Commissioners Weigh World Golf Village Options

Plans for the future use of the World Golf Hall of Fame and IMAX Theater properties took a tentative step forward earlier this month when St. Johns County commissioners agreed to solicit proposals for a public/private partnership to redevelop the properties.

After the Hall of Fame relocated to North Carolina, the facility, first opened in the 1990s, reverted to the county. Since then, county officials weighed a variety of options and held public forums to determine the future of the facilities.

Deputy County Administrator Jesse Dunn kicked off the discussion with a review of the timeline of the property and offered three options for commissioners.

The first option is to retain the Hall of Fame and IMAX Theater and convert them for public use such as a library or other institutional purposes. The second possibility is to sell the properties outright and the third choice is the public/private partnership.

Dunn said the county is incurring costs with the properties, including $369,000 a year for utilities, insurance and maintenance. In addition, the chiller units require replacement at a one-time cost of $714,000 and the buildings need pressure washing and painting for an additional $48,000. Renovations to the IMAX Theater would require an investment of $1.5 million to renovate the theater, replace the IMAX screen and for the projector and equipment to operate the facility. Funds raised through the county’s Tourist Development Tax could be used to cover the costs.

The financial obligations were a concern to Commissioner Ann Taylor, who referred to the properties as money pit.

“When I think of this property, every day is costing our county money,” she said. “We can’t keep kicking the can down the road.”

Commissioner Clay Murphy said he was wary of some of the options.

“I don’t think the county needs to be in the leasing business,” he said. “I think we need to sell this.”

Commission Chair Krista Joseph was also in favor getting rid of the properties.

“I am a fan of selling it,” she said.

Commissioner Sarah Arnold said she was interested in looking at all three options.

“As much as we are supposed to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, we are supposed to be stewards of what the community wants,” she said. “For us to wash our hands of it … I would not support that.”

Commissioner Christian Whitehurst also referenced the public forums held to solicit public opinion regarding the future of the properties.

“We did several town halls where we received a lot of passionate community feedback,” he said. “Also consider what the cost to taxpayers will be if we get this wrong.”

In the end, commissioners agreed to pursue a public/private partnership and directed county staff to solicit proposals from private organizations for possible uses of the facilities.