination of existing accumulated impact fees paid by developments and debt issuance to fund a Commission-approved program.

This plan, combined with previous financial commitments to parks, means that St. Johns County has invested $200 million over 5 years into county-wide parks and recreation facilities to support various programs and services.

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