Nocatee Makes a Splash

by Ervin Lovett Miller (ELM)

The Splash Water Park in the Nocatee master-planned community of Ponte Vedra Fla. is situated in the northeast corner of the state, just south of Jacksonville and 10 minutes from the Atlantic shore. This is the region’s largest aquatic and amenity facility of it kind. It is the social, recreational and fitness centerpiece for the 16,000-acre town of Nocatee.
Photo: ELM

On April 1, 2010, the design firm of Ervin Lovett Miller (ELM) completed the Nocatee Splash Water Park in the Nocatee master-planned community of Ponte Vedra Fla., a northeast Florida coastal community south of Jacksonville. Nocatee comprises new residential villages surrounded by greenways, essentially a modern take on small town living, 10 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean (Ponte Vedra Beach), and convenient commuting to Jacksonville and St. Augustine. The master planned community will eventually have police, fire, multiple churches, a library, larger retailers and office spaces. The developer has also agreed to donate land for nine public schools, including the new Ponte Vedra High School.

The only nonswimming element in Nocatee Splash Water Park is a 9,500 square-foot lagoon (at the top right). The water park integrates buildings, pools and landscaping. Palms dominate, with six varities on the grounds: hardy bamboo palms (Chamaedorea microspadix); European fan palms (Chamaerops humilis); ribbon fan palms (Livistona decipiens); Medjool date palms (Phoenix dactylifera ‘Medjool’); pygmy date palms (Phoenix roebelenii); wild date palms (Phoenix sylvestris); and hybrid Senegal date palms (Phoenix/hybrid reclinata X Sylvestris).
Photo: Ervin Lovett Miller

An Aquatics Park Designed to Grow with the Community

ELM provided the architecture and landscape architecture for the Nocatee aquatic facility, which opened April 10 as the only one of its kind and size in the region.

“The developer of Nocatee, The PARC Group, requested an aquatics and recreational facility that was consistent with the quality and feel of the Nocatee community,” explains ELM partner Russ Ervin. “Our goal was to design an aquatics center commensurate with the size of the community, while also considering Nocatee’s future growth. As a result, we have designed the aquatics park, both in materials and architecture, to grow with the community while maintaining its lasting quality and value.”

ELM gleaned inspiration from area architecture, including historic St. Augustine. “I think it is remarkable what has been done at Nocatee based on these economic times with regard to the quality that has been incorporated into all of the amenities out there,” Ervin adds. “I think that’s pretty significant. It is obvious that the PARC Group is developing something for the long term.”

Splash Cove is an interactive sprayground with a zero-entry shallow-access pool for children.
Photo: Ervin Lovett Miller

Water Features

The Nocatee Splash Water Park includes an array of interactive water features:

• 53-foot slide tower with dual high-speed slides, known as the Rip Tide Slides.
  
• 450-foot Lazy Tides River.
  
• 9,500 square-foot lagoon pool.
  
• Splash Cove, an interactive sprayground with a zero-entry shallow-access pool for children.
  
• The Cabana, covered seating area and summer kitchen available for private reservation.

The Rip Tide Slides structure is a 53-foot tall tower with duel high-speed water slides within the Nocatee Splash Water Park, part of the Nocatee master-planned community of Ponte Vedra Fla. Nocatee is situated in the northeast corner of the state, just south of Jacksonville and 10 minutes from the Atlantic shore.
Photo: Marcos Sabugo

Rec Amenities

Nocatee Splash Water Park recreational amenities designed by ELM include cabanas for concessions and restrooms, sand volleyball courts, a formal event lawn, three activity lawns and a children’s playground.

The Crosswater Hall clubhouse is the center for social and civic activities. It includes a banquet facility, a conference room and welcome center on the ground floor.

The facility is adjacent to a 5,000-square-foot fitness center with modern cardio and strength-training equipment.
The park’s design also includes a nonswimming lagoon with overlook views of the community’s nature preserves.

Children and adults enjoy floating down the 450-foot Lazy Tides River in tubes past the “rock” outcroppings, the waterfalls, tropical scenery (palms) and getting cooled off by the geysers. A “rapid-tide” whirlpool is tucked within a side bay of the river.
Photo: Ervin Lovett Miller

Community Park

The Nocatee Splash Water Park is the focal point of Nocatee’s 75-acre Community Park, also planned and designed by ELM, that includes multi-purpose playfields, a concession building, a dog park, recreational trails, tennis courts and community parking, all complete and actively used by residents. The Nocatee Community Park is in the heart of Nocatee. An extensive series of greenways, trails and boardwalks weave through the neighborhoods and the natural areas, providing residents with biking, jogging or walking access to the park and other community areas.

When it’s all done, Nocatee will have more than 300 acres of parks, with neighborhoods connected by an extensive network of trails.

The new Nocatee Town Center, which had a grand opening in January 2010, is a pedestrian-friendly urban village with retail (a state-of-the-art Publix Supermarket), dining, boutiques and banks. Flagler Development Co. plans on a “Class A” corporate office park in the heart of Nocatee’s Town Center.

About Ervin Lovett Miller

Ervin Lovett Miller (ELM) is a leading environmental design practice applied to the disciplines of planning, architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, interiors and environmental graphics.

ELM serves its clients from a studio office in the historic Southbank/San Marco district of downtown Jacksonville, Fla.

ELM renovated and expanded the building in 2005 into a two-story design studio, and this renovation has since inspired growth and renewal of numerous other historic buildings in the district.

Nocatee Aquatics Project Team

Owner:  The Parc Group
Landscape Architect:  Ervin Lovett Miller
Architect:  Ervin Lovett Miller
Civil Engineer:  England Thims & Miller, Inc.
Geotechnical Engineer:  Ellis & Associates, Inc.
Structural Engineer:  McVeigh & Mangum Engineering, Inc.
Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical Engineer:  McVeigh & Mangum Engineering, Inc.
Pool Engineer:  North American Aquatic Design, Inc.
Irrigation Designer:  Irrigation By Design
Interior Designer:  Wakefield Beasley and Associates
General Contractor:  Edwards Construction Services, Inc.
Site Contractor:  Tim Prep Inc.
Landscape Contractor:  Sun State Nursery and Landscaping, Inc.
Swimming Pool Contractor:  Swimming Pool Specialists
Concrete Contractor:  Carlton Walker Masonry, Inc.
Electrical Contractor:  Adkins Electric, Inc.

Products and Suppliers

Building Stone Veneer: Arriscraft International, Exterior Expressions
Cast Stone:  Exterior Expressions
Concrete Hollow Core: Gate Concrete Products
Concrete Pavers: Tremron, Inc.
Elevator:  Otis Elevator Company
Fencing and Railings: Finyl Sales, Inc.
Lazy River Rock Formations: Exterior Expressions
Lighting: Western Florida Lighting, Inc.
Louvers and Shutters: Finyl Sales
Paint:  Benjamin Moore
Roof Tile: Monier Life Tile
Roof Trusses:  Manning Truss Co.
Segmental Wall: Tremron, Inc.
Site Stone Veneer: Cooperstone, Exterior Expressions
Sprayground: Compac Filtration, Inc.
Standing Seam Metal Roof: Berridge Manufacturing Company
Tot Lot Play Structure: REP Services, Inc.
Water Slides: Whitewater
Windows and Doors: Pella

Landscape Pallet:

Palms

Chamaedorea microspadix - Hardy Bamboo Palm
Chamaerops humilis - European Fan Palm
Livistona decipiens - Ribbon Fan Palm
Phoenix dactylifera 'Medjool' - Medjool Date Palm
Phoenix roebelenii - Pygmy Date Palm
Phoenix sylvestris - Wild Date Palm
Phoenix/hybrid reclinata X Sylvestris - Hybrid Senegal Date Palm

Trees and Flowering Trees

Lagerstroemia indica 'Burgundy Cotton' Pp14438 - Burgundy Cotton Crape Myrtle
Lagerstroemia indica 'Natchez' - Natchez Crape Myrtle
Lagerstroemia indica 'red Rocket' Pp11342 - Red Rocket Crape Myrtle
Lagerstroemia indica X Faueri 'Acoma' - Acoma Crape Myrtle
Ligustrum Japonicum - Tree Ligustrum
Nerium oleander 'calypso' - Calypso Standard Tree Oleander
Pinus elliotti - Slash Pine
Quercus virginiana - Live Oak
Raphiolepis umbellata 'majestic Beauty' - Tree Form Raphiolepis
Taxodium distichum - Bald Cypress

Shrubs and Groundcovers

Alpinia zerumbet - Shell Ginger
Azalea X 'Conlep' Pp# 12133 - Autumn Twist Encore Azalea
Bougainvillea glabra 'New River' - New River Bougainvillea
Crinum asiaticum - Crinum Lily
Fatsia japonica - Fatsia
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Penny Mac' - Penny Mac Hydrangea
Ilex 'Nellie R. Stevens' - Nellie R. Stevens Holly
Juniperus chinensis 'Parsonii' - Parson Juniper
Juniperus conferta 'Compacta' - Dwarf Shore Juniper
Loropetalum chinensis 'Ruby' - Dwarf Loropetalum
Philodendron bipinnatifidum-selloum - Split-leaf Philodendron
Philodendron X 'Xanadu' - Xanadu Cut-leaf Philodendron
Podocarpus macrophyllus - Japanese Podocarpus
Raphiolepis Indica - Dwarf Indian Hawthorn
Rosa ‘Knockout Red’ - Red Knockout Rose
Trachelospermum asiaticum - Dwarf Jasmine
Viburnum odoratissimum Awabuki - Awabuki Sweet Viburnum
Viburnum odoratissimum - Sweet Viburnum
Viburnum suspensum - Sandankwa Viburnum