A proposed change at the Shoppes at Mill Creek Forest would replace much of the development’s approved office space with additional retail near the intersection of Greenbriar Road and Longleaf Pine Parkway.

Helow Properties Ltd. filed a major modification application with St. Johns County on Aug. 7, 2026. The request would convert 120,000 square feet of permitted professional office space into 41,500 square feet of commercial and retail space.

If approved, the development’s maximum entitlement would increase to 440,500 square feet of commercial and retail uses while reducing professional office space to 15,000 square feet. The application says the exchange is based on equivalent vehicle trips.

What is proposed

The major modification application does not identify a specific store, restaurant or other tenant. County records list Blair Knighting of Kimley-Horn and Associates as the applicant’s representative and identify Helow Properties as the owner.

A related county pre-application filed in April describes a potential project on 25.74 acres. That proposal calls for a 186,128-square-foot commercial retail store, a fuel station with 10 fueling pumps and two outparcels reserved for future development. Plans would also include parking, drive aisles and utility infrastructure.

The pre-application does not name the prospective retail store or any future outparcel tenants. The county record also notes that the proposed project is not within the Rivertown PUD boundary and was renamed to avoid confusion.

Traffic and review

The county’s public notice says the land-use modification “does not result in an increase of currently approved uses.” The applicant is seeking to make the change using a vehicle-trip equivalency between office and retail development, rather than adding a new overall use category to the PUD.

That does not mean the project would have no effect on local traffic. Retail and office uses can generate trips at different times and create different patterns of customer and employee travel. The application remains under county review, and the county’s tracking system shows that the submittal was opened for Public Works review on Aug. 28. Comments were sent to the applicant on Sept. 4.

The broader development is located around the southwest and southeast corners of Greenbriar Road and Longleaf Pine Parkway. The original Shoppes at Mill Creek Forest PUD was approved for commercial retail and professional office uses, and portions of the center are already developed, including the Publix-anchored area and several outparcels.

Public meetings and next steps

Residents will have an opportunity to learn more about the proposal at a Northwest Sector community meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, at Bartram Trail High School, 7399 Longleaf Pine Parkway.

The county’s application tracker lists a Planning and Zoning Agency hearing for Oct. 1 and a Board of County Commissioners hearing for Nov. 3. Those bodies will consider the major modification as it moves through the county approval process. The Planning and Zoning Agency serves in an advisory role, while final action on the PUD modification would come from the County Commission.

As of Sept. 7, no specific tenant has been publicly identified for the proposed 186,128-square-foot retail building or the two future outparcels. County records do show separate applications associated with the broader Shoppes at Mill Creek Forest development for businesses including a 7-Eleven and a Jersey Mike’s location, but those records do not establish that either business is planned for the new retail project.

Sources

• St. Johns County Application Submittal Management — MAJMOD-2026000013
• St. Johns County Application Submittal Management — PREAPP-2026000054
• St. Johns County Growth Management Calendar — Sept. 14 community meeting notice
• St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Boards and Agencies
• St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners 2026 meeting schedule
• St. Johns County record tree for Shoppes at Mill Creek Forest applications