Transaction Includes 28 Home Sites with Golf Course and Lake Views in Wild Heron
Jacksonville, Florida – (August 16, 2007) – The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) announced today that it has purchased the Greg Norman- designed Shark’s Tooth Golf Club in the Wild Heron community near Panama City Beach, Florida. The transaction also includes 28 fully- developed Wild Heron home sites, additional land parcels and beach and tennis club facilities.
The purchase price for the transaction was approximately $30 million including closing costs and assumed liabilities. Approximately $16 million of the purchase price was designated for qualified replacement property under Internal Revenue Code Sections 1031 and 1033.
"This is a strategic and opportunistic purchase that allows us to quickly and cost-effectively expand JOE amenities in Northwest Florida," said JOE chairman and CEO Peter S. Rummell. "As a result of this purchase, we are now able to change the expected use of other developable JOE land in the area that had been previously planned as a future golf course, and use the land to develop approximately 300 additional home sites. The quality and location of Shark’s Tooth makes it an excellent fit, and our control of all of the premier golf experiences in this region is expected to become a significant differentiator for JOE in the regional real estate market. In addition, the home sites in Wild Heron have excellent golf course and lake views."
Shark’s Tooth Golf Club consists of an 18-hole golf course, a 10-acre practice facility, the current membership, a 21,000 square foot club house and cart storage facility completed in 2006, a 4,000 square foot golf pro shop, a 7,500 square foot turf care center, four lighted HydroCourt Har-Tru tennis courts and a private beach club. The club house contains a grill, bar, large dining room, restaurant and locker rooms. The beach club, with approximately100 feet of beachfront on the Gulf of Mexico, is approximately 3 miles from the community and includes beach access, a grill and bar, a swimming pool and restroom facilities. Other land parcels included in the transaction have additional residential entitlements.
Earlier this year, Golf Digest ranked Shark’s Tooth as one of the best golf courses in Florida and one of the best private courses in the nation. The award-winning course fits well into JOE’s growingnetwork of significant, high-quality recreational experiences strategically distributed across tens of thousands of acres of JOE land in Northwest Florida.
"We now have a very compelling golf package to offer prospective property owners," said Rummell. "The acquisition of the Shark’s Tooth Golf Club provides a significant boost to the golf experiences that we plan to make available to JOE-selected property owners and resort guests inNorthwest Florida."
JOE’s Camp Creek Golf Club, located nearby and designed by Tom Fazio, has earned numerous accolades. Last year the course captured "America’s Top Golf Course" in the Zagat Survey. Camp Creek has been honored by Golf Week, the American Society of Landscape Architects andTravel + Leisure Golf, and most recently served as a regional qualifying venue for this year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont.
"In addition, JOE’s highly-innovative "Origins" course at WaterSound, with its six-hole Davis Love III layout, has earned extensive praise from golfers and golf writers. JOE’s purchase of the Bay Point Marina earlier this year included access to the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course at the Bay Point resort," said Rummell. "This golf network can offer our customers a wide variety of golf that appeals to all skill levels."
"These championship golf courses — along with Miraval at WindMark Beach, the Bay Point Marina, the Port St. Joe Marina, and the existing amenities at WaterColor, WaterSound Beach and WaterSound – allow JOE to provide unparalleled access to the experiences that make Northwest Florida special," said Rummell. "We plan to organize and expand this list with programs and outdoor recreational experiences that are being developed with strategic allies such as Orvis Company. Prospective real estate customers who want to experience the best of life in Northwest Florida will be able to find a unique and compelling package with JOE."
About JOE
The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE), a publicly held company based in Jacksonville, is one ofFlorida’s largest real estate development companies. We are primarily engaged in real estate development and sales, with significant interests in timber. Our mission is to create places that inspire people and make JOE’s Florida an even better place to live, work and play. We’re no ordinary JOE.
More information about JOE can be found at our web site at www.joe.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about our beliefs, plans, goals, expectations and intentions. Forward- looking statements involve risk and uncertainty, and there can be no assurance that the results described in such statements will be realized. Such statements are based on our current expectations and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or reissue any forward- looking statements. Risk factors that may cause the actual results to differ are described in this press release and in various documents we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006.
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