Suburban St. Johns County: World Golf Village

[Metro Jacksonville]

Suburban St. Johns County: World Golf Village



World Golf Village is the centerpiece of a 7,200 unit community that will ultimately be home to an estimated 18,000 people.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-sep-suburban-st-johns-county-world-golf-village

[archiphreak]

where are all the people?....

[St. Auggie]

Never should have been built where it was.  Designers chose esthetics over function.  That said, while it is no where near the 1 million they thought, the hall still is a huge economic engine for St. Augustine.  The county got a convention center for $250,000. You cant get the impact study for that amount.  There are a lot of folks that live out that way and if the economic retreat had occured 6 months later there would be a huge mall and "rivercity marketplace like" development out this way.  Things have been MUCH slower than anticipated, but they are "right there".

[copperfiend]

Even though it isn't the biggest screen, the WGV helped us get an IMAX theater in the area.

[Jason]

I'm with you St. Auggie.  Not the ultimate location for a quick impact, but they are primed to be top notch location as the NEFLA growth continues to boom on northern St. Johns county.  The resort is absolutely beautiful, the amenities are plentiful and growing, and the roadway infrastructure is still very much expandable.  I'll never live there but it is a nice place to visit.

[St. Auggie]

And a lot of you will love that when the mall the shopping strip across the street were getting under way, VERY informal talks were already going on for a trolley (type) service from the hotel, mall, strip and all the way down to 16/ the outlets.  It was a great idea.  These people want to make it a destination.  Golfers from around the world KNOW this place.  They have the product, now they need the other two parts, time and money!

[Overstreet]

Maybe..........but before the WGV there wasn't all those houses and apartments. People are moving down there. If you live on the west boarder it is one of the few places a gator, coyote or bear might wander in with the normal deer, armadillo and raccoon.

[CS Foltz]

There is a Cell Tower with 4 carriers on it! At one time, T Mobil (back then Powertel) and Bell South (now AT&T) were the only carriers on there.........site was established to have area coverage on the Golf Course. The other side is covered allready by one of the original cell sites to go into that region for coverage on I95 going south or north depending on travel. I put both up about 12 years ago........so if your phone does not work, don't call me since I don't take care of that area anymore..........call customer service for your carrier! It is pretty down there for sure, inspite of cutting all of the tree's that used to be there!

[finehoe]

Looks like something that was dreamed up during the real estate boom and now will slowly decay.

[grimss]

An elegant Colonial Asian feel has been achieved throughout the new Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, in St. Augustine, Florida

Colonial Asian my ass.

[St. Auggie]

Looks like something that was dreamed up during the real estate boom and now will slowly decay.

Looks like someone has no idea what they are talking about.

[Ocklawaha]

Placement of the "Town Center" at the end of a road was probably not the best plan for business commerce, though it does seem to work well for the hotel and golf functions. A second entry roadway connecting the shopping district with the international golf Parkway would go a long way toward making the vacancies fill up with shops. Either way would involve some round about loop mileage through the golf course's and they would probably come out on IGP at the same light/bridge. I placed it on the map under "Ock's Road."

Also note the possible location of a lighter then air airfield at the old Francis NOLF Base. I have mentioned in the past my talking with several airship operators/builders and actually have stirred some interest in our WGV site. My hope is that JAA and JPA jump onboard and offer alternatives in what could become a win-win for northeast Florida.



There is a whole lot more to the WGV then we depicted in the little map, either mine or the article. WGV extends all the way to Six Mile Creek across CR13 from the "Outback Crabshack." Another shopping (newer but more vibrant) is located at the junction of SR 16 and International Golf Parkway, it is anchored by Publix with a sizable botique selection, CVS is on an outparcel and a new mystery restaurant McDonalds according to rumor mill next to CVS. Walgreen's is across the IGP from CVS/Publix and it also has some outparcels that are suddenly on the market. Looks like Flagler Hospital has a couple of acres behind this Publix between IGP and the fire station.

Recently a new 75,000 sq ft shopping center has sought approval for zoning changes at the corner of SR16 and 16A. Another new shopping/residential/work mega-site is currently seeking approval just NE of the IGP/I-95 interchange, while dirt has recently been moving in the SW corner. There is a brand new State Veterans Nursing and Retirement home on 16 between the Outlets and IGP, and now another large subdivision is trying for zoning changes on the South side of the road.

Most important of all... WGV is home to OCKLAWAHA! Never a dull moment around here.


OCKLAWAHA

[St. Auggie]

"Ock's road" is a MUST if they ever want those spaces to fill up.  That is exactly what I meant when I said they chose esthetics over function.  They NEED that road.  They chose a beautiful sweeping loop that takes 10 minutes to go around versus a one minute path to the front of those shops. 

[mbstout]

Yes, where are all the people!?  This is really sad.  But that's what you get with poor planning = poor economic reality.

[Jason]

"Ock's road" is something I've thought about as well.  Its asinine to have to drive so far back into the resort just to access the promenade.

And there are no people there because of the resort's isolation and because it has been seemingly poorly marketed.  It has simply become a convention space with a nice upscale golf resort attached to it in the middle of a residential gated community.  

I still think that things will continue to get better for the area as growth continues and the commercial market revives.  Perhaps some more connectivity would help greatly to enhance the area and light a spark.