Top Florida Real Estate Firm Announces $30M Deal

The St. Joe Co., the state’s biggest private landowner and one of the most notable North Florida mortgage presences, has completed a $30 million acquisition.

The prize? A Panhandle golf course designed by golfer Greg Norman.

The deal for the Shark’s Tooth Golf Club near Panama City includes 28 developed home sites, additional land, beach and tennis facilities.

The acquisition of the golf course, said St. Joe CEO Peter S. Rummell, allows the company to use land it planned for a golf course to develop about 300 additional home sites.

“We now have a very compelling golf package to offer prospective property owners,” Rummell said.

The St. Joe Co., based in Jacksonville, is one of the largest Florida real estate operating companies. It focuses on real estate development and sales.

A former timber company concentrated in North and West Florida, the company holds massive amounts of land that it plans to develop and offer to Florida mortgage seekers when the time is right.

At the end of September 2006, it owned about 835,000 acres, mainly in the North and West Florida housing market, and had $1.6 billion in assets.

SOURCE: Jacksonville Business Journal