San Jose is a small riverfront community roughly drawn alongside San Jose Boulevard between Baymeadows Road and University Boulevard. The community is minutes from San Marco and downtown Jacksonville. San Jose’s history begins in 1925 when The San Jose Company planned an ambitious development named San Jose Estates. The neighborhood was to include a golf and country club, a yacht club, two hotels, parks, schools, stores and homes. When the real estate boom subsided, the project ended abruptly and components were sold piecemeal to investors.
The remnants of the development today are historic local landmarks, many of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The San Jose Country Club is the single commercial building of the project that is still used for its original purpose. The Bolles School is the former 125-room San Jose Hotel that opened in 1926 as the centerpiece of the project. Prestigious Epping Forest Yacht Club was originally a riverfront mansion belonging to industrialist Alfred I. DuPont and his wife Jessie Ball DuPont, constructed on the site slotted for the second, “Vanderbilt” hotel. San Jose Episcopal Church served as the Administration Building. The local firm Marsh and Saxelbye designed the four Spanish towers of the entrance gate, one of which stills stands near Christopher Creek. Approximately 20 homes native to the project today mingle sideby- side with more modern homes. San Jose offers a number of excellent schools and tranquil parks. As a result, many families with children reside in the area.
