Fort Towson

Nocatee /ˈnɒkət/ is an unincorporated planned community located primarily in northern St. Johns County, Florida and a census-designated place (CDP).[1] The community blends a variety of neighborhoods with schools, parks, recreation, offices, shopping, and restaurants.[2] As of 2020, the community consists of twenty-two neighborhoods, some of which are specialized for certain age groups.[3] Part of the development lies within Jacksonville in Duval County. It is near Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida's First Coast region and sits on 13,323 acres (5,392 ha) of land. It was approved in 2001 as a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) under Section 380.06 of the Florida Statutes.[4][5]

In addition, Nocatee is near beaches, golf courses, business parks and major airports in downtown Jacksonville and St. Augustine.[2]

History

In 2005, Nocatee's creator The PARC Group, broke ground on the construction of the township.[citation needed] The PARC Groups's Chairman and CEO, Roger O'Steen, founded the group in 1989 and was directly involved with the development of Nocatee and many other communities. Donna Lundgren, the manager for the Nocatee Welcome Center, states that Nocatee is "approximately 25 square miles, 14,000 acres with over 60% of remaining preserve for conservation and preservation." She also claims that the actual word "Nocatee" has roots in Timucuan Indian and translates to "peaceful river."[6] However, no such Timucua word is known; "river" is instead ibi while "peaceful" is afatimo.[7] An older town called Nocatee located in DeSoto County along the Peace River dates to the decades after the Third Seminole War, and its name is likely derived from Seminole Creek nakate "What is it?"[8][9]

Amenities

Nocatee contains two large water parks, the Splash Park and Spray Park. Each has pools, slides, and kid-specific areas.[10] The pool areas host events throughout the year, such as Food Truck Friday, farmers' markets, holiday celebration, concerts, Easter egg hunts, and more community events.[11] The community contains other amenities like parks, neighborhood pools, fitness centers, dog parks, a kayak launch, a nature preserve and a series of nature trails.[12][13]

Demographics

The population of Nocatee had a 34.6% increase from the year 2015 to 2016, and it is the second fastest-growing community in the nation.[citation needed] In addition to the number of houses, businesses, the Nocatee Town Center has also grown in size.[14] As of 2022, Nocatee is the 241st most populated city in the state of Florida out of 919 cities.[15] The median age for Nocatee residents is 39.8 years. The township's population has increased by 225.97% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 4,524 in 2010.[15] In 2019, Nocatee had a population of 14,747.[16]

Events

Nocatee hosts a variety of events consisting of trivia, on-tap beer tastings, food truck Fridays, monthly farmer’s markets, as well as holiday-themed events such as Easter egg hunts & live music.[2][17]

Education

Ponte Vedra High School, in the Nocatee CDP

St. Johns County School District is the school district of the St. Johns County portion, which includes the entire census-designated place.[18][19] The following elementary schools serve portions of the CDP: Palm Valley Academy, Pine Island Academy, and Valley Ridge Academy.[20] Three middle schools serve portions of the CDP: Alice B. Landrum, Palm Valley, Pine Island, and Valley Ridge.[21] Allen D. Nease High School serves the Nocatee CDP.[22]

The official subdivisions of the Nocatee development in St. Johns County are zoned to the Palm Valley, Pine Island, Valley Ridge K-8 schools, and Nease.[23] The portion in Duval County (not in the CDP) is zoned to Bartram Springs Elementary School, Twin Lakes Middle School, and Atlantic Coast High School.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Nocatee CDP, Florida". census.gov. US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Nocatee. "Master Planned Communities near Jacksonville FL | Nocatee". www.nocatee.com. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  3. ^ "Nocatee Homes for Sale | Master-Planned Community | Florida". www.nocatee.com.
  4. ^ [1] Florida's Statutes Official website
  5. ^ Andres, Shakaya: "Nocatee roadways near completion, about a decade early" Florida Times-Union, May 20, 2010
  6. ^ Jaxson, The. "Exploring Nocatee". www.thejaxsonmag.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  7. ^ "Timucua Dictionary » Search Results » peace". Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  8. ^ "A provisional gazetteer of Florida place-names of Indian derivation, either obsolescent or retained, together with others of recent application ( FGS: Special publication 1 )". original-ufdc.uflib.ufl.edu. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  9. ^ Morris, Allen (October 17, 2015). Florida Place Names: Alachua to Zolfo Springs. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-56164-839-9.
  10. ^ "Spray Water Park in Ponte Vedra, FL | Nocatee". www.nocatee.com.
  11. ^ "Community Events and Activities | Nocatee". www.nocatee.com.
  12. ^ "Nocatee, FL | Data USA". datausa.io.
  13. ^ Nocatee. "Master Planned Communities near Jacksonville FL | Nocatee". nocatee.com. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  14. ^ Developer, The PARC Group-Nocatee's Master (December 2, 2019). "A Full List of Everything Opening Soon in the Nocatee Town Center". www.nocatee.com.
  15. ^ a b "Nocatee Demographics - Get Current Census Data for Nocatee, FL". www.florida-demographics.com. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  16. ^ "Nocatee - Place Explorer - Data Commons". datacommons.org. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  17. ^ "9 of the Friendliest Towns in Florida". WorldAtlas. May 21, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  18. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: St. Johns County, FL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved August 1, 2022. - Text list - Shows Nocatee in the school district boundaries.
  19. ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Nocatee CDP, FL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved August 2, 2022. - Compare with school zone maps.
  20. ^ "St. Johns County Elementary School Attendance Zones 2022 - 2023" (PDF). St. Johns County School District. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022. - Ocean Palms ES detail map, Palm Valley ES detail map, Pine Island ES detail map, and Valley Ridge ES detail map - Maps from here
  21. ^ "St. Johns County Middle School Attendance Zones 2022 - 2023" (PDF). St. Johns County School District. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022. - Alice B. Landrum MS detail map, Palm Valley MS detail map, Pine Island MS detail map, and Valley Ridge MS detail map - Maps from here
  22. ^ "St. Johns County High School Attendance Zones 2022 - 2023" (PDF). St. Johns County School District. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022. - Nease HS detail map and Ponte Vedra HS detail map - Maps from here
  23. ^ a b "School Zoning for Nocatee Students". Nocatee. Retrieved August 2, 2022.

External links