St Joe is Selling Timber for Millions and Keeping the Land
Many people know St Joe (JOE) by their first developments in NW Florida which are located in Walton County. JOE’s first was in Blue Mountain Beach, “The Retreat,” which Ed Ball purchased for JOE at $11 per acre for Gulf front land back in 1925. Joe profitted about $30 from developing those 90 lots.
WaterColor was the second development for JOE. WaterColor is located next to Seaside, FL and encompasses 499 acres between the shores of Florida’s Emerald Coast and the banks of a rare coastal dune lake, Western Lake. Pathways and parks meander from the Gulf to the lake around brick-paved streets, water gardens, well-appointed cottages, houses and residences. With over half of the community dedicated to green space, the habitat is natural.
WaterSound is St Joe’s most recent development in Walton County, FL. Tucked behind the extensive white sand dunes you will find a look and feel similar to Nantucket, MA. Rolling boardwalks lift you above the protected dunes, leading you to the beach and another rare coastal dune lake, Camp Creek Lake.
WATERSOUND, Fla. — The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE) announced today that it has completed the sale of a 40,975 acre timber deed to an investment fund managed by Resource Management Service (“RMS”) for a price of $55.9 million.
“This sale allows St. Joe to accelerate the monetization of a small portion of our standing timber, while retaining the ownership of the underlying land and the long-term options to capitalize on future real estate development opportunities,” said Hugh Durden, interim Chief Executive Officer.
Under the terms of the timber deed, RMS has the right to harvest or sell the standing timber on specified stands for a period of up to 20 years. The ages of the timber deed stands range from 15 to 30 years, and are located in Gulf and Calhoun counties, Florida. As individual tracts of land are released by RMS following final harvest, the use of the land reverts immediately back to St. Joe for subsequent reforestation and ongoing timber production, rural land sales, or real estate development.
“The professionals at RMS have a strong track record of sound timberland management, and we look forward to working closely with them in the coming years,” said Will Sonnenfeld, Senior Vice President Forestry and Land Sales.
More information regarding the transaction will be available in a Form 8-K to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The St. Joe Company, a publicly held company currently based in WaterSound, is one of Florida’s largest real estate development companies and Northwest Florida’s largest private landowner. St. Joe is primarily engaged in real estate development and sales, with significant interests in timber. More information about the Company can be found on its website at www.joe.com.
RMS is a vertically-integrated, privately-held timber investment manager serving institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, foundations and family offices. RMS manages timberland assets throughout the U.S. South, as well as in Brazil and China. With current assets under management of approximately US$4 billion, RMS is one of the largest timber investment managers in the world. More information about the Company can be found on its website at www.resourcemgt.com.
To learn more about St Joe’s developments and real estate offerings in Walton County, contact Murray Balkcom, Realtor with The Premier Property Group.
