Arvida Realty Services, a Business Unit of The St. Joe Company, Purchases Assets of St. Andrew Bay Real Estate, Inc., Panama City
Press Release
October 4, 1999
PANAMA CITY, FL -- Arvida Realty Services, a business unit of The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE), has announced that
it has purchased certain assets of St. Andrew Bay Real Estate, Inc., St. Andrew Bay Resort Management, Inc., and
St. Andrew Bay Property Management, Inc. in Panama City, Fla., effective September 30. The announcement was made
by Richard W. Cope, Chief Executive Officer for Arvida Realty Services and the principals of the three St. Andrew
Bay companies: Stanley Timmins, and co-owners Roger Rhodes, Steve Counts and Elke McCoy.
The three companies - St. Andrew Bay Real Estate, St. Andrew Bay Resort Management and St. Andrew Bay Property
Management - operate seven office locations with 140 sales associates and employees currently affiliated with the
firms. In addition, the property management and resort operations provide on-site real estate services at seven
condominium associations: Portside, Ramsgate, Southwind, Nautical Watch, Seaside Villas, Gulf Highlands and Endless
Summer.
"We have been looking to expand our presence in Northwest Florida, especially the Panama City market, for
quite some time,'' says Cope. "Panama City has enjoyed tremendous growth over the last several years and we
saw an opportunity to join with an outstanding real estate firm that embraces the same professional ethics and
corporate philosophy that Arvida Realty Services does. St. Andrew Bay Real Estate has an established and successful
reputation in Panama City and the surrounding Bay County communities. The dominance of St. Andrew Bay Real Estate
in the marketplace will complement the strength of our existing 90 offices throughout the state.''
"We decided to join Arvida Realty Services for a number of reasons including the company's reputation as a
quality, well-managed organization,'' says Timmins. "St. Andrew Bay Real Estate has always strived for excellent
customer service and to give our agents the most effective tools possible for success. With the number of mergers
and acquisitions going on in our industry today, we felt that we needed to affiliate with a company that truly
understands our business and could help us broaden our opportunities to better serve our clients and enhance associate
productivity. For us to grow, keep pace with technology and meet customer demands, we needed to look at many alternatives.
Arvida Realty Services provided the ideal solution.''
St. Andrew Bay Real Estate, Inc. was founded in 1970. Stanley Timmins became a partner in 1971 and over the next
28 years, led the company to expand its market coverage and services. Today, St. Andrew Bay Real Estate is Bay
County's leading real estate firm enjoying a 26 percent share of market. All four of the principal owners will
remain with the firm in management positions.
"As Arvida Realty Services, we look forward to expanding our presence to better serve Walton County as well,''
said Timmins. "We plan to go on doing what we do best...serving our existing customer base for both residential
and commercial resales and new builder's homes. Arvida Realty Services brings us to a new level in marketing resources
and national and international alliances that we see as very real and immediate benefits to our clients because
of the added exposure our properties throughout Bay and Walton Counties will receive as a direct result.''
Headquartered in Clearwater, Arvida Realty Services is the state's largest independent real estate brokerage and
the 5th largest in the nation with more than 95 offices located throughout the state and 3,200 licensed sales professionals
and employees affiliated with the company. It offers residential and commercial real estate sales, relocation services,
asset and property management, title and mortgage services, annual and seasonal rentals, resort management and
international real estate marketing. The company generated $5.9 billion in sales in 1998.
The St. Joe Company, a publicly held company based in Jacksonville, Florida, is one of the Southeast's largest
real estate operating companies. It is engaged in community, commercial, industrial, leisure and resort development,
along with residential and commercial real estate services. St. Joe is comprised of two real estate development
arms, St. Joe Commercial and Arvida, each with a services component. The company also has significant interests
in timber and transportation.
For more information about Arvida Realty Services, see the company's web site at http://ArvidaRealtyServices.com.
More information about The St. Joe Company can be found at the St. Joe web site, http://www.joe.com.
The above discussion contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are based on current
expectations and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks
or uncertainties materialize or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, the company's actual performance
may differ materially from that indicated or suggested by any forward-looking statement contained herein.
"Arvida'' is a registered trademark. "Arvida, a St. Joe Company,'' "Arvida Realty Services'' and
the "taking flight'' stylized logo are service marks of The St. Joe Company.
-----------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Arvida Realty Services, Clearwater
Linda Burger, EVP, Marketing & Communications
727/538-5468, ext. 220
lburger@arvidaservices.com