The name has new meaning.
St. Johns County Boar Commissioner Sarah Arnold offered a glimpse into the future of the World Golf Village Renaissance Hotel after new owners snapped up the sprawling 276-room property this month for $25 million.
Appearing on 904 Now with Troy Blevins and Amanda Boulier, Arnold said the purchasers have a major overhaul in mind.
“it does need renovations,” she said. “it does need to be brought up to a higher level. And my understanding is that the new owners intend to do just that.”
Arnold also said there have been discussions of enlarging a convention center at the site to allow it to host larger gathering sand compete with bigger venues outside the area.
“It’s very exciting to me,” she said. “It’s really the first piece of the puzzle.”
Indianapolis-based Sun Development & Management Corporation closed on the property on July 3, according to the Jacksonville Business Journal.
Built in 1998, the roughly 300,000-square-foot hotel was conceived during the early stages of the now defunct World Golf Village project, a master-planned community centered around golf and related entertainment.
But the Hall of Fame opted to relocate in 2023, and the adjacent IMAX theater has also shut its doors.
Additionally, the PGA Tour Productions facility next door was left empty after the organization moved to its new home in Ponte Vedra Beach.
County officials are currently weighing redevelopment options for more than 110,000 square feet of space and approximately 36 acres of public land left vacant by the departures.
The county board is fielding proposed public private partnerships for the area.
Sales of the parcels have been stymied by covenants that restrict uses to golf-related ventures, and the matter is playing out in court.
“The community has been very decisive about what they want to see out there,” she told Blevins. “As has the board. So I think we’re going to get some really exciting proposals.”
