by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Ed Burr, CEO of LandMar Group, says that when he started the company in 1987 he never envisioned becoming one of the area’s most influential developers.
Today, Burr heads the company responsible for a dozen golf and/or residential communities all over the First Coast from Fernandina to Palm Coast. LandMar also is poised to begin work on the Shipyards — a decade-long, more than $80 million riverfront project that will include offices, hotels, restaurants, residential condominiums and waterfront public park space.
“Our first community was Osprey Point,” Burr said at the October meeting of the Sales and Marketing Council of the Northeast Florida Builders Association. “We have grown to include communities in southeast Georgia and all along the East Coast of Florida. We are also on the (state’s) west coast from Ft. Myers north. All of that growth is thanks to a great team.”
LandMar, through Hampton Golf, owns and operates several area golf courses including North Hampton in Fernandina and South Hampton in St. Johns County. Burr, who is on NEFBA’s board of directors, said that despite the recent decline in the golf industry over the past few years — because of a variety of circumstances — LandMar has remained aggressive in the golf course community industry.
“There has been a trend away from golf and we have run counter to that,” he said. “We opened our first golf course community, South Hampton, in 1998. We made the decision that if we were going to do it, we were going to make a commitment to the industry. We believe that golf enhances the value of the property.
“Today, we are in different phases in 12 communities in Florida and Georgia and I am proud of the job Hampton Golf does and the quality of lifestyles they create. We are cautious, but we have not slowed down in our acquisitions. We live in one of the best areas and best states in the nation for this industry.”
Earlier this year LandMar signed a deal with the City of Jacksonville to take over the much-scrutinized Shipyards project from Trilegacy. Burr said the deal has brought mixed reviews.
“We have been either demonized or glorified, depending on who you talk to,” said Burr. “We hope we can bring to market a community that is mixed-use and well-received by every citizen of Jacksonville. “
Burr said he will announce the details surrounding the Shipyards project sometime next year, likely in the late spring or early summer.
Besides seeking good residential development opportunities and kicking off the Shipyards project, Burr also will spend the next year leading the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, a job he says he looks forward to.
“I am proud to be chairman of the Chamber,” said Burr, who is chairman-elect of the Chamber. “It’s a broad-based organization with lots of networking opportunities. The Chamber fights for issues on the local, state and national level.
“We started a community outreach component this year and we will continue that next year. Through that, we will enhance our outreach to local non-profits. The Chamber leadership has agreed to take areas that are under redevelopment like Springfield and the issue of unemployment.”