Big, Bigger, Biggest

Locally there's OakLeaf Plantation, Fleming Island Plantation, Palencia, Bartram Springs, World Golf Village, Julington Creek Plantation, Nocatee, Eagle Harbor and many others under way or on the drawing board.

A PUD is typically an amenity rich, mixed-use development that includes a variety of housing options-single-family detached homes, townhomes and apartments in the same community. Frequently, retail and office space is located in "town centers" that seek to create a nostalgic ambiance. Large PUDs may even have public schools and other governmental buildings on site.

Local governments, although they require PUD developers to undergo lengthy and expensive reviews prior to permitting, generally favor large master-planned communities over a crazy quilt of smaller projects in outlying areas, in large part because land use is carefully controlled and sprawl is minimized.

In Northeast Florida, especially in Clay and St. Johns counties where vast tracts of land are still available, developers have found that PUDs are also favored by buyers, who are increasingly seeking relatively safe, self-contained communities with resort-like recreational facilities.

Here, then, is a roundup of what's here and what's coming in the highly competitive PUD market:

Eagle Harbor, where home prices run the gamut from the $130s to more than $1 million, was among the region's first PUDs and remains a buyer favorite. "We'll end up with 3,000 homes," says Roger Arrowsmith, president of Florida division of East-West Partners, developers of Eagle Harbor. "We don't sit back and say we're done. There's always something we're improving and making better."

The $150 million Jacksonville" target="_blank">Clay County community includes a golf course, numerous distinctive residential neighborhoods and about 1.37 million square feet of retail space encompassing both mom-and-pop shops and large chains such as Target, Publix and Wal-Mart. Still Eagle Harbor's theme-park caliber waterpark is certainly its most breathtaking amenity-and significantly raised the bar for other PUD waterparks that followed.

Also in Jacksonville" target="_blank">Clay County, Fleming Island Plantation has notched the highest first-year sales of any PUD in Florida history, according to Brian Paul, division president of Centex, which is developing the community as well as building homes within it.

More than 300 families already call Fleming Island Plantation home, and the community will have nearly 4,000 residential units by the time it's completed. Home prices range from about $130,000 to $300,000.

Like many PUDs, Fleming Island Plantation is heavy on amenities and boasts a golf course and an eclectic village center, which has 82,000 square feet of retail space. There's also a YMCA within the community along with other athletic facilities, parks and nature preserves.

OakLeaf Plantation, which broke ground in 2001, has 4,900 acres in Jacksonville" target="_blank">Clay County and 1,533 in Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County. The huge PUD, where home prices will range from the low $100s to around $500,000, will eventually contain 11,000 homes.

"OakLeaf Plantation is a tremendous opportunity for Jacksonville" target="_blank">Clay County," says Don Hinson, OakLeaf president and CEO of Hutson Land Co., the developer. "The goal is to build a family-friendly community, a place where you'll spend more time with the kids and less time in the car." Indeed, every conceivable amenity is on the property, including a golf course, waterpark, athletic fields and even a county library.

Palencia, across the St. Johns River in neighboring St. Johns County, is a new, neo-traditional PUD where single-family home prices range from the mid-$200s to $4 million. Condominiums and townhomes are also available in the Mediteranean -themed community, where lot sales have topped $40 million so far this year.

Hines, a Houston-based international real estate company, is developing Palencia, which features a golf course, 2.5 miles of Intracoastal Waterway frontage and will ultimately contain 2,642 homes and 900,000 square feet of retail and office space. "This is an important success for Hines' first community in Northeast Florida," says Walt O'Shea, Palencia's project manager. "In the current economic climate, it gives us confidence that we're building a great community."

Hines, which has developed land in more than 70 markets and has about $1 billion in assets, has taken on some minority partners with deep Jacksonville roots: Paul Fletcher of Fletcher Land Corp. and Hawley Smith of H. Smith Inc.

In Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County, Bartram Springs is just under way on the northern side of Race Track Road, west of U.S. Highway 1. The 1,100-acre property is approved for 1,400 single-family homes, 922 multifamily units, 290,000 square feet of retail space and 280,000 square feet of commercial office space. "Bartram Springs is right on schedule," says Tom Gillette, regional manager for SouthStar, the developer. "The builders are reporting pre-sales activity and that's a good sign." A grand opening is slated for August.

Meanwhile, the much-heralded, 15,000-acre Nocatee development has cleared some approval hurdles and is ready to gear up. Nocatee, with about 12,000 acres in northeastern St. Johns County and the remainder in southeastern Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County, will have residential villages, a nature preserve, schools and a town center with offices and retail stores within its borders.

Also in St. Johns County, the Jacksonville division of D.R. Horton has purchased Julington Creek Plantation, which has been a hot seller for years and will ultimately contain 5,140 homes. "What we want to do is continue what has already taken place there," says Andy Fremento, division president. "In my opinion, we grabbed a brass ring."

The development, in which homes range in price from $125,000 to $750,000, premiered in 1981 and features nearly 20 distinctive neighborhoods and an impressive amenity package.

As home to the World Golf Hall of Fame, two par-72 championship golf courses, the first-ever PGA Tour Golf Academy and the St. Johns County Convention Center, World Golf Village is far from your ordinary PUD.

The Neighborhoods of World Golf Village, which will soon welcome its 500th family, boasts a beautiful array of housing options with something for everyone, including single-family homes, condominiums and estate homes priced from the low $100s to more than $1 million.

Construction will soon begin on Laterra at World Golf Village. Located adjacent to The King & Bear, a golf course designed by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, Laterra is a 41-acre resort and spa community with 382 condominium units.

Of course, PUD living isn't for everyone. Some buyers prefer smaller neighborhoods and older homes. Others don't like paying for ammenity packages that they rarely expect to use.

But there's certainly enough interest to ensure that wherever a large undeveloped tract exists, someone is likely to try and build what amounts to another small city on it.

For PUD developers, bigger really is better.

Michael Bonts is the director of communications for the Northeast Florida Builders Association.