Golf, the Intracoastal, and a gate
Palencia was started in the early 2000s and it is one of the genuinely upscale communities in our market. It is a golf course community, and the club is private, for members. It is also gated. And it backs up to the Intracoastal Waterway.
That combination is what makes it unusual. Plenty of places here give you one of those things. Palencia gives you all three at once.
Everyone gets the water, not just the waterfront owners
This is the detail I love about Palencia and the one buyers are most surprised by. There are boardwalks and walking trails running out along the Intracoastal, and every resident in the neighborhood has access to them. You do not have to own a waterfront home to walk out over the marsh at sunset. That is unusual, and it changes how the whole community lives.
If you do want the waterfront itself, the Intracoastal homes here generally start around $2.5 million and run past $4 million.
What playing here is actually like
People describe a round at Palencia as an experience rather than a round of golf. The grounds are kept immaculately. The holes sit far apart from each other, so there is real driving between them, and normally golfers complain about that. Here nobody does. You reset your head at every hole because each one opens up somewhere new. Add golf carts you can take all through the neighborhood, a good gym, beautiful pools including a slide pool, and tennis courts, and you have a very complete package.
A social community, not just a subdivision
If you want to actually know your neighbors, this is the community I point you to. Palencia has a true club culture. Dinner events, bingo nights, a wine club, and things on the calendar all year. Some people want to buy a house and be left alone. If that is you, this is not your fit. If you are moving here and want a way in socially, especially if you are new to the area, Palencia does that better than almost anywhere.
Old St. Augustine at your door
Palencia sits just outside historic downtown St. Augustine, and for a lot of my buyers that is the closer. You get a gated golf community on the water, and the oldest city in the country ten minutes away for dinner.
