St. Johns County outlines plans for four regional parks with libraries, sports complexes and community space

St. Johns County officials announced plans to develop four regional parks on parcels the county has held for roughly 15 years, each designed to combine recreation facilities and library services and to be funded with non-general-fund dollars, Parks Director Ryan Kaine said.

"We have four parcels that we've owned for approximately 15 years," Kaine said, describing sites in the west, central and northeast parts of the county. He said the projects are tied to a bond package and will be paid for largely with park impact fee revenues from current and future development and some tourist development tax dollars.

The parks described in the podcast include a Greenbryer Regional Park that will host a library on-site plus two baseball and two softball fields, pickleball courts and a playground. Kaine said Greenbryer is intended to create "new users" for both the library and the park by colocating the two facilities.

At a campus near Trout Creek Academy, Kaine said the county plans a Silverleaf Sportsplex with eight rectangular fields for soccer, football and lacrosse — five of them artificial turf — and the county's first public track not on school grounds. "That's going to be something that...is a huge asset," Kaine said, noting the track will be open for everyday public use as well as occasional competitions.

Adjacent to that site, Kaine said, a Shearwater community park will include a small children-focused library hub, a community center for summer camps and after-school programs, covered and open basketball courts, pickleball courts, playgrounds and skateboarding amenities, plus open green space for events such as farmers markets and concerts.

In the northeast quadrant, Kaine described a Pontedra Nagati Regional Park off Nagati Parkway that the county expects will be a hub for local softball organizations. He said it will include a four-field softball "wagon wheel" complex, two rectangle soccer fields, pickleball courts and walking trails, and that a full-size library and playground are planned at that site.

Kaine said some of the projects are expected to come "on board" in November and December and emphasized that the funding for the parks will not rely on the county's general fund. "Mostly park impact fee dollars...and some tourist development tax dollars as well," he said.

The announcement in the podcast described programmatic goals (youth sports fields, community access to a public track, joint library-park use) and provided approximate facility counts where available. No formal board action or vote was recorded in the episode; Kaine described planning, funding sources and anticipated timing for bringing sites forward to the board.

The county's parks department has held the parcels and worked with development partners and athletic groups to shape the facilities, Kaine said, and said more detailed design, timelines and permits will follow as projects proceed through planning and procurement.

Next steps: Kaine said that specific park projects will move forward in the coming months, with some items expected to be presented to the board toward the end of the year.