VanTrust Real Estate LLC is planning several buildings that will total 675,000 square feet in Class A office space on Nocatee Parkway, one-half mile west of the Town Center.

VanTrust Trust Florida said Friday it had closed on the project’s 72-acre parcel, located on the south side of Nocatee Parkway, and has begun planning and design.

Nocatee has one office building over 100,000 square feet and one that is 80,000 square feet under construction, but nothing of this magnitude, according to John Carey, who heads VanTrust Florida.

The idea, Carey said, is to get closer to the executive labor pool.

“There are now 5,000 homes in Nocatee. Just think of how many people that is,” he said. “You’re five miles from Ponte Vedra. It’s really not out there anymore.”

Jacksonville hasn’t seen new office construction for nearly a decade. Now, with office space filling up, it’s time to build more, Carey said.

On the Southside, there’s little land left. And with all the retail expansion nearby, what’s available is priced too high, he said.

Five years ago, Southside’s Flagler Center office park still had a lot of land, but now it’s all been bought.

“Really, (Nocatee) is a very logical place to go,” Carey said.

The project also marks VanTrust’s entrance into the Florida market. The company plans to operate initially in Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa Bay.

The VanTrust Florida team includes Marc Munago, vice president, development, and Mendy Thompson, director, finance.

Carey, a veteran developer, is the founder of Jacksonville’s Whitehall Realty Partners and has held executive positions with Flagler Development Co., The St. Joe Co. and Trammell Crow Co.

VanTrust is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo. The company also has regional offices in Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Houston and Phoenix.

According to VanTrust’s website, it creates real estate assets for both internal portfolio holdings as well as disposition opportunities. Its product types are office, industrial, multifamily, retail, institutional, governmental, hospitality and recreational.

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