Real estate has always driven the World Golf Village and the current record sales indicate that the road is getting smoother.
The 1,000th home is about to be built on the giant piece of property west of St. Augustine and the future should get better as the Village leadership is about to embark on a new era.
There will be a major reconfiguration of the World Golf Hall of Fame - it’s in the building with the big tower that you see from I-95 - and officials are using that to redefine the entire project.
“We looked at our mission and found that we needed to get back to what we were here for,” said Chief Operating Officer Jack Peter. “People around the country can’t identify with a ‘World Golf Village’ but they certainly know about a Hall of Fame.”
Thus, the marketing will turn to the Hall itself and will carry that message around the country.
The renewed emphasis will impact real estate, too, as the Village’s two golf courses will be exposed to millions of potential homebuyers.
Here’s a look at the various parts of the Village as it moves through its sixth year:
Real estate
The Neighborhoods of World Golf Village continues to pick up its construction pace. There are currently 370 homes under construction in the growing St. Johns County community, according to Sherry Davidson, president of Davidson Realty, Inc.
“The amount of construction and sales activity at World Golf Village is simply astounding,” said Davidson. “Davidson Realty is also experiencing a banner year with more than $80 million in sales since the beginning of the year. We will also soon welcome our 1,000th resident since we now have 987 homes completed. “
In the King & Bear, there are 46 single-family homes under construction in the Bearsford, Stonewood, Kingsbury, Waterbury by the Links, Oakgrove Estates, Oakwood and Lakewood neighborhoods. Homesites range from $229,000 to $395,000 and homes range from the $240s to $1.7 million in those neighborhoods.
An additional 72 units are under construction at Laterra at World Golf Village, home of the PGA Spa. The community, which is currently marketing its second building, is a 41-acre resort condominium community. Priced from $179,900, the floor plans include a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedrooms condominium homes.
In the neighborhoods surrounding the Slammer & Squire, there are 121 homes under construction in The Residences at World Golf Village, St. Andrews Place, Royal Pines, Turnberry and The Legends at Saint Johns.
In addition, 80 homes are under construction in The Meadows at World Golf Village. Upon completion, the neighborhood will incorporate 400 homes. In Heritage Landing, the community being developed by D.R. Horton, another 51 homes are underway.
“Life is good in real estate around here,” Davidson said.
Hall of Fame
“We started the redefining process about a year and a half ago,” said Peter. “The Hall of Fame had gotten lost in the golf community. Even people who are in the Hall of Fame weren’t promoting it.
“We asked a simple question about the World Golf Village: Why were we built? The answer: to house the World Golf Hall of Fame.”
It may not have been easy as the Village is a compendium of different owners and operators and the elements have a history of not communicating with each other. When Peter was installed as COO, he was charged with bringing everyone together - if not on the same page, at least in the same book. Using his Disney experience, he has brought everyone together with a gentle hand and everyone seems to get along happily.
At a press conference last month, the leaders of the various divisions remained and chatted long after the program had ended; in the past, all would have scattered to their respective operations.
The $2.5 million physical changes will come over the next 18 months to two years, said Peter. The design will be by the Jacksonville architectural firm of Rink, Reynolds, Diamond, Fisher, Wilson.
The marketing emphasis has started. News releases from the Village now indicate the Hall of Fame’s dominance - for instance, the new spa will tag itself a “World Golf Hall of Fame official spa.”
In addition to present spokesmen Ben Crenshaw and Gary Player, Arnold Palmer will make public service announcements and also take the lead role in a pro-am prior to the Hall of Fame inductions on Monday, Nov. 15.
In addition to the marketing emphasis, there will be physical changes to the Hall of Fame exhibit area. There will be modifications on both floors.
• A member recognition wall will have bronze relief plaques for each member. Presently, the member recognition in the Hall - except for items on display from Hall of Famers - is on glass plates attached to a stand. Taken as a group, it’s an impressive display of art, but individually they come across a bit dinky compared to the public’s perception of the bronze busts at baseball’s Cooperstown or football’s Akron.
• New permanent exhibits to feature members that will include a locker room-like area which will showcase memorabilia and a theatre which will show videos about members on a rotating basis. There also will be more trophies on display.
• More galleries. These will be carved out of the existing space and allow more attention to be placed on specific displays and exhibits.
• A reorganization of existing exhibits to put them in a better viewing pattern. According to a news release, the changes will “offer a more defined pathway for guests.” The present geography makes doesn’t seem to have any definable route and it’s easy to miss an exhibit.
• The initial area that guests enter will be changed. There now are benches in front of a giant screen on which an introductory video is shown. This will be enclosed and will feature what they call a “multi-screen experience.” Between the ticket taker and this theatre will be a holding area with “pop culture” exhibits for guests waiting for the next video to begin.
• A diorama of the Old Course at St. Andrews will be installed around the replica of the Swilcan Burn bridge to afford a better photo op.
Golf
Business has been off since 9/11 - who didn’t know that? - but it’s picking up.
“I think every course is seeing an improvement in business,” said General Manager Cathy Harbin. “We’re seeing it everywhere. The green and cart fees are coming back, we’re selling more merchandise, food and beverage is up and the industry is on an upswing, which means we can expect more visitors.”
Harbin and her owners, the Birmingham-based Honours Golf, are pleased with the new direction of the Village.
“It can’t do anything but help,” she said. “We’re proud to use ‘The Official Golf Courses of the World Golf Hall of Fame’ in all of our marketing.”
The courses also are embarking on a more active program.
“We have to do our part to grow the game,” she said. “We have a problem - how do we get people to be comfortable with our game and stay with it? We need to get people excited so they’ll come back.”
Both the Slammer & Squire and King & Bear have benefited from the recent uptick in the golf industry and the courses and the adjoining PGA Tour Golf Academy are emphasizing new programs.
The courses have started a “Six at Six” summer series where you can play six holes after 6 p.m. for $15. Harbin says she wants to be a leader in the PGA of America’s Play Golf America initiative and is starting an $89-a-month program that allows full access to the Slammer & Squire range and practice greens, and a $25 green fee after 5 p.m. Those who sign up for a three-month program get the fourth month free.
The Slammer & Squire also is waiving green fees for juniors through the summer, but must be accompanied by a paying adult. During “Take Your Daughter To The Course Week” from July 5-10, female junior play free with a paying adult and can attend a free clinic at the Academy.
The Academy will have an extensive junior camp of either two or three days throughout the summer.
Renaissance Resort
The 300-room hotel and its adjoining convention center have struggled since it opened and part of the problems were attributed to continuing conflicts between the hotel managers and the Hall of Fame operation.
That’s changed, says new General Manager Terry Crawford.
“We have a 4-star experience for a guest here and it includes more than the hotel,” he says. “The golf and the spa are part of it, and the Hall of Fame is what brings people here.”
Crawford has bought into the new Hall of Fame emphasis and the hotel uses it in its marketing materials. A large, expensive brochure titled “Championship Meetings” devotes almost as much space to the rest of the World Golf Village as it does to the big hotel.
“We’re having our best year ever and we see people calling us,” said Crawford. A strong marketing effort in Atlanta has produced business from there: “It’s a big market for us,” he said.
Crawford expects to get a big boost from the Super Bowl as the American Football Conference team will be based at the Renaissance. (The NFC team gets the Sawgrass Marriott.)
“We’re also going to make a real effort at filling up over New Year’s,” he said. “We already have booked the Swingin’ Medallions, which is one of the most popular bands in the Southeast.”
Timeshares
The timeshare buildings just north of the Hall of Fame again have changed hands, this time to the Bluegreen company based in Boca Raton.
“They are very aggressive marketers,” said Peter and apparently they see the potential - it’s not a very well-kept secret that two more towers will be built soon.
The timeshares never have seemed to fit with the rest of the complex and have struggled under several owners, including the powerhouse Vistana Resorts.
The potential for the other divisions is enormous as a steady flow of timeshare owners also means a steady flow of customers for everyone.
Spa
A spa was always in the Village plans and the original developers walked out with some PGA Tour money, leaving nothing but a sign. The sign is long-gone and the new venture is called Laterra.
It’s at the King & Bear and combines condo units with a world-class spa in a 41-acre area. The initial offering was sold almost before the official announcement and over half of the 72 units now under construction are sold.
So far, $28 million of property has been sold.
Retirement home
Glenmoor is a sister facility to Vicar’s Landing in Ponte Vedra. Both are operated by a company named Life Care Pastoral Services that’s connected with Christ Church of Ponte Vedra, the nation’s third-largest Episcopal church.
It’s one of Florida’s most high-end retirement communities with both apartment-type accommodations and small homes.
Its success is obvious; despite the constant turnover, the Glenmoor board has authorized construction of more cottage homes on an adjacent 40-acre site.
Shopping
The PGA Tour Stop is doing well and there are signs that the CaddyShack restaurant will be a permanent resident, but the shopping area across Lake Kelly from the Hall of Fame remains a here today-maybe gone tomorrow building.
Retail follows rooftops, as they say in the real estate development business, and the rooftops in this case are visitors to the entire complex. The shopping area, therefore, is an indicator of the success of the entire project.