A major redevelopment plan for Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Ponte Vedra Beach is moving toward a final county decision after clearing its latest land-use review. The proposal would replace several aging campus buildings with a consolidated facility focused on early learning, religious instruction and parish administration.
The Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board recommended approval Monday of the campus modification, which would raise the site’s maximum allowable development entitlement from 62,779 square feet to 78,800 square feet. The decision gives the growing parish room to modernize its current operations while preserving capacity for additional construction later, according to Jacksonville Daily Record.
The project follows a broader period of investment at the Ponte Vedra campus. The Diocese of St. Augustine reported that the parish completed a major sanctuary restoration and renovation in 2021 after years of planning and construction.
The newest phase would demolish the existing youth center, educational center and rectory, replacing them with one unified building. Plans call for a child learning center, faith-based programming spaces, administrative offices and a daily chapel, with the redevelopment designed to support both early childhood education and religious instruction.
Final Approval Is Set For September
The next major checkpoint is a St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners meeting scheduled for Sept. 1. The county’s official meeting calendar lists the commission session for 9 a.m. at the St. Johns County Auditorium in St. Augustine, where the parish’s request is expected to advance for final consideration.
Before Monday’s vote, county staff reported that no formal opposition had been filed and no residents spoke during the public-comment period. The project design also received a 3-0 approval from the Ponte Vedra Architectural Review Committee on July 22, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Our Lady Star of the Sea was established in 1972 as a small mission parish and now serves more than 2,900 families, while Palmer Catholic Academy operates on the campus for students from pre-K through eighth grade. Parish project manager Victor Yasbeck said the parish hopes to begin work quickly after final approval and complete the redevelopment by September of the following year, a timeline that would allow the Early Learning Center to open next August.
