Business View Magazine | August 2020

217 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2020 ST . JOHNS COUNTY , FLOR IDA for the county. “Phase one is entirely retail,” says Andrews. “Wal- Mart opened in 2018 and they occupy nearly 700,000 square feet. Home Depot opened in the first quarter of 2019, and Cinemark opened a movie theater in mid-February. This will complete the first phase of the project. Phase two has announced a 375,000-square-foot Flagler Health+ medical campus consisting of an acute care hospital with 150 beds, as well as medical offices, other health-related amenities, and potentially an educational component. We’ve seen a lot of medical office development – not only is Flagler Health+ becoming a part of the Durbin Park project, they’ve also opened a multi-specialty care clinic in the World Golf Village in St. Augustine with another location under construction in Nocatee. They’re growing very quickly. They’re the largest private employer in the county with a staff of roughly 2,000. That number continues to grow as they expand throughout the county.” Administrator. “We’re now the eighth fastest- growing county in the United States, and our unemployment rate is only 2.2%, which is still one of the lowest in Florida. Our workforce growth keeps pace with our population growth.” Residential developments are following suit. The county issued more than 4,500 residential permits in 2018 – a drastic increase from the 1,100 issued in 2010 – and those numbers are anticipated to keep growing. There have been more than 1,200 new businesses opened and 18,000 new jobs created, over the last decade. One of the more ambitious projects in St. Johns County’s recent history is Durbin Park, a 1,600- acre property on the northern border, owned by Gate Petroleum. It’s the largest concentration of urban development in the county and the first designated urban service area in the state. With 2.8 million square feet designated for offices, 2.4 million square feet of retail space, 350 hotel rooms, and nearly 1,000 multi-family units, the development represents an important venture