Sea Grove Village: diverse housing community with village mall and hotel proposed on Bailey Road

Sea Grove Village concept on Bailey Road near Crane Island

A development group will apply to the City of Fernandina Beach to build a mid-island community of 160 residential units, along with a village center of retail shops and a marsh-front boutique hotel located on Bailey Road adjacent to the Ybor Alvarez sports fields.

The Sea Grove Village project on 24 acres is headed by Jack Healan Jr., his son Jack Healan III and John Hillman. The group developed the nearby Crane Island community and Healan played a key role in the development of Amelia Island Plantation, Marsh Lakes, and Brady Point Preserve from 1978 to 2010.

The development group plans to apply for review before the city's Technical Review Committee and the Planning Advisory Board in May. They will also need city commission support regarding two of the parcels that comprise the 24-acre site. One parcel in the city is zoned industrial and would need to be rezoned residential. The other parcel is in the county and would need to be annexed into the city. The third parcel is in the city and holds a residential zoning designation.

The three parcels that comprise Sea Grove Village

Project Overview

Sea Grove Village plans call for 43 second and third floor apartments above retail shops, 45 townhouses, a mix of 22 duplexes and quadplexes, 14 live-work units and 30 homes ranging from 1,800 to 2,000 square feet.

The Sea Grove Village center is designed for 20,000 square feet of retail shops fronted by a two-acre open space including a performance pavilion.

The Sea Grove Village parcels were previously clear cut by the city and Nassau County and the developers said they plan on investing $1 million to plant mature trees and landscaping.

"We're going to reforest this land. That's why the name became grove, we're creating a grove of trees, a grove of people. That's a big, big part of what this is about," said John Hillman, who is heading design and sales efforts for the project.

Hillman described the majority of the residential units as "attainable" in terms of pricing, with one-bedroom units priced in the $300,000 range and some townhouses priced from $400,000 to $600,000.

The 30 full sized homes on different lots sizes will be priced at more than $1 million.

"How do we help people find respectful housing without having to leave (the island)? This is what happens every day, people leaving the island because they can't afford to live here," Hillman explained. "I believe we are addressing an urgent need on the island, not just to bring back hundreds of trees to the island, but to tackle head-on the need for more diverse housing."

At the far west end of the development is a hotel/event center with a swimming pool and dock along the Amelia Island marsh.

"The idea is that there would be a really first-class restaurant (in the hotel) overlooking the water to watch sunsets," Hillman said. "It's not a big hotel, about 20 rooms. A wedding party could rent out the whole hotel with their reception in the first-floor event space."

Retail & Public Space Vision

Among the considerations for the 20,000 square feet of retail space are a food hall comprised of different offerings from various small kitchen operators, and the possibility of a boutique movie theater and a pickleball sports campus and bar.

Hillman described other retail which might include two restaurants, a coffee/shop bakery, yoga/Pilates, a bike shop, general store/market and a florist.

"The thing we want is this village green to scream out as you're coming off Amelia Island Parkway, you tell your friends 'Meet me at the village green. Sean McCarthy is there playing music, and little kids are playing in the park because it's a safe place to be," Hillman said. "We don't want it to be some boutique shopping place you come to once a year. We want to provide a place you come to every day."

The initial development layout/scope for Sea Grove Village

Sea Grove Village will seek to be a Planned Unit Development (PUD) in the city. A PUD is a master-planned community that integrates residential, commercial, and recreational spaces within a single development, providing a cohesive design and efficient land use.

"If there is anybody who can do these types of developments, we're a pretty unique team to pull it off," Hillman said. "We're not leaving town. We've already made a lot of money on Crane Island. This is more about trying to do the best we can for a lot of people."

If approved by the city, Hillman estimated Sea Grove Village to be completed in four-to-five years.

Hillman has a well-earned reputation as an innovative development designer having built Babcock Ranch, the state's first fully solar powered residential community near Punta Gorda.

Sustainability, Traffic, and Infrastructure

The developers are also focused on the primary objections to development on the island.

"We know trees, traffic and sustainability are the big three," Hillman said. "We're solving for trees. We're not talking about little wimpy trees, but trees from day one that look like a street tree."

In meeting with residents of Crane Island, Hillman said there were traffic safety concerns about the intersection of Bailey Road and Crane Island Drive at the entrance of Ybor Alvarez soccer and softball fields.

"We're going to need support working with the city about having a roundabout there so people can leave those fields safely. A three-way stop sign would be a nightmare," he said.

John Hillman reviews concept plans for Sea Grove Village

Hillman said limiting increased traffic was addressed by capping the number of cars to two per household. He said bicycles and electric scooters would be another easy mode for people to use to get around.

He said Sea Grove Village would also offer in the future car share programs and autonomous (self-driving) vehicles as alternative means of transportation.

Hillman believes about 60 percent of those purchasing units will already be living on the island, so additional traffic won't be highly impacted.

The developer has also addressed stormwater and sustainability with city officials.

"We feel like our focus on water management, using greywater, and being a bit of a new standard of what developments and communities should do to help protect water resources," Hillman said. "With all that said, we feel like we are in full alignment with the many strategic initiatives published by the City and Nassau County."

Although city regulations mandate 452 total parking spaces, Sea Grove Village will provide 495 parking spaces.

In order to gain support for the development, Sea Grove Village plans on holding public events on the open space where the village retail center will be located.

"We're going to have opportunities for the public to try it out. On the village green we're going to have farmer's markets; we're going to have food truck events. We're going to give the public a chance to come and say 'yeah, this is the kind of place I can see myself coming to' We're going to start seeding those opportunities for people to come out and experience it," Hillman said.