The St. Joe Company
St. Joe Media Contact: Jerry M. Ray
904 301.4430 245 Riverside Avenue
jray@joe.com Suite 500
St. Joe Investor Contact: Mike Daly Jacksonville, FL 32202
904.301.4302 904.301.4200
mdaly@joe.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE ST. JOE COMPANY (NYSE: JOE) COMPLETES PURCHASE OF BAY POINT MARINA IN BAY COUNTY, FLORIDA
Jacksonville, Florida ? (April 25, 2007) ? The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) announced today that it completed the purchase of Bay Point Marina in Bay County near Panama City Beach, Florida from Bay Point Marina Company.
Under the terms of the agreement, JOE invested $9.8 million for the acquisition. Subject to permitting, JOE intends to expand and improve the marina over the next two years.
The marina, located in the heart of the Bay Point Resort, is one of the largest and most successful marinas in Northwest Florida. This marina inspired the creation of the nationally recognized Clean Marina Program administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that recognizes marinas that demonstrate a continued commitment to protecting the water and marine life. As currently configured, the Bay Point Marina has 136 slips and can accommodate yachts up to 120 feet in length.
In addition to the purchase transaction, the agreement creates a strategic alliance between JOE and Flautt-Cornerstone Bay Point, LLC, owners of the adjacent Bay Point Resort. Under the terms of the alliance agreement, some JOE property owners could potentially have access to a range of amenities at the Bay Point Resort.
?The acquisition of the Bay Point Marina could allow JOE to make available much sought-after amenities to property owners in select JOE communities that we expect could become a significant differentiator in the real estate marketplace,? said Peter S. Rummell, chairman and CEO of JOE. ?This strategic opportunity fits well with our broader regional strategy to provide access to Northwest Florida?s extraordinary natural assets.?
?Our mission is to make this region an even better place to live, work and play,? said Tom Morgan, JOE?s president for the West Florida region. ?We want to continue to work with Flautt-Cornerstone to further leverage their significant capital improvements in the Bay Point Resort. We also intend to work with local officials in expanding and clarifying the marina?s mission. In addition, we intend to continue one of Northwest Florida?s more important fishing traditions, the Bay Point Invitational Billfish
Tournament. Our objective is to create an upgraded marina experience with a new standard of stewardship.?
?St. Joe is committed to doing things right, so we know the marina is in good hands,? said Buddy Runnels, Jr., vice-chairman of Flautt-Cornerstone and chairman of The Sterling Companies. ?St. Joe has the vision and capability to further enhance the marina, and we believe their acquisition of the Bay Point Marina will benefit the marina, the environment, its users and the region.?
JOE also owns and operates the Port St. Joe Marina in Port St. Joe, Florida on St. Joseph Bay. The Port St. Joe facility features 120 wet slips and 79 boats in dry storage with easy access to the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Waterway. Coastal Marina Management, headed by Scott Burt, will manage both facilities.
About Flautt-Cornerstone Bay Point
Flautt-Cornerstone Bay Point, LLC is a joint venture between Sandcastle Resorts & Hotels Inc., based in Destin, Florida, and Cornerstone Development Group (now known as Sterling Development) based in Destin, Florida.
Sandcastle has developed and/or owned and operated more than 40 hotels in the United States and currently developed and operates the most profitable Hilton franchise in the United States, The Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, in Sandestin, Florida.
The Sterling Companies, Northwest Florida?s only fully-integrated resort development, sales and management firm, is part-owner of the Bay Point Resort near Panama City Beach. The company also operates The Sterling Club at Bay Point, an exclusive guest membership program that offers Sterling Resorts? guests preferred rates and access to the resort?s numerous amenities, including two championship golf courses, the 11,000 square-foot Serenity at bay point spa, as well as a 356-room Marriott and conference center with 40,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
For more information, visit
www.sandcastlehotels.com.
Cornerstone Development Group, now known as Sterling Development and part of The Sterling Companies, is the developer and owner of Kelly Plantation and its award-winning Fred Couples championship course, located in Destin. Cornerstone has been involved in more than 50 real estate and resort development projects in the United States.
For more information, visit
www.thesterlingco.com.
About The St. Joe Company
The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE), a publicly held company based in Jacksonville, is one of Florida's largest real estate development companies. We are primarily engaged in real estate development and sales, with significant interests in timber. Our mission is to create places that inspire people and make JOE?s Florida an even better place to live, work and play. We're no ordinary JOE.
More information about JOE can be found at our web site at
www.joe.com.