Communities
Ponte Vedra
Nestled between Jacksonville and St. Augustine sits a seaside community called Ponte Vedra. Ponte Vedra is an upper income tourist resort area most known for its association with the PGA Tour and The Players Championship which is played at the TPC at Sawgrass. Ponte Vedra is known for its high end resorts like the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, The Lodge and Club, and the Sawgrass Marriott. It is the third wealthiest community in Florida making it a very influential place to live in Jacksonville.
Nocatee
Nocatee is a planned community built on 13,323 acres and spans from north St. Johns County to South Duval County just west of Ponte Vedra Beach. Nocatee has been designed to be a complete, sustainable new town complete with residential homes, commercial workplaces, shopping stores, and recreational activities all contained within. At full build out Nocatee is expected to have 12,000 homes, 1,000,000 sq. ft. or retail, 4,000,000 sq. ft. of commercial office and nine public schools. Two thirds of Nocatee will be placed in preservation and protected.
St. Johns
St. Johns is a community area located in north St. Johns County and stretches up to south Duval County separated by the St. Johns River. It is considered a suburb of Jacksonville and is made up mainly of Julington Creek, Durbin Creek, Fruit Cove,and Switzerland communities. It is known to be an upscale suburb of Jacksonville with numerous golf courses, boutiques, and riverside mansions.
Mandarin
Just a short drive from city’s center, Mandarin is a neighborhood located in the southern portion of Duval County in Jacksonville Fl. It is across the river from St. Johns county and Orange Park. Full of rich history and charm, Mandarin’s winding roads are lined with mossy oak trees, beautiful parks, marinas, and more water views than any other place in Jacksonville.
San Marco
San Marco is a neighborhood located south of downtown across the St. Johns River and north of Mandarin. Full of Historical homes throughout San Marco has a mixture of architectural influences. From expansive riverfront estates to Miami art deco apartments San Marco is sure to have something for singles and families. San Marco is also home to Epping Forrest, an upscale neighborhood located on the St. Johns River, and The Bolles School, a prestigious private school, also located on the St. Johns River.
Riverside/Avondale
Riverside and Avondale are two adjacent neighborhoods located south west of downtown Jacksonville along the St. Johns River. Considered one continuous neighborhood, Riverside/Avondale is one of the oldest plats of land in Jacksonville. The area is primarily residential, but includes some commercial districts, including Five Points, the King Street District, and the Shoppes of Avondale. Today, Riverside and Avondale are notable for their particularly diverse architecture and their emphasis on planning and historic preservation, which have made them Florida’s most architecturally varied neighborhood. Both neighborhoods are listed as National Register Historic Districts.
Downtown
Downtown is the central business district of Jacksonville and it is the oldest section of the city which is traditionally defined by the original boundaries of the city set upon its establishment. It is the center of Jacksonville’s Urban Core, which includes the surrounding neighborhoods of La Villa, Springfield, East Jacksonville, and Brooklyn, plus a section on the south side of the St. Johns River known as South bank. Today, the city’s definition of Downtown Jacksonville covers a wider area than the traditional Downtown Core, and is made up of several different neighborhoods or districts.
Springfield
Just north of downtown Jacksonville lays the neighborhood of Springfield. Springfield was established as a residential community in 1871. The Springfield Historic District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and contains some of the city’s best examples of 19th and early 20th century architecture. Springfield is composed mainly of wood frame residential buildings and a much smaller number of masonry commercial, religious, educational, and civic structures. The January 2010 issue of Southern Living magazine spotlights Springfield as the #1 “comeback” neighborhood in the South.
Arlington
Together with the Northside, Westside, and Southside, Arlington is one of the large sections of Duval County. Arlington was a settlement to the east across the St. Johns River from Jacksonville; today it refers to most of Jacksonville east and south of the St. Johns, west of the Intracoastal Waterway, and north of the Arlington River and Southside.
Jacksonville Beaches
The Jacksonville Beaches, known locally as the “Beaches” or the “Beach” are a group of towns and communities on the northern half of an unnamed barrier island on the U.S. State of Florida’s First Coast, all of which are suburbs or parts of the city of Jacksonville. These communities are separated from the main body of the city of Jacksonville by the Intracoastal Waterway. The Jacksonville Beaches are located in Duval and northern St. Johns County, and make up part of the Jacksonville metropolitan area. The population of the beaches in 2009 was 68,118. The main communities generally identified as part of the Beaches are Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Ponte Vedra Beach.
