Empty exit off 9B could get high-end housing, restaurants by end of 2018

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The empty exit at State Road 9B -- called "E-town Parkway"  -- is currently closed, but Action News Jax has learned that construction on a new high-end housing developments will begin at the end of the year.

According to the builder, David Weekley Homes, E-town will be developed into 143 houses. It may also include parks, walking trails and restaurants.

Real estate attorney Ken Jacobs says E-town Parkway is strategically located in south Jacksonville.

Jacobs said the development, which is about halfway between the St. Johns Town Center and the brand-new Durbin Park development, is part of a familiar master-planned concept.

"It's also owned by the Davis family, who also brought Nocatee to St. Johns and Duval, and looks like similar developers because they have similar builders going in," Jacobs said.