by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
A little over 10 years ago, Cathy Harbin first set foot on the property that was to become the World Golf Village. At the time, she was the general manager of the facility that consisted of not much more than a bunch of dirt that was starting to look a lot like a golf course.
Today, Harbin is still the GM, but, oh, how the place has changed. There are two world-class courses — the Slammer & Squire and the King & Bear — a resort hotel, timeshares, restaurants, shops and plenty of housing. A decade on the job may become old hat to some. But for Harbin, being in on the ground floor of something with nearly unlimited potential is still a good reason to get out of bed and go to work everyday.
“It’s an exciting place and I’m as excited and as passionate and as enthusiastic about walking through the property today as I was in June 1997,” said Harbin, who oversees both courses and a staff of 190. “We have made a tremendous commitment to delivering the best golf product possible.”
In May 1998, what was then the entire World Golf Village opened for business. This is included the Hall of Fame, the Renaissance Resort and the Grand Villas. Since then, the real growth and development has focused on residential real estate, including town homes, single-family units and condominiums. As she looks around today at the 6,200-acre piece of property, even Harbin is surprised at what she sees.
“The plan is certainly coming to fruition on top of the other things we didn’t see coming,” she said. “With 6,200 acres, there is a lot of room for growth. We knew there was going to be a lot of growth in real estate and some commercial.”
Harbin estimates there’s about one-third of the 6,200 original acres left. She expects most of that to become more residential housing of some type. Leading that development is Davidson Realty. Over the past several years, Davidson obtained the development rights for 7,200 residential units. Of those 7,200, Davidson President Sherry Davidson said 3,200 are currently occupied with only 37 lots left on the market.
“Every other residential unit has either been bought or is occupied by a developer,” said Davidson.
At one point there was talk of building a third golf course on the land Davidson owned on the southern end of the property. However, that land was sold to LandMar and the plans for a course have been scrapped.
Commercial development and the other necessities have followed the development and growth of World Golf Village. According to Davidson, there are two malls in the permitting process with a Publix, CVS and Walgreens all in the plans for the near future.
“It’s mind boggling,” said Davidson of the relatively rapid growth of the area. “We did not see it happening this quickly. It’s a pleasant surprise.”
Davidson also donated three tracts of land to the county for the purpose of building schools. Two of those currently house an elementary and middle school. The third was intended to become a high school, but Davidson has been told it’s not big enough for a high school. The company also donated two other tracts to be used as civic sites, although the county hasn’t decided what to do with them yet.
Harbin said her success — and that of the World Golf Village — can be traced directly to the corporate mentality of Honors Golf, the Birmingham, Ala.-based company that owns the World Golf Village. Harbin said consistency is the key.
“There are systems, standards and practices that we do every day to make this a special place. That’s a source of pride for all of us,” said Harbin. “If I left today, those systems would keep the place running.”
According to Harbin, the parent company has three goals: assure a good guest experience, make sure team members enjoy their work and profitability. From a personal perspective, Harbin also seems to go out of her way to make sure her employees enjoy coming to work as much as she does.
“If you treat your team with respect and kindness, they will treat the guests the same way,” she said. “We are particular about who we hire. They represent the World Golf Village, the Hall of Fame, Honors Golf and the game itself.”
The next big milestone for the World Golf Village — in addition to the new inductees into the Hall of Fame in November — is the completion of the $8 million renovation to the Renaissance Resort. The work began in August and will wrap up in January. All 301 rooms and suites will be remodeled and there will be changes to the resort’s lobby atrium, meeting rooms, bar and restaurant among others.
“There’s no part of the resort that won’t be touched by this multi-million dollar upgrade,” said resort general manager Mark Schwantner.