US 17 at William Burgess Boulevard: What Nassau County Owners Are Owed

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is buying right-of-way for an intersection improvement where US 17 meets William Burgess Boulevard in Yulee. About $2.7 million in land purchase money is programmed and authorized for fiscal years 2027 and 2028. If you own commercial land or run a business at this intersection, the offer stage is where your compensation is won or lost.

Is FDOT Buying Land at US 17 and William Burgess Boulevard?

Yes. FDOT item 447364-3 has been in right-of-way acquisition since March 2025, and the current program funds land purchases in fiscal years 2027 and 2028. That status comes from FDOT’s Adopted Work Program dated July 1, 2026, the state’s adopted transportation budget for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

Already holding a letter from FDOT’s right-of-way agent? Talk with a Jimerson Birr eminent domain attorney before you sign or respond.

What the Work Program Shows

• Land purchase: $1,506,387 in fiscal year 2027 and $1,217,389 in fiscal year 2028, all of it authorized.
• Right-of-way services: $128,511 in fiscal year 2027.
• Project type: FDOT describes the work as an operational intersection improvement, not a capacity project, with two concepts and design under item 447364-1.
• Relocation: the item carries no right-of-way relocation phase.
• Construction: no construction phase for this item appears in the program through fiscal year 2031.

FDOT’s fiscal year 2027 runs from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. This one item holds about 98 percent of the right-of-way money FDOT programmed in Nassau County for the five-year period. The prior adopted program scheduled most of the purchase money a year earlier, so the land buying has shifted later, not away.

Is This the Same Project as the New Signal?

No. The new signal belongs to Nassau County’s Hornets Drive project, which is separate from FDOT’s intersection item. Nassau County’s July 27, 2026 traffic advisory reported a new signal at US 17 (SR 5) and William Burgess Boulevard, part of Hornets Drive, formerly the William Burgess Boulevard Extension, which will run between US 17 and Miner Road.

That matters for owners in two ways:

• Two condemning authorities can be active in one area. A county road and a state intersection project acquire land under separate budgets, offers, and files.
• A finished signal does not end FDOT’s acquisition. FDOT’s land purchase money is still scheduled, even though new pavement is already visible.

For the broader regional picture, see our overview of major FDOT projects in North Florida and our post on Main Street in Jacksonville, the same SR 5 corridor in Duval County.

What Could FDOT Take From an Intersection Property?

At an intersection, FDOT’s needs can include corner clips, frontage strips for turn lanes, drainage areas, and temporary construction easements. The acreage is often small, but the effect on a commercial site can be large.

Before you evaluate any number, ask FDOT’s agent:

1. Is FDOT taking land outright or an easement?
2. Is any easement permanent or temporary, and for how long?
3. Does the taking reach parking, signs, a driveway, or a fuel canopy?
4. Will drainage changes affect how water moves across what you keep?

A narrow strip can cost a corner property far more than its square footage. Our guides to access, parking, and business-critical features in a taking and temporary construction easements explain how each is valued.

What Are Owners Owed in a Partial Taking?

Under section 73.071, Florida Statutes, compensation includes the value of the property taken and, in a partial taking, damages to the remainder caused by the taking. Eligible businesses may also claim business damages.

• Land value: the fair market value of the strip or easement acquired. FDOT’s number is a starting point, and deficiencies in government appraisals are common.
• Severance damages: the lost value of the land you keep. See severance damages when part of your land is taken.
• Tenant interests: tenants and leaseholders can hold separate claims.

FDOT can argue that the improved intersection raises the value of your remaining land. Under section 73.071(4), that benefit offsets only damages to the remainder. It never reduces payment for the land taken, and you never owe FDOT the difference.

Who Qualifies for Business Damages?

Section 73.071(3)(b) allows business damages only when every condition is met. The business must:

1. Face a partial taking that may damage or destroy it.
2. Have more than five years’ standing.
3. Be owned by the party whose land is taken.
4. Sit on adjoining land that party owns or holds.

The claim must be pleaded in written defenses. Our post on business damages under section 73.071 covers the records that prove it.

Who Represents Owners in a Nassau County Taking?

Jimerson Birr represents Florida property and business owners in condemnation matters brought by the state, counties, municipalities, and utilities. Our attorneys, including Brandon Meadows, work from our Jacksonville office, and our eminent domain and condemnation team and real estate development and construction attorneys advise on reusing a smaller remainder, including the land use and zoning approvals a reconfigured site may need.

We research each corridor project at the work program item level. That means owners start the first meeting knowing how their project is funded and scheduled.

What Deadlines Start When the Offer Arrives?

Section 73.015, Florida Statutes gives you at least 30 days after receiving FDOT’s notice to respond before FDOT can file suit. The other presuit rules:

• 15 business days: FDOT must provide its appraisal after you request it, along with right-of-way maps and construction plans to the extent prepared.
• 180 days for business owners: a good faith written business damage offer must be sent by certified mail. A court must strike a late claim absent a showing of good faith justification.

Missing the 180-day business damages deadline can end that claim before a lawsuit is ever filed. If negotiations fail, FDOT can file suit and seek early title. See our guides to quick take timelines under chapter 74 and what to know before accepting an offer.

Who Pays Your Attorney?

FDOT generally pays the owner’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, including for settlements reached before a lawsuit under section 73.015(4). Fees on the compensation claim follow the benefits schedule in section 73.092, Florida Statutes:

• 33 percent of any benefit up to $250,000.
• 25 percent of any portion between $250,000 and $1 million.
• 20 percent of any portion over $1 million.

On the land claim, benefits are measured against the last written offer FDOT made before you hired an attorney, exclusive of interest, or from FDOT’s first written offer after you hired one if none came before.

What Should You Check Before You Respond to FDOT?

These facts change the answer for every owner at this intersection:

1. The date you received FDOT’s notice. Your 30-day response window and any 180-day business damages deadline run from receipt, or from the date the notice was returned undeliverable.
2. Who holds title. If an LLC, a family partnership, or co-owners hold the parcel, the right decision-makers must be involved from the start.
3. Your leases. Condemnation clauses decide how an award is split between you and a tenant.
4. How long the business has operated at this location. The five-year threshold for business damages is measured against the taking.
5. Five years of business records. Tax returns, sales tax returns, and profit and loss statements support any business damages claim.

These facts decide the outcome, and an attorney needs to review them against FDOT’s maps and appraisal.

Did FDOT’s offer arrive with a deadline attached? Contact a Jimerson Birr eminent domain attorney to review your notice before the response window closes.

How Can Jimerson Birr Help Owners at US 17 and William Burgess Boulevard?

If FDOT needs part of your property at US 17 and William Burgess Boulevard, our Florida eminent domain attorneys review the offer, appraisal, and right-of-way maps, measure the effect on access and parking, and build severance and business damages claims. Call (904) 389-0050 or request a free consultation. Waiting has a cost: the 180-day business damages clock starts when FDOT’s notice arrives, and it does not pause while you decide.