- March 5, 2025
Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds, the biggest developer in the Hammock, is two units away from having sold all of its residential units. Because of this, the developer and its partners plan to move forward with two projects it has been sitting on for about half a decade, according to Daniel Baker.
Baker, the regional vice president of development for Front Door Communities, a partner of Lubert-Adler’s, as well as for the Hammock Beach Resort, said the projects would create about 240 units and would be constructed on parcels the developers have owned for more than five years. The projects were cast aside several years ago as the economy plummeted.
“With the improvement of the overall economy and the improvement of the local real estate market, we decided it was time to look at these properties again,” Baker said.
The first project Lubert-Adler is considering is on a parcel that sits between State Road A1A, Jungle Hut Road and Hammock Dunes Parkway. It could be used for a combination of commercial properties and residential properties, accommodating up to 80 units. Baker said in the proposal he sent to the Community Develpment District that Lubert-Adler would seek to construct a development similar to other Hammock Beach communities.
The second property sits west of State Road A1A and north of 16th Road East. It extends to the Intracoastal Waterway. It's 18.5 acres allow for 158 residential units, 46 wet boat slips and 86 dry boat slips, as well as a fueling station and 23,000 square feet of commercial amenities.
In March, Baker submitted a written proposal to the Hammock Dunes CDD on behalf of Lubert-Adler and its partners requesting that the CDD extend its water service to the two parcels where the projects would be constructed.
That request was denied in May, according to Dick Ryan, district manager for the CDD.
“The capacities allowed by the St. Johns River Water Management District are very restricted,” Ryan said. “It’s the job of the board to service the people already in the district.”
But the denial is not a deterrent, Baker said. In fact, he knew that the CDD often denied such requests because of water restrictions placed upon it. However, Lubert-Adler has two other options: It could retain water service from the city of Palm Coast or it could create its own treatment system on-site, Baker said.
“We anticipated what the answer might be,” Baker said. “We wanted to extend the courtesy of asking the closest entity first, but we can still move forward.”
However, the project is still in its infancy.
"Something like this takes a lot of time," Baker said. "We're still in the preliminary talks. But we think now is the right time to revist these projects."
