From 300 Homes to 1,349: The Landings at Saint Johns
The property that is now The Landings at Saint Johns was originally entitled for approximately 300 homes. Today, the approved plan includes 1,349 homes across two communities, The Landings at Greenbriar, a single-family community, and Del Webb Saint Johns, an active-adult (55+) community.
Getting there required a large-scale comprehensive plan amendment, a small-scale comprehensive plan amendment, two PUD rezonings, transportation analysis and mitigation, and school concurrency coordination. ETM's planning and engineering teams worked together throughout the process to secure the necessary approvals and address infrastructure needs associated with the development.
Increasing the Property's Development Potential
ETM's planning team secured a comprehensive plan amendment for the active-adult portion of the property, changing its future land use designation from Rural/Silviculture to Residential B, which allows up to two dwelling units per acre. With significant wetlands on the property and commitments for their preservation, the community was capped at 761 homes.
For The Landings at Greenbriar, ETM processed a separate comprehensive plan amendment to bring the remaining portion of the property into the Residential B designation, along with a PUD rezoning that established a maximum of 588 homes.
Together, the approvals increased the property's development potential from approximately 300 homes under the rural silviculture designation to 1,349 homes, with requirements for wetland preservation, buffers, access, lot standards and recreation incorporated into the development plan.
Building the Roadway Improvements
ETM's traffic engineering team evaluated how the development would affect the surrounding roadway network and identified a deficient segment of Greenbriar Road.
As part of the project's transportation mitigation, the team committed to designing, permitting and constructing the required roadway improvements rather than paying a proportionate-share fee for the County to complete the work later. The improvements extend from near the project's western boundary to just east of the Longleaf Pine Parkway intersection and include intersection and signal timing improvements.
Advancing the improvements directly gave the project team greater control over the design and schedule while ensuring the necessary roadway capacity was addressed alongside development of the community.
Addressing Existing School Traffic
Community meetings also identified an existing traffic concern along Greenbriar Road: vehicle stacking associated with school pickup and drop-off at nearby Hickory Creek Elementary and Switzerland Point Middle School.
ETM and the project team developed an extended turn and stacking lane to move school traffic out of the main travel lanes and improve circulation on Greenbriar Road. The improvement was completed early in the development process and was already in operation for the 2025–26 school year.
The solution addressed an existing concern for nearby residents while also preparing the corridor for traffic associated with the new development.
Coordinating the Site and Infrastructure
The project also required careful coordination of site design, utilities, drainage, wetlands and transportation infrastructure across two residential communities. ETM's multidisciplinary team was able to address those components together as the project moved from entitlement through design and construction.
This consisted of site design and utility infrastructure that make the community function day to day. More than 50 acres of preservation area and 15 acres of parks were woven into the site plan, a direct result of the density limits the wetlands required.
Planning and Engineering Working Together
Working with our client, Pulte, ETM helped increase the property's approved development program from approximately 300 to 1,349 homes, while establishing the land use framework and infrastructure needed to support the community. When transportation and community concerns arose, our team worked with Pulte to develop practical solutions and carry them through planning, design and permitting.
Those plans became reality through close coordination with Vallencourt Construction, whose team constructed the site and infrastructure improvements.
Congratulations to Pulte and Del Webb on this achievement!
