With land prices soaring in Duval County, developers are turning to rural areas of northeast Florida where they can get land much cheaper and still have easy access to Jacksonville.

301 Land Investments' Daniel Crapps (from left), Maston Crapps and Donald Braddock. [Photo: Kelly LaDuke]

In northwest Clay County, 301 Land Investments has proposed a $2-billion master-planned community featuring 3,000 single-family homes, 1,000 multifamily homes and 1,000 age-restricted homes. The developer unveiled the 2,814-acre development, called Highlands, in December. The site is now mostly farmland. If the county approves the project, construction would begin in 2008. According to permitting documents, Highlands would also include three schools, 65 acres of parks, 900 acres of green space, 1 million square feet of light industrial space, 175,000 square feet of office space and 250,000 square feet of retail. Planners estimate that once the community is built, it will create about 7,200 jobs.

To allay concerns about added traffic on U.S. 301 and County Road 218, the developer plans to spend $40 million on regional road improvements.

Bill Garrison, president of the Clay Hill Community Association, says while the development would raise property values and extend utility service, it also will drastically alter the rural character of Clay County. "Just the fact that they're bringing this huge development is a foreign thought to some people," Garrison says.

In Baker County, two projects could add more than 15,000 homes and apartments, doubling the area's 25,000 population. Adar Developers plans to build Navona Creek, which includes 8,200 homes, a business park and an 18-hole golf course. Adrian Development Group announced plans for Cedar Creek, a 3,224-acre project, including 6,000 senior living residences 1,000 apartments, 400,000 square feet of commercial space and 27 holes of golf.

In Flagler County, LandMar Group is moving forward with Grand Landings, a 1,500-acre master-planned community with 750 homes six miles from the Atlantic Ocean in the Palm Coast area. It will feature 340 acres of nature preserves the company donated to the county.