What's wrong with Heritage Landing? (Jacksonville, Archer: rental, houses, purchase)

[ClassicStyle]

Hi there friends:

As I continue my search for a rental home I have a few questions regarding sub divisions.......

What's wrong with Heritage Landing? I have been pointed away from it and I'm not sure why? What's the deal?

Is Murrabella nice? How about amenities? Are there teenagers there, you know, families?

On 210 there are a few properties, is the area congested? Are there semi's in the road there that cause problems?

What's great about St. Johns country club? Good for families, teenagers, how about amenities?

Finally, what is so great about King and Bear?

If you know of a great subdivision, or the section name in SJC, tell me why it's great. We might try to rent there.

My journey continues.

T

[ssclulow]

Heritage Landing is all the way out on the western fringe of St. Johns County very close to the St. Johns River. Commuting from there can be a challenge becuase the traffic has to traverse mostly 2 lane country roads which have lots of subdivisions along side and traffic moves very slow during the rush hour times. Also, I watched the houses being built there when it first opened up and IMO they were built too fast in almost assembly line style. Not sure who is building there now. I haven't been out that way in 3 years.

[SoccerFam]

Where is donisanasfan? He can give you a great description of the 210 communities from his first-hand experience. I don't know much about the others you've mentioned, sorry

[LilMikey]

We looked at a few subdivisions off of 210; namely Nocatee, Cimarrone, St John's Forest, and St John's Golf. We actually liked all of those communities quite a bit. We ended up purchasing in Nocatee and I believe a home in Cimarrone was in our top 5. St. Johns Golf was a very beautiful community and just didn't seem to have a home that fit the bill for us there at the time; same with St John's Forest.

The main reason we chose Nocatee over the others is that it seems you could get a newer home closer to the beach for about the same amount of money as the homes in the other communities. Both St Johns Golf and Cimarrone are golf-focused as well which may or may not be appealing. Personally, anything west of South Hampton felt like you were really getting 'out there'. I don't think we would have hesitated to rent or purchase in any of the four listed communities if we had found the right home.

Murrabella, Heritage Landing, WGV in general, Palencia... those all felt very remote and not that much cheaper than homes up in the 210 subdivisions or even Julington Creek.

[donisanasfan]

SJG&C is the only community I personally would recommend on 210. You can tell by my previous posts what I think of living around 210, but if the negatives I mentioned don't keep you away, ( truckers being one of the many I have mentioned) then SJG&C is the one I would choose. Most family friendly and least affected by the housing issues and everything that came with it. Heritage was only built to supply an affordable option during the boom time, and while I have seen worse communities, the location is way to far off the beaten path and a commuting challenge as mentioned above. Honestly with the prices being what they are right now in the western part of Nocatee, I would look there as well. I hate to sound like a cheerleader for my own area , but why someone would want to be on 210 when for the same price they can be a part of a much better community , closer to the beach, and not have to deal with truckers , hitchhikers and transients is a mystery to me. Only if a CDD fee is just not something you would even consider would I understand being out there as opposed to out this way. I would guess you could also get a larger home for the money on 210, but with the prices in Greenleaf and a couple other western Nocatee communities it would be close.

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by donisanasfan

, and not have to deal with truckers , hitchhikers and transients is a mystery to me.

Will the completion of the 9A extension down through Nocatee have an effect on the number of truckers, hitchhikers and transients passing through Nocatee on their way north/south?

[ssclulow]

The 210 corrider problems mentioned are mostly due to the two large established truck stops located at the I-95 entrance. The truck stops seem to the the problem, not the fact that I-95 is there. If you look at where large truck stops are located around JAX you'll notice that they have been establshed on I-95 and the westside I-295 loop. IMO it would probably be difficult to obtain zoing for one in areas like Nocatee. Truck stops are necessary business enterprises but they do bring in a lot of large trucks , hitchhikers and transients 24 hours a day 365 days a year. I personally would not want to live near one much less two very large ones.

[donisanasfan]

bingo

[LilMikey]

Originally Posted by madcapmagishion

Will the completion of the 9A extension down through Nocatee have an effect on the number of truckers, hitchhikers and transients passing through Nocatee on their way north/south?

Are you talking about 9B or is there something coming even closer to Nocatee?

[donisanasfan]

For me the completion on 9B will mean one thing ..... maybe the single biggest waste of 77 million dollars ever. It will shave off a minute driving to get a latte ....so that is about 2,500,000 lattes that we get 60 seconds faster . FYI......from the Times Union ......


The 2009 stimulus package provided the $76.8 million for the first of two segments, which will run from State Road 9A south of Baymeadows Road to U.S. 1 just south of Bayard.

"Construction of State Road 9B will help drive Florida's economic recovery by creating or maintaining more than 200 jobs and relieving congestion," said Governor Charlie Crist. "Putting Floridians back to work is my top priority."

Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Stephanie C. Kopelousos and Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez were among the dignitaries in town for the groundbreaking this morning.

Traffic on State Road 9A at the head of the 9B project was reduced to one lane for the ceremony, causing a backup in the northbound lanes. ( Isn't that classic ?)

The contract was awarded to two Jacksonville companies: Archer Western Contractors and GAI Consultants.

Completion is expected in the summer of 2012. ( It is almost May, anyone want to bet that I will not gain that minute getting my latte by this summer? )