The owner of the Shoppes at Mill Creek Forest wants to ditch more than 100,000 square feet of unbuilt office space in favor of new stores, and St. Johns County planners have already signed off on the idea. The shift would convert 120,000 square feet of permitted professional office space into 41,500 square feet of commercial and retail space at the 124-acre planned unit development near Greenbriar Road and Longleaf Pine Parkway in northwest St. Johns County.
The St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency voted unanimously on Thursday to recommend approval of the modification, according to a report from the Jacksonville Daily Record. Under the proposal, the development's maximum commercial and retail allowance would climb from 399,000 to 440,500 square feet, while its maximum office space would shrink from 135,000 square feet to just 15,000. The overall nonresidential development cap for the PUD would still fall, dropping from 534,000 to 455,500 square feet — a net decrease of 78,500 square feet once the new ratios are applied.
Why Office Space Is Losing Ground to Retail
The proposed shift would trade permitted office space for commercial and retail space while lowering the PUD's overall nonresidential cap.
The proposal would convert unbuilt office entitlements into retail space.
The PUD is already 43.3% built out, per the county staff report, with tenants that include 7-Eleven, AutoZone, Wendy's, Mavis Tire & Brake, Fifth Third Bank, Chase Bank, Dunkin' and Community First Credit Union.
Neighbors Press on Traffic Near Bartram Trail High
Kimley-Horn and Associates, representing the applicant, held the required neighborhood meeting at Bartram Trail High School on September 14. Attendees raised questions about traffic generation, site access, building locations, and how the PUD would interact with the school and an adjacent development. The PUD as written permits a wide range of uses, including truck stops, nightclubs and funeral homes.
Those access concerns surface as the county works to expand capacity on roads feeding the Greenbriar corridor. St. Johns County is advancing a project to widen a 1.5-mile gap of Greenbriar Road from two to four lanes between Longleaf Pine Parkway and Greenbriar Estates Drive, with construction planned to begin in late 2026 or early 2027, according to St. Johns County Government. The 18-month project would connect Veterans Parkway to areas west of Longleaf Pine Parkway.
Deadline Pushed to 2041 as Growth Keeps Coming
Beyond the land-use swap, the application seeks to extend the PUD's completion deadline from 2033 to 2041, along with updates to the project's sign plan and access management plan. The remaining development balance within the PUD would fall from 302,553 to 224,053 square feet under the modification. The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to take up the request on November 3.
The longer runway reflects just how much growth is still landing in the area. St. Johns County added 11,400 residents between July 2024 and July 2025, pushing its total population to 346,328 after nearly tripling in size since 2000, per the St. Johns Citizen. Nearby, national homebuilder Taylor Morrison bet $60 million on a 55-plus community in the Greenbriar Community Development District in July.
