Hampton Golf Inc. likely will move its headquarters to Arlington as it determines how it wants to use the 2.52-acre Park-n-Ride lot it bought last week from the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.
The lot at 1700 Monument Road is next to the Blue Sky Golf Club, which occupies property owned by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and is managed by Jacksonville-based Hampton Golf.
The JTA lot provides 73 spaces. JTA spokesman David Cawton said the bus stop at the site will remain.
Cawton said Hampton is working with the JTA “to transition the facility over the next month, giving us enough time to communicate the change to our customers.”
HG Development LLC paid $300,000 for the property July 31.
“It is great parking and Blue Sky, particularly on the weekends and for special events, could use the parking,” said Hampton Golf President MG Orender.
First, he wants to preserve the parking.
“First and foremost, we are trying to protect that parking for Blue Sky, but there is a piece of property that has the appropriate zoning and is a size that we can do a number of things.”
Second, he wants to determine how to best use the rest of the site.
“The goal is to move our main corporate office there once we have fully evaluated the highest and best use of the property and how to structure it so that what we do supports Blue Sky,” he said.
Hampton Golf is a golf course management and development firm that manages 25 golf courses and facilities in four states.
Hampton Golf employs 1,700 people companywide and 35-40 at its headquarters, Orender said.
Orender and developer Ed Burr founded Hampton Golf in 1998.
Hampton Golf-managed properties include Eagle Harbor in Fleming Island and The Palencia Club in St. Augustine.
Hampton Golf began managing Blue Sky, on property next to Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport, after the golf company’s related Aviation Golf Club LLC took over the club’s lease with JAA.
After a more than $1.5 million renovation starting in 2014, the clubhouse and golf course reopened in 2015.
The headquarters building could be at least 6,000-7,000 square feet, more than the 4,000 square feet used now among two locations in Baymeadows, Orender said.
He would like to develop more than Hampton Golf’s office space on the site.
The headquarters building could be more than one floor, with the additional levels rented to sister companies or other businesses.
Hampton Golf has ventured into golf course maintenance, for example.
“We want to think about the other uses of the property so that we can maximize the highest and best use,” he said.
Orender expects to take a year or two to decide.
Blue Sky Golf Club, formerly Mill Cove, offers an 18-hole course, driving range with day and night practice capabilities, billiards, cornhole and a full-service restaurant and bar open to the public.
The property is open to the public and memberships are available.
