Watson Realty Corp.’s St. Augustine Office at 3505 U.S. 1 South celebrated its Grand Re-Opening on March 29 with a reception and ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Chairman of the Board, William A. Watson, Jr.; Ed Forman, President; Steve Calta, Regional Manager and many other members of the community as well as fellow Realtors.
“The former building was old and cramped and we needed to improve our technology,” said Pat Smith, V.P. and Managing Broker of the office. “Just like St. Johns County has continued to grow, we had to grow ourselves. We needed to modernize and improve our facilities. Mr. Watson believes strongly in improving the existing facilities within the company and we were next on the list!”
Watson Realty Corp. opened in St. Augustine in 1981 with Allen Pacetti as the broker/manager and six agents. In 1987, the land at the present site was acquired and a 7,400 sq. ft. building erected. There have been several expansions over the years when Watson acquired space from other tenants within the building.
Its recent expansion includes 16,000 sq. ft., updated technology to better serve its customers and 45 associates, and room for growth to 93 associates at 100 percent occupancy. It also enables other divisions of Watson Realty to occupy space, including Watson Title Services, Watson School of Real Estate, Watson Mortgage Corp. and Watson Property Management.
“This affords our customers the benefit of one-stop shopping in a convenient and familiar location,” stated Smith.
Prior to Smith assuming managerial duties at the St. Augustine Office, Molly Anne May served as broker from 1990 to 2003.