SUPER CITY

Northeast Florida was once among the Sunshine State's best-kept secrets. But come February, hundreds of millions of people will get a virtual tour of Jacksonville and the surrounding area courtesy of Super Bowl XXXIX, to be played in downtown's Alltel Stadium and televised worldwide.

Almost certainly, the result will be a surge of interest in this seductively low-key region of quiet neighborhoods, uncrowded beaches, majestic waterways and old-fashioned Southern hospitality. In fact, real estate pros believe the big game and the resulting international exposure could boost the region's already strong housing market into the stratosphere.

The attraction for relocators goes far beyond the hoopla surrounding a one-time event, however. As locals already know, Jacksonville boasts most of the same cultural and recreational perks found in glitzier Florida cities, plus affordable housing and a welcoming ambience.

"Why wouldn't you want to live here?" asks Charlie Clark, a real estate guru based in Ponte Vedra Beach. "We have a low cost of living, we have the river, beaches, golf and tennis and the weather is to die for. What's not to like?"

Clearly, Clark and others are bullish on the Jacksonville MSA, which encompasses Duval, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties. Increasingly, Jacksonville" target="_blank">Flagler County to the south and Jacksonville" target="_blank">Camden County, Ga., to the north are also being pulled into Jacksonville's orbit.

"It's tough to make a bad investment on a home in Northeast Florida," says Clark, who for years has interpreted economic trends for industry clients. "The market is just extremely strong right now."

The hottest sector appears to be in the $250,000 to $300,000 price range, he notes, while starter homes priced at around $150,000 are also in strong demand. In addition, condominiums in all price ranges are being snapped up as quickly as they can be built.

The numbers tell the story. According to the Northeast Florida Builders Association, single-family housing permits issued in the four-county area reached 9,492 from January through August 2004, marking a 9 percent increase over the first eight months of 2003. Clearly, the region is on pace to break the record-setting 11,976 permits issued throughout 2003.

SOLID APPRECIATION

The housing appreciation rate is also strong. Jacksonville home prices have increased nearly 45 percent in the past five years, an average of about 9 percent a year, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

The median price of all Northeast Florida homes sold last year increased 9.8 percent, to $132,800. That's healthy growth, notes Clark, but it isn't outrageous. "Increased prices in Jacksonville seem to be based on real value, not speculation," he says.

In some parts of Florida-particularly around Naples and Sarasota-home prices last year rose at rates more than 25 percent, leading some industry experts to suggest that a collapse is possible as even relatively affluent buyers are forced from the market.

That's not likely to happen in Northeast Florida, which is still known for its relative affordability. For example, Coldwell Banker's annual Home Price Comparison Index shows a home costing $250,000 in Jacksonville costs $701,000 in Miami, $330,000 in Naples and $265,000 in Tampa.

"The market has been buoyed by a healthy combination of strong demographics, improving employment and income growth and a downshift in long-term interest rates," says Roger Day, president of Orange Park-based Rosewood Homes. "Anyone talking about a local housing bubble should look at the fundamentals that are in place and see that the residential market is extremely sound."

To make the deal even sweeter, Jacksonville offers the same proximity to sun and sand as you'll find in pricier locales, but with less congestion and a more laid-back pace.

And housing isn't the only thing more affordable in Jacksonville. According to ACCRA, a nonprofit research group formerly known as the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association, the region's Cost of Living Index is 91, or nine points below the national average of 100.

Ft. Lauderdale (121), Orlando (99) and Tampa/St. Petersburg (95) notched higher scores in ACCRA's most recent survey, which compiles statistics on the cost of housing, transportation, food, health care and other expenses in more than 300 markets nationwide.

TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH

While the Super Bowl will attract hordes of modern-day explorers to the area, Northeast Florida has, in fact, been charming visitors for centuries.

Among the first was Frenchman Jean Ribault, who dropped anchor in the St. Johns River on April 30, 1562. After coming ashore at what is today Fort George Island, the awestruck explorer described what he saw this way:

"This land is the fairest, frutefullest and plesantest of all the worlde, abounding in honey, veneson, wildfoule, forrestes and woodes of all sortes. It is a pleasure not able to be expressed with the tongue."

Ribault's rapture may seem a little over the top to modern sensibilities. But over the past 400 years, those who have come to this part of Florida, from military men and women who made Jacksonville their retirement port to quality-of-life conscious CEOs who moved their companies here, have indeed found it to be "the fairest, frutefullest and plesantest" place.

Of course, since Ribault's time, Jacksonville has rebuilt and reinvented itself many times over. The most dramatic makeover happened a century ago, when vast tracts of the city were destroyed by what is remembered today as the Great Fire of 1901.

On May 3, a family living in a shanty on the edge of town began to prepare a midday meal. An errant cinder leapt from the chimney of the stove and floated west, landing on a pile of moss drying in the yard of a mattress factory at Davis and Beaver streets. That spark began a cataclysm that would ultimately remake this rough-and-tumble port city into a modern metropolis.

Breezes fanned the flames and quickly spread carnage through the city's center. Overwhelmed firefighters performed heroically, but by 8:30 p.m. 2,368 buildings-most of downtown Jacksonville-had been consumed. Ten thousand people were left homeless and damage was estimated at $15 million, the equivalent of $2 billion today.

Surprisingly, there were only seven fatalities, in part because locals with boats lined up to rescue people who fled to the St. Johns River docks.

Then, no sooner had the smoke cleared than Jacksonville rebuilt. Within five years, 1,500 new buildings had gone up, including several by nationally recognized architects. Henry John Klutho, for example, designed the distinctive St. James Building, which now serves as City Hall. By 1910, Jacksonville had reclaimed its position as Florida's major metropolitan area.

In the decades following the disaster, Jacksonville has, in turns, been characterized as a resort destination, a manufacturing center, a movie capital, a golf mecca, a progressive business hub and, after February 2005, a Super Bowl city.

So where should a newcomer look? Well, as Ribault did, you can float aimlessly down the St. Johns and come ashore wherever it pleases you. Or you can go about it in a more systematic way. That's where Jacksonville Homebuyer can help.

Following is a neighborhood-by-neighborhood primer, in which you'll find everything from new master-planned developments to funky historic districts. Undoubtedly, there's a neighborhood and a home perfect for you and your family.

In 1803, when Zephaniah Kingsley purchased 1,880 acres on the western shore of the St. Johns, the property was lush with laurel trees. The wealthy land baron and slave trader dubbed his plantation Laurel Grove.

By the late 1870s, the tract had been redeveloped as a resort community and renamed Orange Park for the abundance of citrus groves that surrounded it. During its brief heyday as a tourist destination, such luminaries as Ulysses S. Grant, Buffalo Bill Cody and Sitting Bull stayed in luxurious hotels and enjoyed the scent of orange blossoms wafting through open windows.

Today, however, you'd be hard pressed to find any orange groves in this bustling Jacksonville" target="_blank">Clay County municipality, which has emerged as a popular suburb dotted with dozens of subdivisions and hundreds of businesses. More than half the residents of Orange Park work in Jacksonville, according to the Jacksonville" target="_blank">Clay County Economic Development Council.

And more are coming. Jacksonville" target="_blank">Clay County's population more than doubled from 1970 to 1980, then grew another 33 percent between 1990 and 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That pace is expected to continue, in part because there's still undeveloped land here. In fact, Clay remains one of the most sparsely populated counties in Florida, with about 234 residents per square mile versus a statewide average of 296.

Orange Park's residential development first gathered momentum in the early 1920s, when Caleb Johnson, president of the Colgate Palmolive Company, built Villa Mira Rio, a $500,000 estate on the banks of the river. Other millionaires followed Johnson's lead, as did less ostentatious families who were attracted by the community's natural beauty and its convenient location.

Vestiges of that era remain in Orange Park's small commercial historic district at the east end of Kingsley Avenue, where a few vintage buildings stand around what was once a watering trough and hitching post that served as the community's unofficial gathering spot. A scattering of gracefully aging residential showplaces can be seen along River Road, while Johnson's Mediterranean-style mansion survives as Club Continental, one of Northeast Florida's most popular special-event destinations.

Otherwise, Orange Park is a thoroughly modern place where amenity-rich, master-planned communities attract hordes of buyers. For example, Eagle Harbor, a huge mixed-use development that boasts a Disneyesque waterpark, ranked as the sixth-busiest development in the region last year, with 209 housing starts.

Residential development along the U.S. Hwy. 17-Hwy. 220 corridor is also moving forward with projects such as Fleming Island Plantation, which will contain 2,000 homes at buildout, and OakLeaf Plantation, which will contain more than 15,000 homes at buildout.

Last year OakLeaf Plantation was the region's second-busiest development-Julington Creek in St. Johns County was first-with 581 starts while Fleming Island Plantation was fifth with 218 starts.

Additional mixed-use developments containing at least 11,000 homes have been approved for 20,000 acres straddling Brannan Field Road, which extends from Blanding Boulevard in Middleburg through the Argyle area to I-10.

Smaller developments are also under way. Doctors Inlet Preserve, at C.R. 220 and Sleepy Hollow Road, will feature about 300 homes priced from the mid-$100s to about $250,000. Because of the surprisingly moderate price range, sales are expected to be strong.

Jacksonville" target="_blank">Clay County's highly rated school system is a major selling point for Orange Park, as is the community's location near Naval Air Station Jacksonville and its plethora of retail and entertainment outlets, including the sprawling Orange Park Mall and the Orange Park Kennel Club, a 5,100-seat greyhound racing mecca.

Other Jacksonville" target="_blank">Clay County communities include Green Cove Springs, Keystone Heights, Middleburg and Penney Farms, which department store magnate J.C. Penney founded in 1926 as a retirement home for ministers and their wives.

Despite frantic development, much of Jacksonville" target="_blank">Clay County remains rural, with Gold Head Branch State Park, Kingsley Beach, Strickland's Landing, Jennings Forest and Black Creek/Ravines Conservation Area offering camping, hiking, fishing and hunting.

ARLINGTON/INTRACOASTAL WEST

Arlington is home to Jacksonville University and some of Northeast Florida's most precious environmental and historical landmarks. It's also a center for commerce, encompassing Regency Square Mall and vast expanses of shopping centers, restaurants and office buildings. Downtown is just a 10-minute drive over the Matthews Bridge, and the Beaches are just 20 minutes away via Atlantic Boulevard.

Roughly 50 square miles in area, Arlington is a melting pot of some 80 distinctive neighborhoods, containing everything from modest, ranch-style homes to spectacular riverfront mansions.

Although much of Arlington was developed in the 1950s and 1960s, its history goes back much farther. French explorer Jean Ribault came ashore here in 1562, preparing the way for a second French expedition to start a colony called La Caroline two years later. The centerpiece of the settlement was an earth and wood fort built on the bank of the St. Johns, which was then called the River of May.

The Spanish, led by Pedro Menendez de Aviles, later routed the French and captured Fort Caroline. Remains of the fort and the meadow on which it stood were swallowed when the river was dredged. But in 1964 a replica of the triangular structure was built, and stands today in the 680-acre Fort Caroline National Memorial.

The preserve also contains a replica of a stone column erected by Ribault upon his arrival. The monument stands atop a topographic anomaly called St. Johns Bluff, which is actually the shoreline of a barrier island that dates to an era when the ocean covered most of what is now coastal Florida. From the bluff, visitors can enjoy a breathtaking view of the river and of the large Heckscher Estates homes on its northern shore.

Arlington was also central to Jacksonville's brief heyday as a film capital in the 1920s. At the urging of an organization called Old Arlington Inc., the city voted this year to purchase and preserve four of five buildings that make up the Norman Film Studios complex on Arlington Road. During the 1920s, producer Richard E. Norman made silent films here starring African-American actors.

Homes in Arlington range in price from the $80s to well over $1 million along the water, but the typical price is in the low- to mid-$200s. Young families are increasingly calling Arlington home, with nearly half the residents between 18 and 25 years of age and another quarter between 35 and 44 years of age.

Much of Arlington's growth is occurring in the area informally known as "Intracoastal West," once a no-man's-land where the Intracoastal Waterway marks the traditional dividing line between Jacksonville proper and its coastal communities. There, new multifamily projects are springing up everywhere there's vacant land.

Several of the most intriguing are in Harbortown, an emerging mixed-use development off Atlantic Boulevard. Harbortown, which will also feature retail shops and a 150-slip marina, broke ground last summer. Centex's MiraVista, a condominium project, and Julian LeCraw & Company's Watersedge, a townhome project, are already hot sellers.

Real estate agents say Harbortown buyers include primary-home buyers, second-home buyers and investors. Many are boaters; the development sits on one of the last parcels of land in Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County offering direct Intracoastal access. Units in Watersedge are priced at $790,000 and up while units in MiraVista are somewhat more affordable at $480,000 and up.

Another major player is Vestcor, which has acquired property along the Intracoastal just south of Butler Boulevard for development of Marina San Pablo, a $100 million condo and marina project. The 113-unit project and marina will be built in phases, and plans call for two buildings of 57 and 56 units. Prices start at $499,000.

Vestcor also proposes expanding an existing 44-slip marina into a 90-slip marina. In addition, the company will market six residential lots, each with a private boat slip, fronting the Intracoastal and the marina basin.

Although most closer-in Arlington property has been built out, there's considerable buzz about a new project, Kendall Town Center, developed by G.L. National, part of Jacksonville-based Gate Petroleum Company.

The 300-acre office, residential and retail center is planned north of Regency Square Mall and south of Merrill Road, bordered by Monument Road, Florida 9A and the Southside Connector. Developers say the project will take at least six years to complete.

THE BEACHES

Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach are contiguous coastal cities known for their lively pubs and good restaurants. Increasingly these low-key communities are attracting affluent homebuyers who are charmed by their laid-back ambience and unpretentious atmosphere.

The Beaches are certainly tied to Jacksonville by geography, but they have steadfastly sought to maintain separate identities. When Jacksonville and Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County adopted a consolidated government in 1968, Atlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach insisted on retaining their own municipal charters and their own elected officials.

Starting from the north, here's a look these once-remote cities, which were settled by rugged pioneers, and which still attract people looking for something a bit out of the ordinary.

Mayport, at the mouth of the St. Johns, retains a gritty, rough-and-tumble charm and is home to commercial fishing and shrimping operations as well as the huge Mayport Naval Station.

Locals enjoy traveling to Mayport via ferryboat, which departs from facilities on Hecksher Drive at the southernmost tip of Ft. George Island. The main attractions: dining at decrepit but delightful seafood eateries such as Singleton's, a local landmark, or chugging beers at any number of colorful drinking establishments along A1A, also called Mayport Road. Gambling cruises also depart from Mayport daily, and charter boats are available for deep-sea fishing excursions.

Mayport was originally known as "Hazard" because the large, dangerous sandbar created where the river spilled into the sea made navigation for large ships tricky. By the 1830s, it was a bustling little village in which most of the residents were employed by a sawmill.

By the 1870s, Mayport had become a popular getaway for Jacksonvillians, many of whom built cottages along the ocean. In the 1880s, construction of two huge jetties allowed ships to safely enter the channel and boosted Jacksonville's stature as a port city.

In 1899, Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway bought the defunct Jacksonville & Atlantic Railway, which ran from the Arlington area to Jacksonville Beach. Flagler, the legendary developer, then extended a northward line to Mayport, making all the Beaches communities more accessible.

In 1914, an heiress named Elizabeth Stark bought acreage around Ribault Bay and built an elaborate estate called Wonderwood-by-the-Sea, where several silent movies, including a handful starring Laurel and Hardy, were made during Jacksonville's filmmaking years. The U.S. Navy purchased the Wonderwood property during World War II.

Today, the only historic buildings in Mayport are the Old St. Johns Lighthouse, a 145-year-old tower listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the nearby woodframe Mayport Presbyterian Church. The eight-block downtown consists mainly of shabby seafood packinghouses and a handful of funky restaurants.

Mayport proper, however, may be getting a facelift. Five years ago, the City of Jacksonville and the City of Atlantic Beach joined forces to form the Mayport Waterfront Partnership, a multi-agency board seeking to revitalize the downtown area. Roads have been paved, sewer lines laid and a proposal is pending to install sidewalks and period lighting in the historic district.

"We don't want Mayport to lose any of its charm," says Ed Lukacovic, a senior planner with the City of Jacksonville. "We want to maintain its character, but also improve it as a venue for ecotourism."

Certainly there's plenty of natural splendor for tourists to see. Just south of the Naval Station is the 450-acre Kathryn Abby Hannah Park, which boasts 1.5 miles of beachfront, 300 campsites and 60 acres of stocked freshwater fishing lakes. And the Poles of Mayport, named for a dividing line of pilings that separate the Naval Station from the park, is renowned as the region's best surfing spot.

In contrast to its working-class neighbor to the north, Atlantic Beach began as a lavish playground for the wealthy.

In 1899, when his rail line was complete, Flagler began to develop the area as a resort community, the centerpiece of which was the fabulous Continental Hotel. The hotel, completed in 1901, was at the time one of the largest wooden buildings in the South: 447 feet long and 47 feet wide, with 186 rooms.

But the community's resort heyday was short-lived; the Continental burned to the ground in 1919. By then, Atlantic Beach was attracting year-round residents, thanks in large part to the opening in 1910 of Atlantic Boulevard, which connected the Arlington area to the coastal communities.

Today, Atlantic Beach's tree-lined streets are primarily residential, with funky old beach cottages next to sprawling new mansions. Non-beachfront residents can access the sand and surf from many well-placed, well-maintained dune crossings.

Of course, there's plenty of action in Atlantic Beach if you're so inclined. The area of Atlantic Boulevard between Third Street and the ocean, recently refurbished and dubbed "Town Center," boasts some of Northeast Florida's liveliest nightspots. Among the most popular is Ragtime Tap Room and Brewery, Jacksonville's oldest brew pub, known for such foamy concoctions as Dolphin's Breath Lager, Red Brick Ale and A. Strange Stout.

The city, which stretches only 25 blocks north to south, also offers community events such as the annual Dancin' in the Streets festival in May, a Christmas festival and family campouts in the city park. The Atlantic Beach Experimental Theater, housed in the Bull Recreational Area, stages 10 productions each year.

Spunky Neptune Beach, the smallest of the Beaches communities, was originally part of Jacksonville Beach. It was incorporated as a separate entity following a 1931 "tax revolt" by residents who felt they were receiving short shrift when it came to services such as street paving, fire and police protection and garbage collection.

Although it's difficult today for a casual visitor to distinguish between the two communities, Neptune Beach has its own historical commission, operating under the auspices of the city and charged with the task of preserving historical items and obtaining oral histories from longtime local residents.

As Beaches property values increase, Neptune Beach remains a place where diligent shoppers can still find a fixer-upper for around $100,000. Renters, who take up residence in garage flats and duplexes, also have plenty of affordable options.

Neptune Beach has at least one genuine landmark: Pete's Bar, a friendly hole-in-the-wall that was mentioned in the John Grisham bestseller The Brethren. Pete's, established in 1933, is said to be the oldest continuously operating tavern in Northeast Florida, and attracts a loyal clientele with its everybody-knows-your-name ambience and its 25-cent billiard tables.

The largest, oldest and southernmost Beaches community is Jacksonville Beach, which was first known as "Ruby," named for the daughter of a pioneering family that settled the area in the 1880s.

Jacksonville Beach has long offered an escape for harried inlanders, first with resort hotels such as the 350-room Murray Hall in the 1890s and later with an amusement park featuring a wooden roller coaster. The city earned international recognition in 1922, when Lt. Jimmy Doolittle broke the transcontinental speed record by flying from Jacksonville Beach to San Diego in less than 24 hours.

But the community really started to grow in 1949 when Beach Boulevard was opened, supplying a second, more southerly route from Jacksonville to the coastal communities.

In 1998, a Mediterranean-style city hall was built and in 2000 four parks were acquired: Latham Plaza with the Sea Walk Pavilion, South Beach Park and a site for a new county pier between Fourth and Fifth avenues (Hurricane Floyd wrecked the old pier in 1999).

Jacksonville Beach is also known for its annual festivals, including Fiesta Playara, a celebration of Latin music and culture; Springing the Blues; Cajun Crawfish Festival; The Beaches Festival; Moonlight Movies; and the Key West Conch Festival.

Nightlife options abound. Among the hot spots: the Ocean Club, a noisy disco; the Freebird Cafe, which hosts live performances ranging from Dickey Betts and Blues Traveler to Vasser Clements and Willie Nelson; and Sneakers Sports Grille, a 12,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art sports bar boasting six 38-foot-wide screens and five plasma televisions surrounding the bar.

Cultural offerings include the Beaches Fine Arts Series at St. Paul's-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church and theatrical productions by Players-By-The-Sea, which moved into a new performance space off Beach Boulevard last year.

The lively lifestyle has helped fuel a condominium boom. Five multifamily developments have been built in the past two years, four are under construction and at least 20 others are on the drawing board. That's remarkable considering that no new complexes were built in Jacksonville Beach between 1987 and 2002. Now, they can't be built fast enough to keep pace with demand.

Indeed, during the first nine months of 2004, 217 units closed at an average sales price of $178,054. During the same time frame last year, 114 units closed at an average sales price of $144,883.

And while units in the most luxurious developments can cost a minimum of $500,000, that's still within reason when compared to oceanfront living in southeast or southwest Florida. Consequently, oceanfront businesses are finding it increasingly more lucrative to sell their property to developers.

For example, owners of First Street Grille have recently given developer Lee Underwood an option to buy their property at 807 N. First St. Underwood, who is building the Acquilas I and II condominiums nearby, wants room for more. And owners of the Atlantic Shores Motel at 923 S. First St. sold their property in 2002 to the Sofran Group, which is building Mirabella Condominiums.

Meanwhile, sales have been strong at WCI's Costa Verano, a 13-story highrise in south Jacksonville Beach where amenities will include a two-story grand salon, surround-sound theater room, state-of-the-art fitness center and spa, social room with a wet bar and outdoor recreation area with a resort-style pool overlooking the ocean. Prices start at $620,000.

Single-family homes at the Beaches are also selling quickly and showing solid appreciation. In Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach, 441 single-family homes closed during the first nine months of 2004 at an average sales price of $305,772. During the same time frame last year, 327 single-family homes closed at an average sales price of $277,506.

Most new single-family construction at the Beaches consists of small infill developments and custom homes on individual lots. An exception is 62-lot Paradise Key, a Key West-inspired community located just north of J. Turner Butler Boulevard in Jacksonville Beach. Prices start in the $600s.

MANDARIN

When Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the anti-slavery classic Uncle Tom's Cabin, settled rural Mandarin in the late 1870s, she was attracted by the area's natural beauty and its suitability for growing citrus.

Stowe certainly wouldn't recognize today's Mandarin, which contains some of Northeast Florida's most affluent riverfront developments as well as virtually every kind of business imaginable.

When the native of Litchfield, Conn., moved to Florida in 1866, she purchased an old plantation, Laurel Grove, near what is now Orange Park. Ironically, the plantation had once been owned by Zephaniah Kingsley, a land baron who made his fortune in the slave trade.

The following year, Stowe purchased 30 acres in Mandarin and built a large home overlooking the river. Assisted by other family members who followed, she became a small-scale citrus grower and established a school to educate former slaves.

Stowe later wrote about her life in Mandarin, which she termed "a tropical paradise," in a book called Palmetto-Leaves. This modest series of sketches, which was widely read in the North, did much to promote Florida's charms and encourage relocation. In fact, Palmetto-Leaves is considered to be among the first, and certainly the most literary, of Florida's ubiquitous promotional brochures.

Despite more than a century of uninterrupted growth, the community's history has not been forgotten. In 1997, the Mandarin Museum & Historical Society completed restoration of the Walter Jones Store and Post Office, a circa-191l structure that once served as the community's focal point. The building, which is still used for meetings and other functions, also displays artifacts of the region's original inhabitants, the Timucuan Indians.

A new facility for the Mandarin Museum and Historical Society has been completed at the Walter Jones Historical Park, a lush riverfront park that includes the restored Jones family home as well as outbuildings such as barns and storage sheds.

"Mandarin is a charming area," says Doreen Peeler of Coldwell Banker Walter Williams Realty. "When I first moved here in 1985, what really impressed me was the trees. There are so many large trees throughout the subdivisions."

Peeler adds that Mandarin remains one of Northeast Florida's most desirable addresses because of its convenient location in south Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County, near I-95 and I-295 and in the midst of major retail and business centers.

Also generally considered to be part of Mandarin is Loretto, nestled between San Jose Boulevard to the west and Philips Highway to the east. The community, formed by the Diocese of St. Augustine following the Civil War, was clustered around a convent and a school where nuns educated both residents and freed slaves.

Today Loretto is the site of relatively affordable homes, many on cul-de-sacs, as well as parks and nature preserves. Along bustling San Jose Boulevard can be found virtually every kind of restaurant and retail outlet.

NORTHSIDE

The Northside has been described as Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County's last frontier for development. It's a huge, still sparsely populated expanse that boasts stunning scenery and such ecological wonders as Huguenot Memorial Park, Big Talbot and Little Talbot islands and the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve.

Increasingly new subdivisions are cropping up-21 projects in the past two years-spurred in part by plentiful, relatively affordable land and adjacency to Jacksonville International Airport. Last year 1,373 residential building permits were issued, up 53 percent from 2002, according to the Jacksonville planning and development department.

Buyers like easy access to downtown via the Dames Point Bridge, which opened in 1989. Two major arteries, I-295 (Florida 9-A) and I-95, also run through the heart of the Northside.

But there's more to the Northside than convenience. So much property abuts lakes and marshes that homebuyers enjoy spectacular views. The St. Johns takes an easterly turn at the Northside's southern boundary, but its tributaries, including the Trout River, wind through the Northside landscape.

"We're getting people moving to the Northside from other parts of Jacksonville because there's so much less congestion," says Bonnie Siecker of Century 21 Dames Point Realty. "But the days of finding homes out here for under $100,000 are over."

For example, North Florida Builders is more than 50 percent sold out in a 33-lot custom home community near Dunn Avenue called Newport Harbor. Many lots offer tributary access to the St. Johns River. Prices start at $230,000 for preserve-area homes and $280,000 for waterfront homes.

Engle Homes is also establishing a strong Northside presence with Waterbrook Falls, located off I-295 at U.S. 1 near the Trout River. The company is prepping two other new Northside communities, Jacob's Way and Creekside Bend, while continuing sales in popular White Oak Trail and Sheffield Oaks.

Other hotspots include the Black Hammock area, where buyers can gaze across the Nassau Sound to Amelia Island. Stokes and Company's Amelia View, for example, offers this spectacular vista as well as community amenities such as a pool, a covered lanai and a waterfront park with a private boat ramp. Just a few home sites are still available.

The New Berlin area around First Coast High School has also been the site of residential and commercial growth, with a 30,000-square-foot strip mall under way across from the high school and a Home Depot slated for Lem Turner Road and I-295.

ORTEGA

Ortega is Jacksonville's quintessential old-money enclave. The neighborhood is a peninsula that boasts stately old homes, a small retail district and two private clubs: the Florida Yacht Club and Timuquana Country Club.

How rich is Ortega? Worth magazine recently ranked it among the 50 wealthiest neighborhoods in the country.

Drive along the tree-lined streets and that lofty assessment seems reasonable. The lovely old homes feature an eclectic mixture of architectural styles and the neighborhood is dotted with parks, including Cortez Park, site of Ortega's annual Fall Festival. A charming shopping district, Ortega Village, boasts a drugstore with an old-fashioned soda fountain.

Another neighborhood claim to fame is the 1920s Ortega River Bridge, one of the oldest functioning drawbridges in the state.

RIVERSIDE/AVONDALE

Riverside/Avondale blossomed during Florida's architectural golden age, and remains as vital today as it was in the 1920s, when captains of industry began building signature showplaces along the St. Johns.

The two historic neighborhoods, now merged into one three-mile-long swath of handsome homes, is described as "a laboratory for aspiring architects" by Wayne Wood in his indispensable book, Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage.

Riverside was started following the Civil War by Northern real estate speculators who sought to transform the vast plantation acreage overlooking the St. Johns into a neighborhood for the elite. By the turn of the century, Riverside Avenue was the city's most elegant residential street.

Its first heyday lasted from about 1895 to 1929, when architects and builders sought to outdo one another with ever more impressive Colonial Revival, Georgian, Queen Anne and Tudor residences. Even proponents of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School found expression in Riverside.

In 1920, a group of investors bought property immediately south of the neighborhood and subdivided it into 720 lots. Avondale, as the development was called, boasted 16 parks and an equally eclectic array of architectural styles.

Although no new single-family development is likely for this well-established historic district, posh new condominiums are being built along the St. Johns.

VillaRiva, for example, is a 12-story, 66-unit luxury condominium development on Riverside Avenue offering every imaginable amenity, including a private club, fitness center and spa and concierge service. Units, priced from $700,000 to $2 million, are selling quickly, although construction won't be complete until May 2005.

"Living in the historic district is a big allure," says developer Bryan Weber of Flagship Communities, LLC. "But here, you can do that and enjoy a maintenance-free lifestyle and all the amenities you'd expect in a luxury condominium."

Also on Riverside Avenue, Jacksonville-based Midland Development Group plans to build a 90-unit townhome and loft project along with 12,800 square feet of retail space and a four-level parking garage. The development, called The Residences at 1661 Riverside, will offer units ranging in price from $250,000 to $660,000. The targeted completion date is spring 2006.

Shopping in Riverside/Avondale is also a unique experience. While there's a new Publix on the site of the demolished Riverside Hospital, the nearby Five Points shopping and entertainment district is one of the most eclectic in the Southeast, consisting of funky boutiques, ultra-hip nightspots and a musty, New York-style newsstand offering daily papers from around the world and a seemingly infinite assortment of magazines.

SAN MARCO

In the 1920s, developer Telfair Stockton and his family vacationed in Venice, where they visited the elegant Piazza San Marco. Fortunately for Northeast Floridians, Stockton was so enchanted by its quaint beauty that he sought to recreate it along the banks of the St. Johns. Today, with its graceful homes and welcoming business district, San Marco is one of Jacksonville's neighborhood treasures.

When Stockton first began selling San Marco lots in 1925, he envisioned a community with a Mediterranean motif. That would have been a marked contrast to his successful Avondale project, which was notable for its array of housing styles.

But by the time San Marco began to blossom, public fascination with all things Mediterranean had faded. Although cigar magnates John Swisher and his son, Carl, built two magnificent Mediterranean Revival mansions side by side on River Road, others adopted Tudor, Georgian and Colonial styles.

Likewise in the business district, which had been dubbed San Marco Square despite its triangular shape, a variety of architectural styles emerged. For example, the 1930s Art Deco facade of the San Marco Theater and the neighboring Little Theater were decidedly avant-garde for the time.

"I was raised in San Marco," notes Barbara Swindell of Riverpoint Properties. "In many ways, it's remained unchanged. But in some ways, it's gotten even better. The older homes are being beautifully renovated and the shopping district has more variety."

San Marco also encompasses some of Jacksonville's most popular eateries, including romantic Matthew's, the city's only four-star, four-diamond restaurant. Newcomer Daniel's is making a name for itself with tableside preparation of classic French dishes while b.b.'s lures sweet-toothed patrons with obscenely proportioned desserts. Cafe Carmon offers casual outdoor dining, and more adventurous diners swear by Pom's Thai Bistro, where sea bass in green curry sauce is a favorite.

Several years ago, San Marco merchants, private donors and the City of Jacksonville spent more than $200,000 on a new fountain flanked by carved lions for the small triangular park at the center of San Marco Square.

More recently, the city has begun major improvements to Hendricks Avenue, the somewhat less upscale commercial corridor that provides an entry point to San Marco Square from the west. Utility lines will be buried, historic lighting will be installed and trees will be planted. Likewise, the San Marco branch library has doubled in size.

Although new single-family home construction is limited to scattered lots and involves mostly tearing down existing homes, several new multifamily developments are in the works. Lakeside Villas is slated for a prime parcel overlooking Lake Marco while a new condominium/townhome project will replace River Reach Apartments on San Jose Boulevard.

SPRINGFIELD

Springfield, north of downtown's central business district, began in the 1880s as a thriving suburb connected to downtown by a trolley line. A century later, this once-prosperous expanse of 1,800 stately homes and a 22-block commercial district had become a slum.

Today, Springfield is on the comeback trail. And those who were savvy enough to buy before the revitalization effort gained momentum have seen their properties double and triple in value. City government, private investors and individual homeowners, assisted by civic organizations such as Springfield Preservation and Restoration, are ensuring Springfield's future by resurrecting its past.

The city has already begun a facelift of Main Street between First and 12th streets, Springfield's main commercial thoroughfare. After utility lines are buried, trees will be planted, historic-style light fixtures will be installed and sidewalks will be bricked.

Funding for this and a similar project on Hendricks Avenue in San Marco is provided through the Better Jacksonville Plan, which voters approved in 2000 with a half-cent sales tax hike for infrastructure and other improvements. Private investors are also doing their part, spending some $20 million to date buying and renovating property in Springfield.

SRG Homes and Neighborhoods has bought 150 mostly contiguous lots on which they are building new but historically correct homes, many with double-deck front porches, columns and trimwork similar to the century-old homes next door or across the street. At press time, 26 homes were under way, with 18 either sold or under contract.

Infrastructure improvements, such as resurfacing streets, burying power lines and repairing sewers, have sparked new commercial development as well. Eighty thousand square feet of retail and condominium space are slated for construction on the southeast, northeast and northwest corners of Eighth and Pearl streets. And new businesses are moving into once-vacant buildings in the resurgent commercial district.

This recent activity marks the latest and most hopeful chapter in Springfield's roller-coaster history. First settled in the 1820s, the subdivision of Springfield was platted in 1882. But it came into its own following the Great Fire of 1901, which wiped out much of downtown Jacksonville but spared Springfield thanks to Hogan's Creek, which acted as a natural firebreak.

Many downtown dwellers who had been burned out of their homes sought to rebuild their lives in Springfield. And because many of the relocators were well to do, the homes they built reflected an array of architectural styles, including Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School.

In fact, one of Springfield's most notable buildings is Main Street's Klutho Apartments, designed and built in 1918 by architect Henry J. Klutho, a Wright disciple. The building is being restored by Operation New Hope, a nonprofit organization that renovates neighborhoods and provided jobs to those in need of developing marketable skills.

But beginning in the 1950s, Springfield, like other urban neighborhoods, fell victim to the growing popularity of suburbs. Neglected homes were purchased by slumlords, crime increased and blight set in.

Its recent comeback has been aided by the New Urbanism trend, exemplified by master-planned developments featuring quaint town centers and traditionally styled homes placed in ways that maximize neighborly interaction. However, nice as these developments are, they are essentially replicas of what Springfield was a century ago, and is again becoming.

"I think we have a critical mass of buyers now who are interested in living downtown," says Myrtice Craig of Prudential Network Realty. "They love these old homes and they love the atmosphere. They don't have preconceived ideas based on what Springfield has been. They see it for what it can be."

SOUTHSIDE

Want to see a movie, grab dinner or go shopping? If so, you're likely to end up on the Southside.

The Cinemark Tinseltown, a mega-movie complex with huge screens and comfy, stadium-style seating, has established itself as one of the most popular draws in Northeast Florida, bringing crowds to Southside Boulevard to catch a flick and enjoy the nightlife.

And coming next year is The St. Johns Town Center, an open-air mall at Butler Boulevard and St. Johns Bluff Road. Ben Carter Properties of Atlanta and Simon Property Group of Indianapolis are developing the 1.5 million-square-foot shopping plaza, with the first phase set to open in March 2005.

Among the tenants will be Dillard's, Dick's Sporting Goods, The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Maggiano's Little Italy, Sephora, Restoration Hardware, Old Navy, Staples, Urban Outfitters, J. Crew, Guess, Ann Taylor Loft, Sharper Image and Metropolitan Home.

Not surprisingly, this burgeoning where-the-action-is ambience has kicked the Southside's residential appeal up a notch, especially for younger people, many of whom work at nearby office parks. Among these buyers, condominiums are particularly hot.

Consequently, Coconut Grove-based Deerwood Development LLC is developing Il Villagio along Touchton Road between Southside Boulevard and Gate Parkway. The project, which will contain 33 two- and three-story buildings, offers amenities including a clubhouse and a pool. Prices range from the $160s to the $290s.

Nearby, Beazer Homes' Deerwood Place Condominiums offers two- and three-bedroom units in a development with a gated entry, clubhouse, fitness center and pool. Prices range from $230,000 to $300,000.

In the San Jose area, the owners of River Reach Apartments are selling the 298-unit complex to a buyer who plans to demolish the existing buildings and replace them with new upscale condominiums while developer D.R. Horton recently announced plans to turn the 170-acre Baymeadows Golf Club off Baymeadows Road near I-95 into a community of 1,400 single-family homes and condominiums.

"Multiple office parks are in the area along with the Tinseltown movie complex," notes Vicki Bratvold, vice president of sales at Pulte Homes. "I think our customer is purchasing a lifestyle convenient to work, plus there's dining and entertainment."

Not crazy for condos? The Southside also has plenty of old and new single-family developments in a variety of price ranges. You can spend $1 million for a home in Deerwood Country Club, which was first developed 30 years ago, or you can pick up a new home from $300,000 and up in subdivisions such as Hampton Park and Edgewater at Deer Creek.

Southside land is getting scarce, and more new development is moving north and west of the city. But buyers are still willing to pay a premium for convenience and amenities, particularly in the area south of Beach Boulevard and east of the St. Johns.

WESTSIDE

Perhaps Jacksonville's most affordable housing options can be found on the Westside, a vast expanse that encompasses Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Herlong Airport as well as dozens of older subdivisions and shopping centers.

In addition to numerous neighborhoods, the Westside includes four small, incorporated cities: Baldwin, Marietta, Maxville and Whitehouse. Much of the land surrounding these cities remains rural, offering opportunities for hunting, boating and fishing. Baldwin, in fact, marks the terminus of the 14.5-mile Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail, which runs between Imeson Road and C. R. 121. The trail follows abandoned railroad lines and is frequented by cyclists, inline skaters, walkers and horeseback riders.

Another Westside treasure is 509-acre Westside Regional Park, with a nature center, outdoor classrooms, picnic areas, biking trails and an elevated platform from which to view the expansive wetlands.

Much of the commercial development is in the Wesconnett neighborhood, particularly along Blanding Boulevard, Timuquana Road and 103rd Street. The city's only remaining drive-in, Playtime Drive-Inn and Flea Market, is on Blanding Boulevard.

Some residents have complained that the Westside receives short shrift from the city when it comes to encouraging business growth, which they say disproportionately benefits the Southside. However, a new Sleiman Enterprises project may soften that view.

The company plans to redevelop the former St. Johns Theatre site near Avondale into a two-building retail center flanking both sides of St. Johns Avenue along Roosevelt Boulevard. The 40,000-square-foot project, called Roosevelt Plaza, will feature two restaurants and seven or eight stores.

More good news for the Westside: Under the Better Jacksonville Plan, Blanding Boulevard is being widened and improvements are slated for several area parks. In Ringhaver Park, for example, lighting has been installed at the ball fields and five soccer fields are planned. In the Lake Shore area, $2.9 million has been allocated to alleviate drainage problems.

Many established Westside neighborhoods, such as Jacksonville Heights, Cedar Hills and Confederate Point, were developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Resales here can often be found priced in the $50s and $60s, making them attractive locations for first-time buyers. New subdivisions are popping up as well, particularly in southwest Jacksonville along Argyle Forest Boulevard and Old Middleburg Road.

Last year, 1,688 residential building permits were issued for the Westside. That's up 22 percent from 2002, according to the Jacksonville planning and development department. And the average price for a new home? Just $103,546, well below the region's average.

Another Westside hot spot should be the site of the former Cecil Field Naval Air Station, which was closed by the federal government in 1999. The 17,000-acre tract, now owned by the city and renamed Cecil Field Commerce Center, will undergo $120 million in infrastructure improvements and will be developed as an industrial park. A $37 million equestrian center opened in March and an adjacent 1.2 million-square-foot regional shopping center is under construction.

For decades, even most Jacksonvillians regarded Jacksonville" target="_blank">Flagler County as significant only because of the monolithic blue water tower at Palm Coast, which served as a convenient milepost indicating that the journey to Disney World was roughly halfway complete.

Today, Jacksonville" target="_blank">Flagler County is the fastest growing county in Florida and the fifth fastest growing county in the nation on a percentage basis. From 1990 to 2002, the population soared by 98 percent, from 28,701 to 56,785.

And people are coming from everywhere, attracted by subtropical forests, freshwater lakes, unspoiled beaches and resort-like housing developments. "It's a high quality of life at a relatively low cost," says Jason Gambone, the county's director of development services.

Indeed, visitors who leave the interstate and explore the real Jacksonville" target="_blank">Flagler County are invariably surprised to find upscale subdivisions along the Intracoastal, lavish condominium towers along the ocean and world-class golf courses designed to accentuate the area's natural splendor. Quite a change for a place once regarded as little more than a handy pit stop for southbound tourists.

But Palm Coast, which was marketed heavily in the Northeast and Midwest, was an idea ahead of its time. By the early 1980s, there were only a few thousand residents, most of them retirees. By the mid-1990s, ITT had phased out its development division and sold its Flager holdings.

Today, Palm Coast, which became an incorporated city in 1999, is the population center of Jacksonville" target="_blank">Flagler County with some 44,568 residents. And because every city needs a clearly defined downtown, the City Council recently approved plans for a 1,550-acre project called Town Center at Palm Coast, located just south of Palm Coast Parkway.

Town Center, developed by Palm Coast Holdings, will ultimately contain 2,500 multifamily residential units, 1.4 million square feet of office space, 3.4 million square feet of commercial space, 640,000 square feet of institutional space as well as a movie theater, a hotel and a nursing home. City Hall may also relocate to Town Center, where a nostalgic ambience will be enhanced by traditionally designed storefronts and horizontal street parking. Groundbreaking is slated for January, and construction will be completed in three phases over the next 15 years.

Hammock Dunes is indicative of what's hot in Jacksonville" target="_blank">Flagler County. The private oceanfront community, conceived by ITT as the crown jewel of Palm Coast, boasts every conceivable ameni