St. Joe Latest RiverCamps Home Site Release Sells Out
biz.yahoo.com
Monday May 2, 8:35 am ET
176 Buyers Submit Reservations for 42 Home Sites
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2005--The St. Joe Company announced today that 176 qualified prospective buyers from 10 states submitted reservations for a release of 42 home sites at RiverCamps on Crooked Creek.
From these requests, reservations were accepted for all of the home sites in the release with prices ranging from $174,500 to $1.0 million and averaging $342,900. The highest priced home site is located on a protected salt marsh with a long sunset view across West Bay. The next highest home site, priced at $599,500, has an expansive southerly view of the bay. Reservation requests came from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas and from as far away as Indiana and Virginia. Additional home site releases are planned for later in the year.
An increasing number of RiverCamps buyers come from outside the local market. Buyers from beyond a 120-mile radius of RiverCamps on Crooked Creek increased from 48 percent for RiverCamps' first release in 2003 to 60 percent for the second release in 2004, and to 70 percent for the third release in the first quarter of 2005. The results of this release confirm that trend is holding with 69 percent of buyers coming from further than 120 miles.
"We are very pleased with the maturation of our RiverCamps product," said Peter S. Rummell, chairman and CEO of JOE. "When we began, RiverCamps was an untested experimental concept. Now, two years later, potential buyers recognize RiverCamps for the unique offering it is - a very high-quality development in a beautiful natural setting, perfect for primary, resort and recreational use. As more people become aware of RiverCamps, our geographic market grows."
"The market's acceptance of RiverCamps manifests itself in the price appreciation we've been able to achieve and the strong, varied demand for each release," said Kevin M. Twomey, President and COO of JOE. "Clearly we have had big percentage increases in prices, but from a starting point that was difficult to establish. We believe pricing improvement at RiverCamps on Crooked Creek reflects a growing recognition and appreciation of a unique and high value product."
With the regulatory permits required to complete the project in hand, the pace of infrastructure development has accelerated with 190 home sites currently under development, including home sites already sold and others not yet released. The RiverCamps' "Entry Barn" is scheduled to be completed in May. Two RiverCamps prototype cabins are planned to be completed in late 2005. Construction of the boat launch and dock facility, ponds, nature trails and boardwalks is scheduled to start later in the second quarter, and construction of the RiverHouse, a compound of several community amenities, is set to start in the third quarter.
RiverCamps on Crooked Creek, located in Western Bay County, is entitled for up to 450 home sites on approximately 1,500 acres of former timberland and features views of West Bay, the Intracoastal Waterway and Crooked Creek.
Additional RiverCamps locations are actively being reviewed in other parts of Northwest Florida. "The RiverCamps concept is designed to respond to the land," said Rummell. "As a result, future RiverCamps will each have a distinct personality and appeal to a variety of consumer interests."
The RiverCamps Preview Center, located in Panama City Beach on US Highway 98 directly across from Pier Park, is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm, Sunday. For a personal appointment and tour of RiverCamps on Crooked Creek, call 866-FL-RIVER (357-4837). More information can be found online at rivercamps.com. |
