World Golf Village - The Journey From Project to Place
 
World Golf Village emanated from a 1988 planning exercise for the 6,300 acre "Saint Johns" Development of Regional Impact (DRI).  At that time, James E. Davidson, Jr. was a part of the recently formed Cobb Partners and was responsible for formulating new plans for the tract of land, then owned by Dunavant Enterprises of Memphis, Tennessee.  Shortly thereafter, Jim formed his own company, Davidson Development, Inc. and secured an exclusive contract with the Dunavant Company for land management, development, sales and marketing.
 
From 1989 thru 1993, Jim along with his partners and team of consultants, worked to position the property for eventual development.  In 1993, Jim was able to attract the proposed Golf Hall of Fame to be the centerpiece of the Saint Johns project.  From 1993 through 1996, the idea of the Golf Hall of Fame grew into a multi-purpose, resort-like attraction.  In an effort to illuminate the prominence of the Hall of Fame and galvanize global support, the area showcasing the Hall was conceived as the "World Golf Village".  The centerpiece was envisioned to be the Golf Hall of Fame at World Golf Village and, in turn, World Golf Village was intended to be the attraction within the commercial and residential Saint Johns project.
 
In 1994, since the project lands had no interstate access, the first construction at Saint Johns commenced with the privately funded and built Interstate interchange at what was then Nine Mile Road and I- 95.  In 1996, hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements were launched on the interchange lands of Saint Johns.  This work set the stage for the Grand Opening of the Hall of Fame on May 16th, 1998.  That first wave of Saint Johns construction paved the way for the International Golf Hall of Fame & Museum, IMAX Theatre, PGA TOUR Productions, Renaissance Hotel, St. Johns County Convention Center, Walk of Champions Shops, Slammer & Squire Golf Course, Comfort Suites Hotel, Shell Service Station and the Neighborhoods of Turnberry, Royal Pines, St. Andrews, Glenmoor, The Residences and the timeshare units near the Hall of Fame.
 
For the years leading up to the Grand Opening, there was a considerable amount of local, regional, national and international press about the potential and promise for the Hall of Fame, World Golf Village and the Saint Johns project.  Immediately after its opening, the climate, literally, began to change.  The summer of 1998 was the summer in which Florida seemed to be on fire.  Statewide, the wildfires were, at times, out of control.  The drought and heat indexes were at one hundred year event levels.  Interstate 95 was periodically closed, from the Saint Johns interchange, south through St. Johns and Flagler counties.  Visitors had difficulty arriving and homes were somewhat slow to sell.  As is usually the case when ambitious, large scale, innovative projects are started in suburban growth markets, local skeptics and newspapers had a field day targeting annual visitation rates and the pace of home sales.
 
During 1998, 1999 and 2000, the Davidson Companies continued the planning, design and development of more amenities and neighborhoods.  The King & Bear got underway with the first time ever, one time only collaboration of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus for the second golf course at the World Golf Village.  The Meadows neighborhood and many other office, shop and amenity elements followed along.  Even the main land owner changed, as the Hillman Companies of Pittsburgh, recognizing the significance of the overall project, bought all of the undeveloped property, at the time, from the Dunavant company.  The Hillman Company commenced their contribution to the project's success by funding the construction of the King & Bear neighborhood infrastructure.
 
In that period, some visitors exited the interchange and passed right by the main monument sign which read "Saint Johns", only to arrive at the local corner store to ask, "where is World Golf Village".  Soon thereafter, we changed both the name and the sign for the Saint Johns project to simply "World Golf Village".  This change acknowledged that the market was looking at the project from their own perspective - one that reinforced the core area, Hall of Fame and destination aspects of a "place" that was taking shape and defining its own character.
 
When the market rebounded after September 11, 2001 to begin an unprecedented period of growth,  the entire tone of reporting on World Golf Village began to improve, buoyed by the actual statistics.  A key turning point was made when the local paper's Saturday Real Estate Section Map was extended to include the location of World Golf Village.  Amazingly, up to that time, we were not "on the map" and in the minds of many locals, we were still in our formative years.  Shortly thereafter, World Golf Village became the fastest growing regional community measured in new home starts and sales.
 
In 2002, World Golf Village was bestowed the ENVY Award by the Florida Association of Realtors.  The ENVY is awarded annually to the single project which makes the most significant contribution toward building in harmony with Florida's sensitive, natural environment.  The recognition helped to promote an overall awareness of the unique things that World Golf  Village had underway in its effort to develop a smart and desirable "sense of place".
 
Soon after, the floodgates of our "place making" opened up.  All close-by, surrounding and adjoining projects positioned themselves to be "at World Golf Village" or "next to World Golf Village" or "across the street from World Golf Village".  Everyone wanted their projects to be "easily accessed at the World Golf Village interchange".  In fact, our interchange is actually #323 but is widely known and referred to as the World Golf Village Interchange.  Yes indeed, we were not only on the map - but we were being validated by all of our "competitors'" marketing efforts.
 
Today, World Golf Village is truly a "place" - no longer just a "project".  It has made its way through a period of market volatility to shine as a unique place with integrity and substance.  Although World Golf Village has accomplished and delivered much, it still retains all of the promise from its original launch.  In a sense, its overnight success took only its first 10 years.  Many outstanding years are ahead as more and more people make their choice to be a part of this wonderful and authentic place.