St. Joe & The Baby Boomers

As the baby boom generation nears retirement, the United States Census Bureau expects Florida to add as many as 13 million new residents — the 2000 U.S. Census lists the Sunshine State’s population at around 16 million — by the year 2030. With millions of boomers eyeing a Florida retirement and the southern portion of the state already overpriced and congested, Fortune magazine reports that the state’s panhandle is seen as a more reasonable, unspoiled alternative, and that the St. Joe Company, a prominent real estate developer, may be one of the key power players and investment options.

Established in 1936 as a timber company, St. Joe holds more than 855,000 acres of land, making it the largest private owner in Florida. While the state’s real estate boom has been going on for decades, it wasn’t until the ’90s that the company’s board determined that its land’s real estate potential could trump its timber and wood pulp revenue. In fact, St. Joe famously snubbed Walt Disney in the 1960s when the businessman was in search of land on which to build his now world-famous theme park.

St. Joe’s properties include, but are not limited to, hundreds of miles of panhandle oceanfront, riverfront and lakefront tracts, and more than 352,000 acres within just 10 miles of the Gulf of Mexico. With the possible exception of frequent hurricanes, it’s hard to see anything coming between this developer (listed as simply JOE in the New York Stock Exchange) and incredible wealth within the next two to three decades. Investors, take notice.