MJM Carrabelle LLC, a group of Cary, Ill.-based investors, closed on a deal to purchase the Carrabelle, Fla., golf course, pro shop, Crooked River Grill, and 57 vacant single-family lots as well as pads for 60 more condos. The new owners plan on keeping the property’s name and have brought in KemperSports to manage the golf resort.
A group of Chicago investors has closed on a deal to buy the golf course, restaurant and all the land at St. James Bay Golf Resort, in Carrabelle, Fla., the Apalachicola (Fla.) Times reported.
MJM Carrabelle LLC, of Cary, Ill., paid out $3.25 million for the entire complex, according to paperwork in Property Appraiser Rhonda Skipper’s office. MJM bought the property from Eddie Clark, from Dallas, Texas, who continues to own one of the 24 condos involved in the sale, the Times reported.
In addition to the golf course, pro shop and Crooked River Grill, MJM obtained 57 single family lots, all vacant, as well as pads for 60 more condos, the Times reported.
“We see a tremendous potential in the area. It’s a beautiful area,” said John Green, MJM’s managing partner. “We think there are opportunities to build.”
Green said he and his partners are all real estate people, and own no other golf courses. They’ll keep the name St. James Bay, and they have brought in sports management firm KemperSports to manage the golf resort, the Times reported.
“St. James Bay Golf Resort has remained a popular destination for nearly 15 years,” said Green. “We look forward to working with KemperSports and implementing their best practices to enhance the experience for our guests at the resort.”
The 18-hole championship golf course is certified as an Audubon International Certified Signature Sanctuary. The Robert Walker-designed golf course, a par-72, 6,600-yard public course, provides strategic options throughout the bay front layout, which was built in 2003, the Times reported.
The market has strengthened to the point MJM will step up marketing the 23 recently remodeled condos, Green said, which are two and three-bedroom units with kitchen and private pool access, the Times reported.
Executive Chef Nola Tolbert and her staff, as well as the other employees, will all remain in place. “She’s about the best chef I’ve ever met,” he said. “Everybody’s still there, no changes.”
Green and his partners are considering opening the restaurant on Mondays. “We’re going to look real hard at that,” he said. “It’s a destination restaurant that happens to sit in a golf course clubhouse.
“We are positive we’re going to see more golfing activity,” Green said.
A broker in the Chicago area invited Green down to see St. James Bay in November, and he was smitten. “It’s a beautiful area, a beautiful location,” he said. “I fell in love with it the first time I saw it.”
The step up in commercial development in Tallahassee and Crawfordville helped convince MJM that this was the place to be. “It doesn’t surprise me, I think it’s been a long time coming,” he said. “Especially for the price you can acquire housing in Carrabelle, compared to Panama City and Destin.”
For the time being, Green said, MJM has set modest goals for selling the condos and single-family lots. “I don’t think it’s going to be explosive at all,” he said. “We think it’s probably we could get half a dozen by next year.”
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