St. Joe no longer state’s largest landholder

[stjr]

Too bad we can't count on the State or Federal government to buy all this land and make a national park that would be equivalent to Florida's version of the Great Smokey Mountains or Yosemite or a forested version of the Everglades.  Imagine miles and miles of unspoiled Gulf of Mexico beaches too!

St. Joe no longer state’s largest landholder
By Kevin Turner Story updated at 1:33 PM on Thursday, May. 28, 2009

Ongoing land sales over recent years have caused Jacksonville-based St. Joe Co. to fall from its rank as Florida’s largest land holder.

According to the company’s quarterly reports, it owned 607,000 acres on Sept. 30 â€" the end of the reporting period for the third quarter of 2008 â€" and 586,000 acres at the end of calendar 2008.

Somewhere in between those dates, St. Joe’s Florida acreage fell below that of Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc., which owns 600,000 acres in the state, according to its Web site.

In its first quarter report this year, St. Joe reported owning 585,000 acres, concentrated primarily in Northwest Florida. Some 405,000 acres of that land is within 15 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, the report indicated. The company billed itself as “one of Florida’s largest real estate development companies and Northwest Florida’s largest private landowner,” in that report

From: http://www.jacksonville.com/news/2009-05-28/story/st_joe_no_longer_state%E2%80%99s_largest_landholder

[urbanlibertarian]

Selling land would be a good way for the state to raise revenue.

[stjr]

Selling land would be a good way for the state to raise revenue.

Buying this land, especially at today's "once in a generation" depressed prices would be a good way for the State/Feds to save the expense of infrastructure for urban sprawl, improve our environment, give us more recreational opportunities, and offer us a better quality of life.  5% of any gains by St. Joe would be received back to the State in corporate income taxes.  When St. Joe distributes the proceeds or reinvests them in other projects, the State will benefit from additional income and sales taxes.  Then, there is that multiplier effect through the economy.  A win-win for the State's citizens.

[Ocklawaha]

Interesting that "Deseret Citrus and Cattle" owns 312,000 acres between Kissimmee and Okeechobee. DC&C is one of the business arms of the Mormon Church or LDS Church in Utah.

OCKLAWAHA

[fatcat]

maybe DC&C will buy some of the property from Mr. Flipper and build a super LDS church in downtown. The Sundays will be a lot more entertaining.

[Ocklawaha]

Gotta admit Fatcat, growing citrus and running cattle down Main Street would probably be a lot livelier then anything we have going on down their today.

OCKLAWAHA

[Jason]

Selling land would be a good way for the state to raise revenue.

Buying this land, especially at today's "once in a generation" depressed prices would be a good way for the State/Feds to save the expense of infrastructure for urban sprawl, improve our environment, give us more recreational opportunities, and offer us a better quality of life.  5% of any gains by St. Joe would be received back to the State in corporate income taxes.  When St. Joe distributes the proceeds or reinvests them in other projects, the State will benefit from additional income and sales taxes.  Then, there is that multiplier effect through the economy.  A win-win for the State's citizens.

Brilliant idea stjr.  I couldn't agree more.  The state and local minucipalities really need to step up to the plate and work towards setting aside more land for conservation.

[reednavy]

Don't worry, DC&C has plans to sell and turn it into over 100,000 homes.

However, with the current large stock of new homes already, that may not happen anytime soon.