In SilverLeaf, the Parks Are Due Before the Patios
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
There are two big construction projects in SilverLeaf right now, and they run on different schedules. On Timberwolf Trail, St. Johns County is building a regional sports complex and a community park with a library inside. The county says both should open in early 2027. On Silverleaf Parkway, private developers are about to start two restaurant-and-retail buildings at SilverLeaf Market. They expect to finish those in the fourth quarter of 2027.
That means the public places where people gather will open first, and the buildings meant for new restaurant patios are scheduled to finish about a year later.
The county projects began first, and their schedule has already slipped once. The private buildings have only just been announced. Here are the dates so far:
Taken together, the timeline points to a winter or spring opening on Timberwolf Trail. The Corner Shoppes buildings on Silverleaf Parkway are not scheduled to finish construction until the fourth quarter of next year.
The two parks share one road but do different jobs. Silverleaf Sportsplex sits at Timberwolf Trail and County Road 16A, on a 40-acre site inside the Silverleaf community. Shearwater Community Park is just north of it on Timberwolf Trail. The county gave 575 Timberwolf Trail as the address for the groundbreaking.
| Silverleaf Sportsplex | Shearwater Community Park | |
|---|---|---|
| County estimate | About $36 million | About $12.3 million |
| Fields and courts | Four synthetic turf multipurpose fields, three natural grass fields, one synthetic turf stadium field with a track | One covered basketball court in an airnasium, one uncovered basketball court, eight pickleball courts |
| Other features | Playground, restrooms, concession stand, sidewalks, parking | Skatepark, splash pad, playground, open green space, parking and pedestrian access improvements |
| Indoors | None listed | Community center with a library hub and multipurpose rooms |
| After dark | Every field lit for evening play | Not specified |
The Sportsplex project page also lists tailgating, ticketing and food truck areas. Those are features for crowds at organized events. Shearwater is the park for regular days. An airnasium is a covered, open-air structure that shades a basketball court and lets air through, which matters in a Florida summer.
In the county's April release, Parks and Recreation Director Ryan Kane listed the whole package: "With eight new fields, a track, basketball, pickleball, skateboarding, playgrounds and a library hub, these sites will be a great place to get out and be active."
The library hub is the one indoor space in all this construction. It's also the part people may use most often, because a library visit doesn't depend on a game schedule. The St. Johns County Public Library System calls it the Shearwater Branch Library and lists its expected completion as "Winter 2027." The system describes three main features:
The library system's own distances explain why a smaller branch like this helps. Shearwater is about 9 miles from the Bartram Trail Branch Library and about 4 miles from the future Greenbriar Park and Library. For a family that now drives 9 miles to pick up a hold, a pickup counter on Timberwolf Trail can turn that errand into a stop on the way to soccer practice. The multipurpose rooms in the same community center are meant for programs, meetings and community activities.
On August 18, 2026, the Board of County Commissioners took up a consent item to make Thor Guard the standard lightning prediction and warning system for county parks and athletic complexes. The county already runs sixteen of these systems. They warn people before dangerous lightning moves in so staff can stop play and reopen fields safely afterward.
The item lists planned installations at Shearwater Park in December 2026 and at SilverLeaf Sportsplex in December 2026. Greenbriar Regional Park is listed for fall. A lightning warning system only protects people who are out on the fields. Having it scheduled for next month fits the county's early 2027 target.
Once the fields open, the county's athletic field policy decides who gets them. County Parks and Recreation programming has first priority, and partner associations come next through an application and scheduling process. For families waiting on the eight lit fields, the league or program that signs up through that process will shape weeknight practice times more than the opening date will.
SilverLeaf Market at 1975 Silverleaf Parkway, just west of St. Johns Parkway, already handles the weekly errands. Publix anchors the center, and Avalon Nails and SoFresh are open there. Club Pilates, M Shack, My Tiffin and The UPS Store were all building out their spaces when the Jax Daily Record reported on the center in August. The Silverleaf studio page for Club Pilates lists hours and classes open for booking.
The next phase is meant to make the center a place to linger. The Hutson Cos. and Skinner Bros. Realty are developing SilverLeaf Corner Shoppes, two buildings totaling 16,100 square feet. They are targeting two restaurant tenants for end-cap spaces of up to 4,000 square feet each, and both spaces will have outdoor patios. Planned Dunkin' and Fifth Third Bank outparcels sit separately on the same site. The new buildings face the new Baptist & Wolfson Children's Hospital campus.
In the developers' release, as reported by the Jax Daily Record, Hutson Cos. president Cody Hutson described the plan this way:
"The Corner Shops will be located at the core of Silverleaf and we are creating a space that will serve as the heart of our community."
Leasing is underway, and construction is expected to run from this quarter through the fourth quarter of 2027. If both schedules hold, early 2027 brings lit fields, eight pickleball courts, a skatepark and a library pickup counter on Timberwolf Trail. The two Silverleaf Parkway buildings with patio restaurant spaces are scheduled to finish construction around the end of the year. A family at a spring tournament at the Sportsplex will have the food truck area on site.
Watching SilverLeaf fill in like this is part of how Michele Tremblay keeps up with what each corner of St. Johns County is becoming, from the first lightning sensor to the last restaurant lease. If you'd like to talk through what the Timberwolf Trail openings and the new Silverleaf Parkway buildings mean for your own plans in the area, Request a Private Consultation and we'll go through it together.
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MICHELE TREMBLAY
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