Paradise Found

In an era where a $200,000 home is classified as "entry level," it's difficult to talk about housing bargains with a straight face. But Jacksonville-one of the most desirable relocation areas in the nation-remains a bastion of affordability, at least relatively speaking.

According to the most recent National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, 56.8 percent of homes sold in the greater Jacksonville area are affordable for families earning the region's median household income.

That makes Jacksonville the 68th-most affordable market of 158 surveyed nationwide. But in Florida, where prices have soared, Jacksonville remained by far the most affordable major market, ahead of Tampa, where 42.3 percent of the homes sold were affordable for families earning the median household income. Orlando has dropped to 34.2 percent, and Miami was at 13.7 percent.

That's one reason why so many Californians are moving to Northeast Florida. In fact, according to data compiled by the IRS, more people moved to Jacksonville from San Diego County than from any other county in the nation between 2003 and 2004. Other locales from which newcomers are arriving in record numbers include New York, New Jersey and the South Florida counties of Broward and Dade.

Just look at the numbers. The median price of a resale home in California was $535,470 in February, while the median price of a resale home in New York was $300,000. And although South Florida's prices haven't quite reached those lofty levels, they still make Jacksonville housing seem like a bargain in comparison.

And it's not just the money-it's the lifestyle.

First, water. Almost everybody wants to live on or near water. Consequently, waterfront property is one of the few investments that can accurately be described as a no-brainer. After all, as the timeless real estate adage goes, "They ain't making any more of it."

But Jacksonville already has plenty. Blessed with beautiful, uncrowded beaches as well as the mighty St. Johns River and the Intracoastal Waterway, you can't drive far in Northeast Florida without running into shimmering bodies of water. Compared to many parts of the country, it's an embarrassment of riches.

Second, natural beauty. It's all around. Take a trip north on A1A from Mayport at sunset on a winter day and gaze across the vast golden marshes. While away an afternoon exploring the Black Creek/Ravines Conservation Area. Head over to the Jacksonville Beach Pier and scan the horizon for a pod of Northern right whales, which winter off the coast.

Third, livability. The Jacksonville area boasts most of the same cultural and recreational perks found in glitzier (and more expensive) Florida cities such as Palm Beach, Naples and Sarasota. And Jacksonville boasts a distinction those cities don't-it's on a prestigious list of the Top 5 most livable large cities in the country.

But with so many new neighborhoods and new homes added to a healthy existing stock of resale homes, where should a newcomer begin the search for a home on the First Coast?

Jacksonville Homebuyer can help. Following is a neighborhood-by-neighborhood primer, in which you'll find everything from new master-planned developments to charming historic neighborhoods. Undoubtedly, there's a home just right for you and your family.

Clay County at a glance

LAND AREA: 601 square miles
PERSONS PER SQUARE MILE (2000): 234.3
POPULATION (2001 ESTIMATE): 147,542
POPULATION INCREASE, 1990-2000: 32.9%
COLLEGE GRADUATES: 20.1%
MEAN TRAVEL TIME TO WORK: 33.5 minutes
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME: $48,854
FACTIOD: In the early part of the 19th century, pirates sailing the St. Johns River often stopped at Green Cove Springs to refill their casks with fresh water. The spring they frequented, which still bubbles behind today's city hall, provides water for the municipal swimming pool.

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 Clay County municipality, a popular suburb dotted with dozens of subdivisions and hundreds of businesses.

In fact, growth is sweeping the entire county. The population more than doubled from 1970 to 1980, then grew another 33 percent between 1990 and 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And 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 urban counties in Florida, with about 262 residents per square mile versus a statewide average of 315.6.

And while new Clay County residents are coming from all over the country, a surprising number hails from other parts of Northeast Florida. In fact, between 2003 and 2004, about 6,500 people moved to Clay County from neighboring Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County. About 4,100 people moved to Duval from Clay.

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, as did less ostentatious families who were attracted by the community's natural beauty and 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.

The region's past is celebrated each year through Carrie Clarke Day, sponsored by the city and run by the Historical Society of Orange Park and the Orange Park Garden Club's Founders Circle. Clarke and her husband William were Orange Park pioneers, and their circa-1914 home is now a centerpiece of popular Clarke House Park.

Otherwise, Orange Park is a thoroughly modern place, where amenity-rich, master-planned communities attract hordes of buyers. Residential development is particularly intense around Fleming Island, along U.S. Highway 17 and Highway 220 in northeast Clay County.

Indeed, planners expect the Fleming Island area to experience the highest growth rate in the county-about 24 percent-between 2005 and 2010. But even that torrid pace represents a slowdown from the 40 percent spurt that occurred between 2000 and 2005.

The Doctor's Inlet area is also exploding, with 22 percent growth expected over the next five years. And 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.

Clay County's highly rated school system is a major point, as is the presence of Naval Air Station Jacksonville and a 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 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 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.

What's New in Clay County

Prudential Network Realty's Builder Sales & Marketing Division is working with a Chicago development firm to market Hawthorne Highlands, a new conversion project in Orange Park. One-bedroom condominiums and two- and three-bedroom townhomes will be offered priced from the low $100s to the $180s. Amenities at the gated-access community include two swimming pools, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a fully equipped clubhouse, a mini-theater and media room and a business center. .

Orange Park-based Rosewood Homes is debuting two new single-family designs in Fairway Ridge, a neighborhood in Eagle Harbor. The 3,105-square-foot Charleston (three bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms) and the 2,246-square-foot Sheffield (three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a bonus room) both feature upscale finishes such as granite countertops and dental crown moulding. The Charleston is priced at $544,900 and the Sheffield is priced at $404,500. Eagle Harbor remains one of Northeast Florida's most active family-friendly communities. Amenities include 12 soccer fields, a tennis center with 12 Har-Tru courts, an 18-hole championship golf course and club and a $2.5 million "Super Pool" with a beach area and a waterslide. .

There are only a handful of single-family homes left at Cypress Glen, a neighborhood in Fleming Island Plantation where Centex Homes is showcasing its Galleria Series. There are six different floorplans ranging in size from 2,063 to 3,547 square feet. All homes feature large, eat-in kitchens with designer cabinets and master bathrooms with cultured marble countertops and garden tubs. Prices start at $339,990. Fleming Island Plantation is a master-planned community where amenities include an 18-hole championship golf course, lighted tennis courts, volleyball and basketball courts, three soccer fields, two swimming pools and a playground. .

Watson Custom Home Builders has started construction on a model home and new inventory single-family homes in Glen Eagle, a community dotted with lakes and wooded conservation areas near the Jacksonville West Regional Public Library on Chafee Road. Watson offers 13 of its most popular floorplans at Glen Eagle, priced from the low $300s and ranging in size from 2,000 to 3,352 square feet. Homes feature full brick exteriors and courtyard or side-entry garages. .

CornerStone Homes has two model single-family homes open in Phase III of Doctors Inlet Preserve, located off C.R. 220. CornerStone's homes, priced starting in the $220s, range in size from 1,738 to 3,230 square feet. When complete, Doctors Inlet Preserve will include a tot lot, a multipurpose athletic field, a pool and a clubhouse.

Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County at a glance

LAND AREA: 774 square miles
PERSONS PER SQUARE MILE (2000): 1,006
POPULATION (2001 ESTIMATE): 792,434
POPULATION INCREASE, 1999-2000: 15.7%
COLLEGE GRADUATES: 21.9%
MEAN TRAVEL TIME TO WORK (MINUTES): 25.2
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME: $40,703
FACTOID: The City of Jacksonville and Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County adopted a consolidated government in 1968 following a grassroots campaign led by civic leaders outraged over corruption and inefficiency. The effort was later dubbed "The Quiet Revolution."

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 short drive over the Mathews Bridge, and the Beaches are just 20 minutes away via Atlantic Boulevard.

Although much of Arlington was developed in the 1950s and '60s, its history goes back much further. 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 banks of the St. Johns, which was then called the River of May.

The Spanish, led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, 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.

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 bought and is attempting to restore four of five buildings that made 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 just under $100,000 to well over $1 million along the water, but the typical price is in the low to mid-$200s. More and more young families are calling Arlington home, with nearly half the residents between 18 and 25 years of age and another quarter between 35 and 44.

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

The 300-acre office, residential townhome and retail center is under way north of Regency Square Mall and south of Merrill Road, bordered by Monument Road, Florida 9A and the Southside Connector. The project's anchor, a Wal-Mart Supercenter has been open for more than a year, and other big-box stores are coming, along with an array of boutiques.

Kendale Town Center was approved for up to 1,800 homes, 480,000 square feet of retail space, 360,000 square feet of office space and 280 hotel rooms.

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 wherever land is available.

Intracoastal West residents are just a short drive from employment centers, but the main attraction for homebuyers appears to be adjacency to the Intracoastal Waterway, easy access to the ocean and expansive marsh views.

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 the laid-back and unpretentious ambiance.

"The Beaches," as locals refer to the area, 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 elected officials.

Starting from the north, here's a look at these once remote cities, which were settled by rugged pioneers and 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 Fort 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 at the mouth of the river made navigation tricky for ships. 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 enter the channel safely 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 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 wood-frame Mayport Presbyterian Church. The eight-block downtown consists mainly of shabby seafood packing houses 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.

There's also plenty of natural splendor for tourists. Just south of the Naval Station is the 450-acre Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park, which boasts one and a half 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 1910 opening 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. 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 Tavern Seafood & Grille, Jacksonville's oldest brew pub, known for such foamy concoctions as Dolphin's Breath Lager, Red Brick Ale and A. Strange Stout.

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 on services such as street paving, fire and police protection and garbage collection.

As Beaches property values increase, Neptune Beach remains a place where diligent shoppers can still find a fixer-upper for around $250,000. 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 ambiance and 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 who 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 when Beach Boulevard opened in 1949, supplying a second, more southerly route from Jacksonville to the coastal communities.

In 1998 a Mediterranean-style city hall was built, and four parks were acquired in 2000: 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 wooden pier in 1999, but its 1,300-foot-long replacement is made of concrete.

Jacksonville Beach is also known for its annual festivals, including Fiesta Playera, 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 Café, which hosts live performances ranging from Dickey Betts to Blues Traveler to Willie Nelson; and Sneakers Sports Grille, a 12,000-square-foot state-of-the-art sports bar boasting six 38-foot widescreen and five plasma televisions.

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.

DOWNTOWN JACKSONVILLE

On May 3, 1901, a family living in a shanty at the edge of downtown Jacksonville 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 in the yard of a mattress factory at Davis and Beaver streets.

That spark began a cataclysm that would remake this rough-and-tumble port city into a modern metropolis. The Great Fire of 1901, as it would come to be known, destroyed 2,368 buildings-most of downtown-and left 10,000 people homeless.

No sooner had the smoke cleared than a new Jacksonville rose, quite literally, from the ashes. Within five years, 1,500 new buildings went up, including several designed by nationally recognized architects energized at the prospect of helping to rebuild a major city.

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

The world got a good look at downtown Jacksonville during Super Bowl XXXIX, when the Main Street Bridge was closed to traffic and recast as a promenade for events along the St. Johns River, and docked cruise ships provided lodging for visitors.

The international exposure provided a boost, but downtown was already on the rise. In addition to 5.6 miles of water frontage, Jacksonville's urban core boasts 256 acres of parks and public spaces, at least 90 eateries of every type imaginable and numerous galleries, museums and theaters.

Alltel Stadium has undergone more than $59 million worth of improvements, while the red-brick, AAA-eligible Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville has replaced 45-year-old Wolfson Park. And construction was completed in 2003 on Veterans Memorial Arena, which plays host to major concerts and sporting events.

Additional downtown projects include a federal courthouse at Hemming Plaza and a new replacement for the circa-1950s public library. Also in the works: a renovation and expansion of The Jacksonville Landing, a struggling riverfront entertainment and retail complex originally opened in 1987.

Mayor John Peyton reiterated the city's commitment to a more vibrant downtown when he told a women's business group he believes the city needs 8,000 to 10,000 housing units in the area. So far, more than 2,000 condominiums and rental apartments have come online, and about 4,600 have been proposed.

As of today, the number of residents in downtown proper is just 1,200. But 25 percent of those relocated within the past two years, according to Lyn Briggs, director of marketing at Downtown Vision, a business improvement and advocacy organization.

"We're becoming a residential community," says Briggs, who hopes downtown can reach a critical mass of 10,000 residents within nine years.

Briggs' group defines downtown using the following boundaries: On the Northbank, the boundaries are State Street to the north, A. Philip Randolph Avenue to the east, the St. Johns to the south and I-95 to McCoy's Creek on the west.

On the Southbank, the boundaries are the St. Johns to the north, Prudential Drive to the south, the Fuller Warren Bridge to the west and the Southside Generating Station to the east.

Perhaps the most publicized downtown development is a proposed 45-acre mixed-use complex on the site of the old Jacksonville Shipyards. Last year, following squabbles with the original developer, the Jacksonville City Council voted to turn the Shipyards project over to Jacksonville-based LandMar Group.

Over a period of years, LandMar will transform the vacant property into a $450 million complex of condominiums, town homes, offices, shops and hotels. Although final plans have not been released, the property could contain up to 662 residences, 100,000 square feet of commercial space, 1 million square feet of office space, 350 hotel rooms and one marina slip.

Says LandMar chief executive officer Ed Burr, "This project will lead us to greatness as a city."

A number of historic downtown buildings are also being rehabbed and converted to residential use.

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.

Stowe moved to Florida from Litchfield, Conn., in 1866 and purchased the old Laurel Grove plantation, near what is now Orange Park. 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 the book 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 and Historical Society completed restoration of the Walter Jones Store and Post Office, a circa-1911 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.

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 new homes priced from the $250s to the $750s. Along bustling San Jose Boulevard, virtually every kind of restaurant and retail outlet can be found.

NORTHSIDE

The Northside has been described as Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County's last frontier for development. Its 850 square miles boast 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-at least 80 projects in the past two years-spurred in part by plentiful, relatively affordable land and adjacency to Jacksonville International Airport. Consequently the Northside's population is expected to grow by 33 percent over the next 10 years, following a 23 percent gain between 1990 and 2000. Thus the Northside will eclipse the Southside as Jacksonville's fastest-growing sector.

Is the region ready for such a massive influx? In fact, officials have been expecting it. Two years ago the city completed a $500,000 study called the North Jacksonville Vision and Master Plan. The plan calls for development of seven village-center-style projects around which growth can cluster.

The first such center is the River City Marketplace, a $300 million project now under way at I-95 and Duval Road. The first phase, expected to open soon, will boast a Wal-Mart Supercenter and a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. The 465-acre site will also encompass multifamily homes, a hotel and hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail and light-industrial space.

Industrial relocation is also driving population growth. For example, The Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is building a $200 million terminal on 158 acres at Dames Point. Mitsui officials and city representatives estimate 1,800 new jobs-at an average salary of $45,000-will be created by the project, which is slated to open in 2008.

ORTEGA

Ortega, tucked south of downtown Jacksonville on the Westbank, is a 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 once 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.

Ortega Village, a charming shopping district, boasts a drugstore with an old-fashioned soda fountain. The 1920s Ortega River Bridge is one of the oldest functioning drawbridges in the state.

The neighborhood known as "Old Ortega" is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The designation came about as a result of efforts by the Ortega Preservation Society, which commissioned an architectural survey of the area.

RIVERSIDE/AVONDALE

For a neighborhood steeped in history, Riverside/Avondale is bustling with activity. Posh new condominium and town home projects are taking shape along the St. Johns River, while architects and remodelers are carefully restoring some of the region's most beautiful old homes.

And with the opening of the $8 million Riverside Market Square retail center in 2002, residents can now walk to a new Publix Supermarket as well as to restaurants and shops. The project was built on the site of the demolished Riverside Hospital.

Designation of the area as a historic district six years ago signaled the dawning of a new golden age for Riverside/Avondale, which first blossomed at the turn of the century, when captains of industry began building signature showplaces along the St. Johns. Indeed, this three-mile swath of handsome homes, known as "The Row," was considered to be one of the most beautiful streets in the country.

In fact, Riverside was started after 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, at first boasted primarily Mediterranean-style homes influenced by architect Addison Mizner.

Eventually the two neighborhoods grew together and are now all but indistinguishable from one another. The Riverside/Avondale Preservation Group keeps careful watch over proposed new projects and renovations.

Although there's no land available for significant single-family home development, there are a handful of boutique multifamily projects either recently completed or under way.

Shopping and dining in Riverside/Avondale is also an adventure. The nearby Five Points retail district is one of the most eclectic in the Southeast, comprised 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.

Other neighborhood retail areas include St. Johns Avenue in Avondale, the intersection of Park and King streets in Riverside and the intersection of Edgewood Avenue and Post Street in Murray Hill. Riverside/Avondale is also home to several public parks, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens and St. Vincent's Medical Center.

SAN MARCO

In the 1920s, developer Telfair Stockton and his family vacationed in Venice, Italy, 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. The 1930s Art Deco façade of the San Marco Theater and the neighboring Little Theater were decidedly avant-garde for the time.

San Marco also encompasses some of Jacksonville's most popular eateries, including romantic Matthew's, the city's only four-star, four-diamond restaurant. Daniel's has made a name for itself with tableside preparation of classic French dishes, while b.b.'s lures sweet-toothed patrons with obscenely proportioned desserts. Café 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 began 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.

SPRINGFIELD

Along Springfield's 12-block Main Street, local trendsetters dine and drink at Boomtown, while enthusiastic crowds listen to live jazz at the Epicurean Market and Café. At Henrietta's restaurant, there's a permanent art gallery and a theater that screens offbeat films.

Springfield, north of downtown's central business district, is emerging as the city's new arts hub as well as a residential neighborhood where the future is bright and home values are likely to rise as gentrification takes hold.

Still, few would have thought such revitalization was likely just a decade ago. This once prosperous expanse of 1,800 stately homes and its 22-block commercial district had become a slum, and there was little reason to believe that change was in the offing.

But Springfield through the years has been resilient. Today, those who were savvy enough to buy before the start of the comeback have seen their properties double and triple in value.

In fact, according to the Springfield Preservation and Revitalization Council, more than one-third of the historic neighborhood's homes have now been renovated or restored.

City government, private investors and individual homeowners, assisted by civic organizations such as SPAR, are ensuring Springfield's future by resurrecting its past. Last year the city rebuilt Main Street between First and Fourth streets, installing a tree-filled median with antique-style streetlamps and brick crosswalks.

Funding for the project was provided through the Better Jacksonville Plan, which voters approved in 2000 with a half-cent sales tax hike for infrastructure and other improvements.

Now, thanks to a $2.5 million allocation from the state Department of Transportation, the Main Street project will be continued through 12th Street. The work will likely take at least a year to complete, according to city officials, but when it's done the neighborhood's entire primary thoroughfare will have been transformed into a beautiful, landscaped boulevard.

Partly as a ripple effect of the Main Street project, 80,000 square feet of retail and condominium space are slated for construction on the southeast, northeast and northwest corners of Eighth and Pearl streets. And more new businesses are expected to move into now vacant Main Street storefronts as road improvements are completed.

On the residential side, private investors have spent some $20 million over the past year buying and renovating property in Springfield.

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 1913 by architect Henry J. Klutho, a Wright disciple. The building has been restored largely through the efforts of developer David Lee, whose one-year volunteer commitment to the project stretched into five years.

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.

"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."

An opportune time to see Springfield at its most appealing is during the neighborhood's annual holiday home tour, during which horse-drawn carriages rumble past restored homes.

SOUTHSIDE

Want to see a movie, grab dinner or go shopping? If so, you're likely to end up on the Southside, which is generally considered to lie north of J. Turner Butler Boulevard, south of Atlantic Boulevard, east of University Boulevard and west of St. Johns Bluff Road.

The Cinemark Tinseltown, a movie megacomplex 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.

New on the Southside is The St. Johns Town Center, an open-air mall at J. Turner Butler Boulevard and St. Johns Bluff Road. Ben Carter Properties of Atlanta and Simon Property Group of Indianapolis developed the 1.5 million-square-foot plaza, which opened in March.

Among the tenants are Dillards, Dick's Sporting Goods, The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Maggiano's Little Italy, Sephora, Old Navy, Staples, Design of the Interior, Urban Outfitters, J. Crew, Guess, Ann Taylor Loft and Sharper Image.

This burgeoning where-the-action-is ambiance has kicked the Southside's residential appeal up a notch, especially for younger people, many of whom work at nearby office parks. In fact, about 27 percent of Southside residents are between the ages of 25 and 34.

Among these buyers, condominiums are particularly hot, with multifamily offerings ranging from affordable apartment conversions to upscale, amenity-rich new construction. The nearby campuses of the University of North Florida and Florida Community College at Jacksonville are added draws.

But the Southside also encompasses 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, first developed 30 years ago, or you can pick up a new home from $300,000 or more in several newer neighborhoods.

The new interchange connecting I-95 and I-295 with the Florida 9A beltway should help ease the Southside traffic situation.

WESTSIDE

Perhaps Jacksonville's most affordable housing 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 horseback riders.

Another Westside treasure is the 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 Family Drive-In and Flea Market, is on Blanding Boulevard.

A new Sleiman Enterprises project is breathing some new life along Roosevelt Boulevard just north of Roosevelt Square. The company is redeveloping 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 including a Crispers, which is already open, and seven or eight stores.

What's New in Jacksonville" target="_blank">Duval County

The Pineapple Corporation has announced Palermo, a European village-style community off Hodges Boulevard that will encompass 133 single-family courtyard homes on 50 acres. Homes will range in size from 2,400 to 4,586 square feet and will be priced from the upper $500s. .

Beazer Homes will build 56 single-family homes in Arbor Glade, a new neighborhood in Mandarin. Homes will range in size from 2,035 to 3,471 square feet and will be priced from the high $300s. Arbor Glade touts its intimate scope and its natural setting as prime selling points. Beazer is also launching a gated, 296-unit townhome community, Verano at Bartram Park, where homes will range in size from 1,416 to 1,496 square feet and will be priced from the low $200s. .

Engle Homes is introducing carriage home designs at Caney Branch Plantation near the Dames Point Bridge. Homes range in size from 1,542 square feet for a one-story model to 1,682 square feet for a two-story model. Prices will start in the $190s, and 44 homes are slated for the first phase. .

DB Holdings, an affiliate of original Berkman Plaza developer Harbor Companies, will develop Berkman Plaza 2, a 23-story downtown tower containing 222 units. Prices will range from the $170s to the $600s while penthouses will start in the $700s. Watson Realty Corp. is the sales agent. Also downtown, Hines and South Shore Partners have announced plans to develop the tallest residential tower in the region. The St. John will offer 300 units in a 51-story building on the Southbank. Preconstruction prices are in the $400s. .

D.R. Horton's Windsor Falls, located on the bustling Southside, will feature 396 spacious condominiums in 33 two-story buildings. Construction has begun, and prices start in the low-$170s. .

Drees Homes has broken ground at Sandler's Preserve, with 48 single-family homes ranging in size from 1,698 to 2,500 square feet and priced from the low $200s. The community is in Westconnett on the Westside. .

Also on the Westside, Ryland Homes is set to begin presales in Westfield Village, which will include 101 single-family homes. In Westfield Village the company will showcase its Discovery Series, with three-, four- and five-bedroom homes ranging in size from 1,487 square feet to 2,799 square feet. Prices will start in the high $100s. .

ICI Homes has started presales in the Villages at Westport, a community of 90 single-family homes on the Northside. Homes will range in size from 1,763 to 3,000 square feet. Most floorplans will have options for bonus rooms. Decorated models are now open and preconstruction pricing is available.

Flagler County at a glance

LAND AREA: 485 square miles
PERSONS PER SQUARE MILE (2000): 102.7
POPULATION (2001 ESTIMATE): 54,964
POPULATION INCREASE, 1990-2000: 73.6%
COLLEGE GRADUATES: 21.2%
MEAN TRAVEL TIME TO WORK (MINUTES): 25.9
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME: $40,214
FACTOID: In the early 1930s, both Charles Lindbergh and Amerlia Earhart landed airplanes at the Flagler Beach Airport.

For decades, even most Jacksonvillians regarded 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 Flagler County is the fastest-growing county in the nation on a percentage basis, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The raw numbers don't sound that impressive-6,309 new residents in 2004-but that's a 10.1 percent increase since 2003.

And people are coming from everywhere, attracted by subtropical forests, freshwater lakes, unspoiled beaches and resort-like housing developments.

Visitors who leave the interstate and explore the real Flagler County will be 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.

ITT, the tech conglomerate that had tried to create a bustling city in this once remote stretch of coastal Florida, phased out its development division in the 1990s and sold its Flagler holdings.

Palm Coast became an incorporated city in 1999 and today is the population center of Flagler County, with some 44,568 residents. And because every city needs a clearly defined downtown, the city council last year approved plans for a 1,550-acre project called Town Center at Palm Coast, located just south of Palm Coast Parkway.

Developed by Palm Coast Holdings, it 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 ambiance will be enhanced by traditional storefronts and parallel street parking. Construction will be completed in three phases over the next 15 years.

Although Palm Coast is Flagler's fastest-growing, highest-profile city, three other municipalities lie within the county: Flagler Beach (population 3,850), known for its 656-foot fishing pier and boardwalk; Bunnell (population 2,156), a sleepy inland city that serves as the unlikely county seat; and Marineland (population 10), a tiny city that encompasses a venerable dolphin-themed tourist attraction.

Built in 1927, the Flagler Beach Pier still lures serious anglers who catch tarpon, snook, bluefish, whiting and snapper.

Other local attractions include a Friday farmers' market, a wonderfully picturesque historical museum and such ecotourism treasures as Flagship Harbor Preserve and the Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area, named in honor of a quirky Florida folk singer who immortalized the state's colorful characters and turbulent history in his songs.

Flagler Beach is the only municipality on The Hammock, a sparsely populated barrier island where sand roads front upscale beach houses and mobile homes. Residents there fear eventual annexation by land-hungry Palm Coast. If that happens, they say, the island's laid-back way of life would be endangered by too much growth.

At the northern edge of the county, Atlanta-based developer Jim Jacoby is moving ahead in his effort to remake Marineland, which opened as the world's first oceanarium in 1938, into a thriving multi-use community in which the attraction and its performing dolphins will play a central role.

Residential development will include about 100 condominiums, 80 single-family homes and 25 mixed-use buildings. An 80-room hotel with retail shops and a restaurant will overlook the marina.

Flagler County residents don't mind commuting to work; fully 40 percent have jobs in Jacksonville, St. Augustine or Daytona Beach. That's fine with county economic development officials, who aren't focused on attracting huge employers. Instead, they woo small operations with 10 to 25 employees that provide products and services for larger companies headquartered elsewhere.

What's new in Flagler County

WCI Communities has selected its design team for its new models at Tuscany at Hammock Dunes. The designers are Beasley and Henley, based in Winter Park, and Sisler Johnston Interior Design, based in Jacksonville. Hammock Dunes is an exclusive, 997-acre golf and beachfront community located in Palm Coast. The community features two championship courses by legendary designers Tom Fazio and Rees Jones, each with its own spectacular clubhouse. .

WCI Communities has released its newest luxury oceanfront "Sky Homes" at Arezzo at Hammock Dunes. All units in this 12-story condominium complex will feature spacious oceanfront terraces as well as the rich interior appointments and exquisite details for which WCI is renowned. Arezzo residents will enjoy many on-site amenities, including a sophisticated lobby reception area, a theater and a guest suite. Outside, there's a resort-style swimming pool, jetted spa, fitness center and entertainment area.

Nassau County at a glance

LAND AREA: 652 square miles
PERSONS PER SQUARE MILE (2000): 88.5
POPULATION (2001 ESTIMATE): 59,830
POPULATION INCREASE, 1990-2000: 31.2%
COLLEGE GRADUATES: 18.9%
MEAN TRAVEL TIME TO WORK: 28.2 minutes
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME: $46,022
FACTOID: The neighborhood just north of Centre Street in Fernandina Beach was dubbed "the silk stocking district" in the late 1800s because people who lived there could afford to buy the uncommon luxury item. The stockings fell out of style, but the name has endured.

Everybody, it seems, wants a piece of Amelia Island. Florida's northernmost barrier island, 32 miles from downtown