Nocatee Getting New School, Neighborhoods in New Year

The community of Nocatee is a textbook example of how Florida communities are adapting to their growing popularity. Nocatee’s population increases year over year, making it necessary for leaders to ensure the infrastructure accommodates for growth. Case in point, the public schools. Nocatee isn’t just getting new neighborhoods this year, it’s getting a new K-8 school. In December, the St. Johns County School Board officially approved a zoning plan for “MM” as the school is being called until a name is chosen. The new school is under construction on 25 acres at the intersection of Crosswater Parkway and Pine Island Road and will soon be home to roughly 1,500 students.

Those students will come from neighborhoods previously zoned for Palm Valley Academy (another K-8 school). PVA opened in the 2018-2019 school year and was almost immediately oversaturated with students. Portable classrooms line the rear of the school and can be seen driving down Nocatee Parkway. The school district utilizes these “temporary” learning modules to handle the influx of students moving to Nocatee with their families as the water park resort-style community continues to rise in popularity as a top master-planned community in the U.S.

The reconfigured school attendance boundaries created a new dynamic in Nocatee housing. Take a look at the neighborhood-driven zoning plan for elementary and middle school students starting with the 2021-2022 school year:

Palm Valley Academy:

• Kelly Pointe
• Oakwood
• The Palms at Nocatee Townhomes
• Reserve Apartments
• All Twenty Mile neighborhoods
• West End at Town Center
• Willowcove

New K-8 School MM:

• Coastal Oaks
• All Crosswater neighborhoods
• All Town Center neighborhoods (except West End)
• Tidewater
• Settler's Landing

It was widely known Coastal Oaks and Crosswater families would be served by the new school based on their proximity to its location. But some families in the Town Center neighborhoods which lie, as you guessed it, in the center of town, would like to keep their kids enrolled in PVA. So they’re looking for new housing in Willowcove, Twenty Mile, and Kelly Pointe to achieve that objective. With little inventory currently on the market, we expect an even higher increase in demand for homes in those neighborhoods this Spring and Summer.

Demand for housing is already at a frenzied pace in Nocatee. This month, community leaders announced new amenities for the West End and Settler’s Landing neighborhoods opening later this year. West End will feature a new Town Center park with a playground, dog park, and pavilion. Settler’s Landing will have a fishing pond, playground, pavilion, and dog park. All Nocatee families will be able to utilize these facilities which are financed through CDD (Community Development District) funds paid yearly by homeowners. New home construction sales start in these communities as early as this February.

River Landing at Twenty Mile is a new and exclusive waterfront neighborhood in Nocatee. Preserve homesites start in the $400’s and waterfront lots on the Intracoastal start in the $900’s. Homesites will be available for purchase soon.

Our team can help you navigate the best move to make in Nocatee. To talk about your home and neighborhood options, give us a call at 904-465-9139.