MIDDLEBURG – An undeveloped part of Clay County is about to become, well, booming.

Because of the construction of the First Coast Expressway – a toll interstate extension of Jacksonville’s beltway – combined with St. Vincent’s Medical Center Clay County, the are just north of Middleburg is expanding. Developer John Kiddy of Ponte Vedra Beach is spearheading this new project near Interstate10.

It’s called Branan Field Village near Branan Field and Old Jennings roads.

“It” is actually nothing yet, but it will eventually be something.

Something big.

Multiple hotels, apartments, medical destinations, numerous businesses.

“It will be a mix of residential apartments, approximately 600 units, on 42 acres and commercial and retail, restaurants, hotels, and medical offices on 30 acres,” said Kiddy, the main developer in charge, told Clay Today. “Specifically, we’re looking to emphasize the medical office component with primary and specialty care providers, diagnostic and imaging facilities, a surgery center and a public health component.

“St Vincent’s Clay, which opened in 2013 and recently completed a $35 million expansion and the future Brooks Rehabilitation Campus, have already created a mini medical city in this area, so it is only natural to continue with the medical provider growth in this area.”

Kiddy is a partner in Branan Field Village LLC, which bought up the property here. His company bought this land for $1.8 million, based on published documents.

St. Vincent’s Medical Center recently did a $33-million expansion in this nook of Clay County. Amazon is also coming to this area.

“The First Coast Expressway is fueling the growth along this corridor, which will eventually connect I-10 to I-95 thru western Duval and Clay counties, cross the St Johns River and connect to I-95 through the future Silver Leaf master planned community,” Kiddy said. “The first segment from I-10 to Blanding Boulevard will open early this year, and the next segment from Blanding to the river is funded and will commence construction in 2018.”

The new development, when it is completed, will be named “Branan Field Village.” It will include 600 apartments, four hotels, restaurants, retail stores and medical offices.

The time-frame is approximately two years.

St. Vincent’s was a driving force behind the development. No one from St. Vincent’s returned calls from Clay Today by a Wednesday publication deadline.

The development plan for Branan Field Village will require new roads and green-spaces.

St. Vincent’s, according to reports, was looking for partners in its expansion. The hospital company wanted shopping, food options and hotels to surround its new venture in Clay County.

The First Coast Expressway – a long-term highway project – is a publicly funded toll road that will traverse Clay, Duval and St. Johns counties using SunPass to handle toll payments.

The greater Jacksonville area has been besieged by traffic problems in recent years. Also, according to several national articles, Jacksonville was the second-most moved-to city in 2015, so population in the region is growing.

“Amazon is under development with a million-dollar fulfillment facility,” Kiddy said. “Residential building permits in Oakleaf and southwest Clay are on the rise with much more to come.

“All of these factors were reasons to invest. We saw no better opportunity in Florida where a property was so uniquely positioned where it would continue to grow in value because of the construction of the FCE and the future residential and commercial demand it will produce.”

Email Christiaan DeFranco at chris@opcfla.com. Follow him on Twitter @cdefranco.