St. Johns County purchases World Golf Village for $5.5 million

St. Johns County in Florida recently purchased World Golf Village Inc. for $5.5 million.

The purchase, approved by the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners, includes the property’s assets inclusive of the Tour Production Building, parking and common space lots, the former Hall of Fame building, the IMAX Theater and the grounds of the World Golf Village Renaissance St. Augustine Resort Convention Center and Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida.

According to a recent press release, the World Golf Village Foundation Inc. will lease the Tour Production Building from the county until March 2025 to give the production group time to relocate to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra.

The IMAX Theater will remain open. The foundation will maintain the theater and the common space through the property owners association until March 2025.

Public funds were used for the purchase. County Administrator, Joy Andrews described the acquisition as crucial to protect the property from “unknown development, potentially outside of community interests.”

“The community gains the power to shape its future,” she said in a press release.

The World Golf Village included a pond with a replica of the 17th hole of the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. (Photo: Bob Self/Florida Times-Union)

Andrews underscored that only the best private-public partnerships serving to enhance residential quality of life and optimal revenue opportunities will be considered.

“By maintaining control over the development process, we ensure what’s best for our residents in a revitalized World Golf Village,” she said.

Promising to exceed expectations, Andrews described the investment as the strategic leveraging of public resources to ensure that WGV evolves in “alignment with our community’s vision and values.”

As outlined in a news release, purchasing funds included $2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act Funds, $2 million from a 2019 Capital Improvement Fund and $1.55 million from Public Building Impact Fees.

Properties include:

• World Golf Hall of Fame: a 64,113-square-foot multi-purpose facility
• World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX Theater: a 17,865-square-foot movie theater. The movie screen and audio/visual components will remain in the building
• PGA Tour Productions: a 32,329-square-foot Class-A office building
• South Legacy Trail: 36.07 acres of various parking lots, rights-of-way areas, landscaping and lakes