SJC Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for Silverleaf Sportsplex and Shearwater Community Park and Library

• 26 June 2025
• Category: SJC News Parks and Recreation Public Library System
• Tags: 2025

Both sites represent progress toward fulfillment of $123 million regional park plan

On June 20, St. Johns County officials and staff held a groundbreaking ceremony next to Trout Creek Academy to celebrate the start of work on two projects: Silverleaf Sportsplex and the Shearwater Community Park and Library. The Office of Public Affairs produced a video to commemorate the event.

The sites represent two of the four new regional parks envisioned in the County’s $123 million regional park plan, a major step toward meeting the need for increased recreation space to service St. Johns County’s growing population.

District 4 Commissioner and Board of County Commissioners Chair Krista Joseph, District 1 Commissioner Christian Whitehurst, District 2 Commissioner Sarah Arnold, District 3 Commissioner Clay Murphy, and District 5 Commissioner Ann Taylor attended the ceremony, along with various St. Johns County administrators and staff.

“I’m really proud of our County,” Chair Joseph said. “These two projects will become a place to play, learn, and gather us as a community.”

“Up until last year, we hadn’t opened a single new park in 10 years,” Commissioner Arnold said. “And with the community growing the way it is… it’s so important, with all the young kids.”

Silverleaf Sportsplex is set to include five multipurpose fields with synthetic turf, three multipurpose fields with natural grass, areas designated for tailgating, ticketing, and food trucks. The Shearwater Community Park and Library is set to include space for recreational programs and to support the St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections and St. Johns County Public Library System services, courts for pickleball and basketball, a recreational field, a splash pad, and two playgrounds.

“We only have about nine government-owned early voting locations,” Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes said. “As the County grows and expands… there’s more demand for our services, and more demand for places to vote. So, this is a wonderful addition.”

“This Shearwater Library aligns more specifically with [Parks and Recreation’s] target audience of children and families, affording SJCPLS the opportunity to create a unique and specialized resource for all the families in the Shearwater area,” St. Johns County Library System Director Debra Rhodes Gibson said.

“This is where St. Johns County comes together and gets to know each other, enjoy each other,” Parks and Recreation Director Ryan Kane said. “Whether it’s at their kids’ soccer games, playing pickleball with each other, going to a library, or coming to a community event. This is really about community.”