The St. Joe Company Breaks Ground On the WaterColor Inn

Upscale Beachfront Inn to Set a New Standard in Northwest Florida

Press Release
October 18, 2000
WATERCOLOR, FL -- The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE) broke ground yesterday on the WaterColor Inn, a 60-room luxury beachfront inn, designed by renowned architect David Rockwell of The Rockwell Group, New York, N.Y., and set on the celebrated white sand beaches of the Gulf of Mexico in northwest Florida. The St. Joe Hospitality Development Group is overseeing the development of this unique property, which is scheduled to open early 2002, and Arvida will be responsible for operation and management of the resort.

``The WaterColor Inn will set a new standard for comfortable, romantic luxury in northwest Florida,'' said Robert L. Shinn, president of St. Joe Hospitality Development Group. ``It will be a place that combines the casual elegance of the world's finest beachfront get-aways and the relaxed atmosphere of the northwest Florida coast.''

The Inn is an integral part of WaterColor, St. Joe's new Southern coastal resort in south Walton County, Florida. It is being built on a prime, 2.5-acre piece of beachfront property, with panoramic views of the emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico, white sugar sand beach and majestic sand dunes. In addition, the Inn is adjacent to and overlooking state-owned Grayton State Beach, which is consistently ranked among the most beautiful beaches in the United States.

``The design and development process has lead us to create what we believe will be truly a unique experience for guests at The WaterColor Inn,'' said Shinn, noting that, when complete, the Inn will offer guests such amenities as a 150-seat fine-dining restaurant, meeting rooms occupying the majority of the first floor and a portion of the second, a Gulf-front pool and hot tub, a therapeutic massage room and an indoor spa. In addition, said Shinn, guests will have access to community amenities and priority tee times at the nearby Fazio-designed Camp Creek Golf Club.

Created by St. Joe in 1999, the St. Joe Hospitality Development Group offers fee-based development services for hospitality real estate projects, including hotels, resorts and timeshare facilities.

WaterColor is a unique second-home resort community on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico in northwest Florida. It is located 45 minutes west of Panama City Beach and 30 minutes east of Destin, Florida. Arvida, the community development arm of St. Joe, is developing the 499-acre coastal resort community located in south Walton County. For more information about WaterColor and the WaterColor Inn, visit our web site at www.watercolorflorida.com or call 850-231-6500.

The St. Joe Company, a publicly held company based in Jacksonville, is Florida's largest real estate operating company. It is engaged in community, commercial, industrial, hospitality, leisure and resort development, along with residential and commercial real estate services. The company also has significant interests in timber.

More information about St. Joe can be found at our web site at http://www.joe.com.

Certain matters discussed in this press release are ``forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such matters involve risk and uncertainty, and there can be no assurance that the results described in such forward-looking statements will be realized. Additional risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements contained in this press release are described in various documents filed by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.

``WaterColor,'' and the ``taking flight'' logo are service marks of The St. Joe Company. Arvida is a registered trademark.

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Contact: 

     The St. Joe Company, Jacksonville, Fla.
     Media Contact:
     Jerry M. Ray, 904/858-2707
     or
     Investor Contact:
     Steve Swartz, 904/858-5295