St. Joe Co. plans to quit
building homes in Florida
Samantha Zee | Bloomberg
News
Posted September 9, 2006
Orlando Sentinel, Business Section
St. Joe Co., the largest private landowner in Florida, will exit home building
in the state and focus instead on its land holdings.
St. Joe will cut about 10 percent of its work force and take a charge of about
$10.7 million, of which $9 million will be taken in the third quarter, the Jacksonville-based
company said Thursday in a regulatory filing.
The cut comes while demand for homes in the U.S. is falling as higher interest
rates drive up the cost of mortgages.
St. Joe already has consolidated some businesses and cut employees. The company
had about 1,230 full-time employees and 132 part-time employees as of Dec. 31,
according to its annual report.
St. Joe and "the markets where we do business have matured to the point where
it makes sense for us to further tighten our focus," chairman and chief executive
Peter Rummell said. He described the company as a "town builder," not a "home
builder."
St. Joe will honor existing home-building contracts and new home warranties, company
spokesman Jerry Ray said. The company has been building homes for about eight
years.
St. Joe has two residential projects in Central Florida: Victoria Park, a sprawling
development in west Volusia County, and Artisan Park, a 175-acre "village" in
Osceola County's Celebration community.
Shares of St. Joe gained $1.75 each, or 3.65 percent, to close at $49.67 on the
New York Stock Exchange.