Efforts to find a new management company to oversee the World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX Theater operations have stalled.
So has a plan for the county to buy the surrounding property from the World Golf Village Foundation Inc.
St. Johns County issued a statement rejecting its only bidder to oversee the IMAX on Jan. 2.
A request for proposals was issued Nov. 6 and closed Dec. 19.
Palm Coast-based HZIP LLC was the sole respondent, led by CEO Lina Bright. Its bid is not public record until Feb. 2 and it can file a protest no later than Jan. 9.
The RFP specified that a successful bidder would have to negotiate agreements directly with IMAX, staff the theater and maintain its website.
It would have been required to have at least one showing of first-run films each evening Monday through Wednesday and at least two showings Thursday through Sunday.
The county owns the former World Golf Hall of Fame building and IMAX theater in St. Augustine and was leasing the theater to the World Golf Hall of Fame Foundation.
County Administrator Joy Andrews said it still plans to keep the theater open and that it “has options.” She said the county is in early discussion with SJC Cultural Events Inc. SJCCE manages St. Augustine Amphitheatre and Ponte Vedra Concert Hall.
She said the HZIP proposal fell through because the vendor expected the county to cover most of its expenses, including payroll.
The theater announced on its now-deleted Facebook account Dec. 12 that “The end is here,” a closure that surprised St. Johns County officials. It had agreed to lease the theater to the Foundation through March 2025.
“We are just as shocked as the public is but rest assured the county is currently going through an RFP for someone to manage the IMAX,” St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners District 3 representative Sarah Arnold said at the time.
Hall of Fame land deal halted
Plans for the county to buy the land around the World Golf Hall of Fame are also halted.
The World Golf Foundation announced in July 2022 that it would close its St. Augustine Hall of Fame and relocate it to Pinehurst, North Carolina. The museum shut down Sept. 1, 2023.
On April 16, the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners to purchase the 36.7-acre site surrounding the former Hall of Fame for $5.5 million from the World Golf Village Foundation Inc.
That purchase agreement expired Nov. 30. The County Commission will discuss the World Golf property at its Jan. 20 meeting where county Economic Development Director Sara Maxfield will present.
The deal would have included the 35,000-square-foot PGA Tour Productions building and surrounding parking lots and pathways.
Andrews said use restrictions that require the property remain golf-themed led to the county backing out.
The PGA Tour officially moved its production work to the new PGA Tour Studios near its headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach on Jan. 1.
The shopping center at the front of the Hall of Fame property, home of Murray Bros. Caddyshack restaurant, is owned by American Commercial Realty of Palm Beach Gardens.
The county owns the nearby convention center and World Golf Village Renaissance St. Augustine Resort property and its parking lot.