St. Joe Corp., the largest landowner in Florida

St. Joe Corp., the largest landowner in Florida and headed by former Disney executive Peter Rummell, is gearing up to build traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs) on large tracts on the Florida Panhandle. It seems that Rummell, who was in charge of developing Celebration for Disney, believes in the profitability of new urbanist projects. That’s significant, because developers are skeptical of whether Disney is making any money on Celebration — the entertainment giant isn’t releasing financial details. Rummell either knows Celebration is making money or believes the concept will work elsewhere. The first St. Joe TND is tentatively called Seagrove, according to the Times, and comprises 500 acres wrapping around Seaside, the nation’s first neotraditional project. Seagrove will profoundly impact Seaside. The first phase of Seagrove calls for a resort hotel, some retail shops and a beach club, followed by vacation and retirement homes. Also, St. Joe has begun planning Southwood, a 3,200-acre TND southeast of Tallahassee. With its huge land holdings on the Panhandle, St. Joe may be poised to spearhead a regional boom in TND construction. The company plans to develop homes throughout the Southeastern U.S., building up to 3,000 homes per year.