Recent Notable Flagler County Real Estate Transactions

Marineland property formerly owned by Centex, large parcel on Matanzas Woods Pkwy, multiple parcels on A1A near Plantation Bay, Palm Coast Yacht Club

PALM COAST, FL – January 27, 2016 – I’m bullish about real estate in Palm Coast and Flagler County. A handful of significant property sales signal a bright future.

MARINELAND

JDI Marineland LLC, an Augusta -based company controlled by developer Jim Jacoby purchased five parcels south of the Marineland Marina totaling nearly 35 acres. A 1.76-acre parcel is on the beach side of scenic A1A. The remaining parcels are west of A1A. The reported purchase price was $5,500,000. The transaction closed on December 30, 2015.  Jacoby already owns a contiguous sixth 2-acre parcel.

A 2007 Wall Street Journal article describes Jacoby.

Mr. Jacoby, by his own account, made more than $100 million over several decades clearing land to build supermarkets, strip malls, and nearly 40 Wal-Mart stores throughout the South.

He has since become a convert to "green" development and wants to make Marineland a showcase for his newfound eco-friendly business principles.

Jacoby has long ties to Marineland beginning with childhood visits to the dolphin attraction. He purchased 40 acres, including the aquatic theme park, for $1.9M in 2001. Jacoby is credited with saving the theme park, rebuilding it after it suffered severe hurricane damage in 2004.

About that same time, Jacoby began selling parcels outside the park to Centex Destination Properties for a reported $23M. Centex planned to develop the property in conjunction with several other Flagler County Centex projects. These included the Villas at Hammock Beach, Cinnamon Beach, Canopy Walk, Tidelands, Palm Coast Resort, Bulow Shores (Bulow Creek) and a Palm Harbor Golf Course redesigned by Jack Nicklaus and surrounding new condominiums. Centex had also purchased the Ocean Course and Lodge at Hammock Beach from Lowe Development.

The Marineland component was to include 275 residential units; townhomes, single-family homes and condominiums. Centex touted that Marineland would be linked to Tidelands, Palm Coast Resort, Canopy Walk and Bulow Shores by water taxis, completing a multi-location resort destination. But the market crashed and Centex abandoned its local development efforts.

• Villas at Hammock Beach, Cinnamon Beach and Canopy Walk were completed.
• Marineland construction never commenced.
• Tidelands has 252 completed units. 134 additionally entitled units were not built.
• Palm Coast Resort was to include the existing marina, three condominium structures, a hotel and a parking garage. Only one condominium building and the parking garage were completed. The marina remains operational.
• Palm Harbor Golf Course was “given” to the City of Palm Coast by departing Centex. The city spent $5M renovating the course and now operates it as a municipal golf course. Centex retains the property on which condominiums are entitled.
• Bulow Shores was never developed. Centex sold Bulow Shores to Bobby Ginn and his financial partner, Lubert-Adler in 2007 for $7M. Ginn and Lubert-Adler subsequently parted ways. Lubert-Adler sold the property for $3M in December 2014. Ginn-LA also purchased the Ocean Course and lodge from Centex.

Jacoby sold Marineland Dolphin Adventure to Georgia Aquarium in 2010 for $2,750,000. He reportedly has the Centex-owned Palm Coast Resort and Palm Harbor properties under contract.

PALM COAST YACHT CLUB

The Palm Coast Yacht Club, 1 Yacht Club Dr, was sold to Light Source Consulting Group, Inc, a N.C. corporation based in Charlotte, for $906,800. The purchase closed December 31, 2015. Brad Huffstetler will manage the facility. Huffstetler will continue to make the facility available to the Yacht Club while improvements are made to the building. After that, Huffstetler envisions an event facility, to be used for weddings, corporate functions, birthday and holiday parties, etc. He does not rule out a full service restaurant on the site in the future.

MATANZAS WOODS PKWY AT BELLE TERRE

Palm Coast Land LLC (Palm Coast Holdings) sold three parcels totaling over 188 acres on the southwest corner of Matanzas Woods Pkwy and the realigned Belle Terre Pkwy to Jacksonville-based Matanzas West Holdings LLC. For $1,400,000. The transaction closed December 15, 2015.

The property is part of the Palm Coast Park Development of Regional Impact (DRI), which includes most of the land on either side of Route 1 from Palm Coast Pkwy to north of Matanzas Woods Pkwy. The purchased parcels are designated for multi-family use (apartments or condominiums). The roadside portions can be developed as commercial property.

US 1 (NORTH OF PLANTATION BAY)

Harbor Community Bank sold four parcels totaling more than 75 acres to William B Austin Inc of 16 Cordoba Court for $1,245,000. The transaction closed December 8, 2015. The parcels are located on the west side of US Route 1, north of Plantation Bay. Austin did not respond to requests for additional information.