EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 745308
Filing Year: 2021
Filename: 745308_10-K_2021_0001558370-21-001636.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
As used throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the terms “St. Joe,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us” include The St. Joe Company, its consolidated subsidiaries and consolidated joint ventures unless the context indicates otherwise.
Description
St. Joe was incorporated in the State of Florida in 1936. We are a real estate development, asset management and operating company. We own 171,000 acres of land in Northwest Florida. The Bay-Walton Sector Plan (“Sector Plan”) entitles, or gives legal rights, for us to develop over 170,000 residential dwelling units, over 22 million square feet of retail, commercial and industrial space and over 3,000 hotel rooms on lands within Florida’s Bay and Walton counties. We also have additional entitlements, or legal rights, to develop acreage outside of the Sector Plan. Approximately 86% of our real estate is located in Florida’s Bay, Gulf, and Walton counties. Approximately 90% of our real estate is located within 15 miles of the Gulf of Mexico.
Strategy
St. Joe believes its long-term, owner-oriented capital and management allows us to optimize the value of Northwest Florida real estate by developing residential, hospitality, and commercial projects that meet growing market demands. This strategy should provide opportunities to build recurring revenues and enterprise value for the foreseeable future. We may partner with or explore the sale of discrete assets when we and/or others can better deploy resources. In 2020, the majority of our revenue was generated from sales, activities and operations on approximately 2% of our land.
Capital is invested to achieve risk-adjusted rates of return and support future business initiatives that create value. New projects are planned for stand-alone profitably and to benefit other enterprise activities. Investments are funded with cash proceeds from existing projects, existing cash, land contributions, partner capital and project specific financing. Actual investments may vary from planned capital investments for various reasons. We do not anticipate immediate benefits from investments. We continue to maintain low fixed expenses, low corporate debt and high liquidity for sustainability in all environments.
We distribute cash in excess of expected operating needs to shareholders through cash dividends and common stock repurchases, as approved by the Board of Directors (the “Board”). A newly initiated quarterly cash dividend of $0.07 was paid in December 2020. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we repurchased 532,034 and 1,263,159 shares, respectively, of common stock. We have a total of $77.4 million available for the repurchase of shares pursuant to our Stock Repurchase Program (the “Stock Repurchase Program”). See Item 5. Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities and Note 15. Stockholders’ Equity included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K.
Reportable Segments
St. Joe operations are reported in three segments: (1) residential, (2) hospitality and (3) commercial. For financial information about our reportable segments, see Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as well as Note 20. Segment Information included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K.
Seasonality and Market Variability
St. Joe’s operations may be affected by seasonal fluctuations. Hospitality revenues are normally higher in the second and third quarters and may vary with the timing of holidays and extraordinary events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Homesites sell in sporadic transactions in various communities that may impact quarterly results. Commercial sales may vary from period to period.
Competition
St. Joe competes with local, regional and national real estate related companies that may have greater financial, marketing, sales and other resources than us. Competition may adversely affect our ability to attract tenants to lease our commercial and multi-family properties or to attract purchasers of our residential and commercial real estate. Highly competitive companies participate in the hospitality business. Our ability to remain competitive and to attract new and repeat guests, customers and club members depends on our success in distinguishing the quality and value of our products and services from those offered by others. We compete based on location, price and amenities. The principal methods of competition are price and quality. Labor markets in the industries in which we operate are competitive. We must attract, train and retain a large number of qualified employees or subcontractors while controlling related labor costs. We face significant competition for these employees from the industries in which we operate as well as from other industries. Our forestry business competes with numerous public and privately held timber companies in our region. There can be no assurance we will be able to compete successfully against competitors or that competitive pressures will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Regulation
St. Joe operations are subject to federal, state and local government laws and regulations that affect every aspect of our business, including environmental and land use laws relating to, among other things, water, air, solid waste, hazardous substances, zoning, construction permits or entitlements, building codes and the requirements of the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act and comparable state statutes relating to the health and safety of our employees. Although we believe that we are in material compliance with these requirements, there can be no assurance that we will not incur significant costs, civil and criminal penalties, and liabilities, including those relating to claims for damages to property or natural resources, resulting from our operations. We maintain environmental and safety compliance programs for our facilities and timberlands to monitor compliance with these laws and regulations. Enactment of new laws or regulations, or changes in existing laws or regulations or the interpretation and enforcement of these laws or regulations, might require significant expenditures.
Human Capital
St. Joe employed 48 professionals in our corporate office who oversee operations, 5 professionals in our Watersound Closings & Escrow, LLC consolidated joint venture (“Watersound Closings JV”) and 399 full-time employees and 118 part-time and seasonal employees in the hospitality segment as of February 22, 2021. In addition to full-time employees, we engage part-time employees, independent contractors and strategic partners. Success depends upon our ability to attract and retain skilled employees, independent contractors and partners. As such, we offer rewarding compensation programs, including opportunities for continuing education and professional development.
Information
St. Joe’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports may be viewed or downloaded electronically, free of charge, from our website: www.joe.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In addition, you may review any materials we file with the SEC on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. To obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference room, you may call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Our recent press releases are also available to be viewed or downloaded electronically from the Investor Relations section of our website at www.joe.com. St. Joe will provide electronic copies of our SEC filings free of charge upon request. Any information posted on or linked from our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The risks described below are not the only risks facing us. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to
predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may affect our business. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us, or that we currently deem to be immaterial, may also materially and adversely affect our business. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, strategies and prospects may be materially adversely affected.
Risk Factors Summary
The following is a summary of the principal risks that could adversely affect our business, operations and financial results.
Risks Related to Our Current Business Strategy
● We may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.
● Our investments in new business opportunities are inherently risky.
● Management has discretion as to the investments we make and may not use these funds effectively.
● Our real estate investments are generally illiquid.
● We face risks stemming from our strategic partnerships.
● We intend to invest our assets in ways such that we will not have to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
● If Fairholme controls us within the meaning of the Investment Company Act, we may be unable to engage in transactions with potential strategic partners.
● The SEC could disagree with our Investment Company Act determinations.
● Returns on our investments may be limited by our investment guidelines and restrictions.
● Losses in the fair value of Securities, and the concentration of our investment portfolio in any particular issuer, industry, group of related industries or geographic sector could occur.
● We face risks associated with short-term liquid investments.
Risks Related to the Operation of Our Business
● Our long-term financial results are largely dependent on the economic and population growth of Northwest Florida.
● Downturns of the real estate market in Northwest Florida may adversely affect our operations.
● We are exposed to risks associated with real estate development and construction.
● We are subject to various risks inherent to the hospitality industry beyond our control.
● A decline in consumers’ discretionary spending or a change in consumer preferences may reduce our sales and harm our business.
● We provide a guarantee of the debt for several of our JVs, and may in the future enter into similar agreements which may have a material adverse effect our business.
● We face potential adverse effects from the loss of commercial tenants.
● Our ability to attract homebuilder customers and their ability or willingness to satisfy their purchase commitments may be uncertain.
● Our results of operations may vary significantly from period to period.
● Our business is subject to extensive regulation and growth management initiatives.
● Public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic have adversely affected, and could in the future, adversely affect our business.
● Significant competition may have an adverse effect on our business.
● Mortgage financing issues, including lack of supply of mortgage loans, tightened lending requirements and possible future increases in interest rates, may reduce demand for our products.
● Natural disasters, manmade disasters, severe weather conditions or other significant disruptions affecting Northwest Florida may materially affect our business.
● Our insurance coverage on our properties may be inadequate to cover losses we may incur.
● Increases in property insurance premiums and decreases in availability of homeowner property insurance in Florida may reduce customer demand for homes and homesites in our developments.
● Our leasing projects may not yield anticipated returns.
● We are exposed to operational risks with respect to our senior living community.
● We could face labor costs increases or we could fail to attract and retain qualified management and employees.
● We face risks associated with third-party service providers.
● Failure to maintain the integrity of internal or customer data may result in faulty business decisions, damage of reputation and/or subject us to costs, fines or lawsuits.
● We face risks related to the sale of firearms.
Risks Related to Laws and Regulations
● Changes to U.S. federal and state income tax laws may materially affect us and our stockholders.
● We may be subject to periodic litigation and other regulatory proceedings.
● Environmental and other regulations may have an adverse effect on our business.
● Limitations on the access to the airport runway at the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport may have an adverse effect on the demand for our VentureCrossings Land adjacent to the airport.
● We may not be able to fully realize the benefits of the federal “qualified opportunity zone” program.
● Uncertainty about the future of the London Interbank Offer Rate.
Risks Related to Our Company or Common Stock
● The market price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be, highly volatile.
● Decline in real estate values or operating losses in our properties may result in impairments.
● Our common stock has low trading volume.
● Fairholme has the ability to influence major corporate decisions and its interest in our business may conflict with yours.
● We may not be able to utilize our net state operating loss carryforwards.
● We cannot assure you that we will continue to pay dividends at the current rate or at all.
● We utilize derivative financial instruments to reduce our exposure to market risks from changes in interest rates on some of our variable rate indebtedness and we will be exposed to risks related to counterparty credit worthiness or non-performance of these instruments.
● Our financing arrangements contain restrictions and limitations.
● Changes in accounting pronouncements may adversely affect our reported operating results.
● Our business may be adversely impacted if we have deficiencies in our disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting.
Risks Related to Our Current Business Strategy
We may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy, which would adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and financial performance.
Our business strategy is the development of our residential real estate, expanding our commercial portfolio of income producing properties and expanding the scope of our hospitality assets and services and our new insurance offerings, while always maintaining more than sufficient enterprise liquidity. If we are not successful in achieving our objectives, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition may be negatively affected.
Our investments in new business opportunities are inherently risky and may disrupt our ongoing business and adversely affect our operations.
We invest in new business opportunities, which may involve significant risks and uncertainties, including distraction of management from current operations, insufficient revenue to offset liabilities incurred and expenses associated with
these new investments, including development costs, inadequate return on our investments, and unidentified issues not discovered in our due diligence of such opportunities. Because these ventures are inherently risky, no assurance can be given that such strategies and offerings will be successful and will not adversely affect our reputation, financial condition and operating results.
Management has discretion as to the investments we make and may not use these funds effectively.
As of December 31, 2020, we had $157.5 million of cash, cash equivalents and investments. Management has discretion in the selection of the investments and may make decisions that do not improve our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition or enhance the value of our common stock or which result in financial losses that may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition and stock price.
Our real estate investments are generally illiquid.
Real estate investments and timber holdings, are relatively illiquid; therefore, it may be difficult for us to sell such assets if the need or desire arises, which may limit our ability to make rapid adjustments in the size and content of our income property portfolio or other real estate or timber assets in response to economic or other conditions. Illiquid assets typically experience greater price volatility, as a ready market does not exist and therefore can be more difficult to value. In addition, validating third party pricing for illiquid assets may be more subjective than more liquid assets. As a result, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our real estate or timber assets quickly, we may realize significantly less than the carrying value of our assets.
We face risks stemming from our strategic partnerships.
We currently maintain, and in the future may seek additional strategic partnerships, including the formation of joint ventures (“JVs”), to develop real estate, capitalize on the potential of our residential, hospitality and commercial opportunities and maximize the value of our assets. These strategic partnerships, JVs and other ongoing strategic real estate investments may bring development experience, industry expertise, financial resources, financing capabilities, brand recognition and credibility or other competitive assets, but also involve risks not present where a third party is not involved. Some of these risks include:
● our partners may take actions contrary to our instructions or requests, or contrary to our policies or objectives with respect to the real estate investments;
● we may not have exclusive control over the development, financing, management and other aspects of the property or JV, which may prevent us from taking actions that are in our best interest but opposed by our partners;
● our partners may experience financial difficulties, become bankrupt or fail to fund their share of capital contributions, which may delay construction or development of property or increase our financial commitment to the strategic partnerships;
● our partners may take actions that subject us to liabilities in excess of, or other than, those contemplated;
● our partners may not maintain adequate internal controls, including controls related to cybersecurity and data privacy;
● we may disagree with our partners about decisions affecting the real estate investments or partnerships, which may result in litigation or arbitration that increases our expenses, distracts our officers and directors and disrupts the day-to-day operations of the property, which may delay important decisions until the dispute is resolved;
● actions by our partners may subject property owned by the partnerships to liabilities or have other adverse consequences, including if the market reputation of strategic partners deteriorates; and
● if a JV agreement is terminated or dissolved, we may not continue to own or operate the interests or investments underlying the JV relationship or may need to purchase such interests or investments at a premium to the market price to continue ownership.
In addition, we may not have sufficient resources, experience and/or skills to manage our existing strategic partnerships or locate additional desirable partners. We also may not be able to attract partners who want to conduct business in desirable geographic locations and who have the assets, reputation or other characteristics that would optimize our development and asset management opportunities. If we cannot successfully execute transactions with strategic partners, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition may be adversely affected.
We intend to invest our assets in ways such that we will not have to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”). As a result, we may be unable to make some potentially profitable investments.
We are not registered as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and we intend to invest our assets in a manner such that we are not required to register as an investment company. This plan will require monitoring our portfolio so that on an unconsolidated basis we will not have more than 40% of total assets (excluding United States (“U.S.”) government securities and cash items) in investment securities or that we will meet and maintain another exemption from registration. As a result, we may be unable to make some potentially profitable investments, unable to sell assets we would otherwise want to sell or forced to sell investments in investment securities before we would otherwise want to do so.
If Fairholme controls us within the meaning of the Investment Company Act, we may be unable to engage in transactions with potential strategic partners, which may adversely affect our business.
Mr. Bruce R. Berkowitz is the Chairman of our Board. He is the Manager of, and controls entities that own and control, Fairholme Holdings, LLC, which wholly owns Fairholme Capital Management, L.L.C. (“FCM”, an investment advisor registered with the SEC). Mr. Berkowitz is the Chief Investment Officer of FCM, which has provided investment advisory services to us since April 2013. FCM does not receive any compensation for services as our investment advisor. As of December 31, 2020, clients of FCM, including Mr. Berkowitz, beneficially owned approximately 44.89% of our common stock. FCM and its client, The Fairholme Fund (“Fairholme”), a series of investments originating from Fairholme Funds, Inc., may be deemed affiliates of ours.
Under the Investment Company Act, “control” means the power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of a company, unless such power is solely the result of an official position with such company. Any person who owns beneficially, either directly or through one or more controlled companies, more than 25% of the outstanding voting securities of a company is presumed to control such company. The SEC has considered factors other than ownership of voting securities in determining control, including an official position with the company when such was obtained as a result of the influence over the company. Accordingly, even if Fairholme’s beneficial ownership in us is below 25% of our outstanding voting common shares, Fairholme may nevertheless be deemed to control us. The Investment Company Act generally prohibits a company controlled by an investment company from engaging in certain transactions with any affiliate of the investment company or affiliates of the affiliate, subject to limited exceptions. An affiliate of an investment company is defined in the Investment Company Act as, among other things, any company 5% or more of whose outstanding voting securities are directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or held with power to vote, by the investment company, a company directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with, the investment company or a company directly or indirectly owning, controlling, or holding with power to vote, 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the investment company.
This may adversely affect our ability to enter into transactions freely and compete in the marketplace. In addition, significant penalties and other consequences may arise as a result of a violation for companies found to be in violation of the Investment Company Act.
If the SEC were to disagree with our Investment Company Act determinations, our business may be adversely affected.
We have not requested approval or guidance from the SEC with respect to our Investment Company Act determinations, including, in particular: our treatment of any subsidiary as majority-owned; the compliance of any subsidiary with any exemption under the Investment Company Act, including any subsidiary’s determinations with
respect to the consistency of its assets or operations with the requirements thereof or whether our interests in one or more subsidiaries constitute investment securities for purposes of the 40% test. If the SEC were to disagree with our treatment of one or more subsidiaries as being majority-owned, exempted from the Investment Company Act, with our determination that one or more of our other holdings do not constitute investment securities for purposes of the 40% test, or with our determinations as to the nature of the business in which we engage or the manner in which we hold ourselves out, we and/or one or more of our subsidiaries would need to adjust our operating strategies or assets in order for us to continue to pass the 40% test (as described above) or register as an investment company, either of which may have a material adverse effect on us. Moreover, we may be required to adjust our operating strategy and holdings, or to effect sales of our assets in a manner that, or at a time or price at which, we would not otherwise choose, if there are changes in the laws or rules governing our Investment Company Act status or that of our subsidiaries, or if the SEC or its staff provides more specific or different guidance regarding the application of relevant provisions of, and rules under, the Investment Company Act.
If the SEC or a court of competent jurisdiction were to find that we were required, but failed, to register as an investment company in violation of the Investment Company Act, we would have to cease business activities, we would breach representations and warranties and/or be in default as to certain of our contracts and obligations, civil or criminal actions may be brought against us, certain of our contracts would be unenforceable unless a court were to require enforcement and a court may appoint a receiver to take control of us and liquidate our business, any or all of which would have a material adverse effect on our business.
Returns on our investments may be limited by our investment guidelines and restrictions.
On August 23, 2019, we entered into a new Investment Management Agreement (the “Investment Management Agreement”) with FCM, which contains investment guidelines and restrictions approved by the Company. The investment guidelines set forth in the Investment Management Agreement require that, as of the date of any investment: (i) no more than 15% of the investment account may be invested in securities of any one issuer (excluding the U.S. Government), (ii) any investment in any one issuer (excluding the U.S. Government) that exceeds 10% of the investment account, but not 15%, requires approval by a second member of the Company’s Board, (iii) 25% of the investment account must be held in cash and cash equivalents, (iv) the investment account is permitted to be invested in common equity securities; however, common stock investments shall be limited to exchange-traded common equities, shall not exceed 5% ownership of a single issuer and, cumulatively, the common stock held in our investment portfolio shall not exceed $100.0 million market value and (v) the aggregate market value of investments in common stock, preferred stock or other equity investments cannot exceed 25% of the market value of our investment portfolio at the time of purchase.
On February 23, 2021, the Company and FCM amended the Investment Management Agreement (the “Amended Investment Management Agreement”), to provide that the investment guidelines and restrictions described in the Amended Investment Management Agreement require that any new securities for purchase must be issues of the U.S. Treasury or U.S. Treasury Money Market Funds. The Amended Investment Management Agreement terminated specific restrictions from the previous investment guidelines and restrictions.
Investment limitations may negatively impact the return that we may otherwise receive from our investment accounts. This may adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations.
Losses in the fair value of Securities, and the concentration of our investment portfolio in any particular issuer, industry, group of related industries or geographic sector, may have an adverse impact on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. In addition, our equity investments may fail to appreciate and may decline in value or become worthless.
As of December 31, 2020, we had $140.6 million in our investment accounts, some of which are classified as cash equivalents. The market value of these investments is subject to change from period to period, especially in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which has caused elevated levels of market volatility. Our investments - debt securities and investments - equity securities (collectively, “Securities”) include investments in non-investment grade corporate debt securities of one issuer and preferred stock of three issuers. However, as previously noted, under the Amended Investment Management Agreement any new Securities for purchase must be issues of the U.S. Treasury or U.S.
Treasury Money Market Funds. We have exposure to credit risk associated with our Securities and these instruments are subject to price fluctuations as a result of changes in the financial market’s assessment of issuer credit quality, increases in delinquency and default rates, changes in prevailing interest rates and other economic factors. A downgrade of the U.S. government’s credit rating may also decrease the value of our Securities.
Credit related impairment losses can negatively affect earnings where fair value of an available-for-sale security is less than the amortized cost basis or if we intend to sell the security, or more likely than not will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis. Investments - equity securities with a readily determinable fair value are recorded at fair value and unrealized holding gains and losses are reported in earnings.
We face risks associated with short-term liquid investments.
We have significant cash balances that are invested in a variety of short-term investments that are intended to preserve principal value and maintain a high degree of liquidity while providing income. From time to time, these investments may include (either directly or indirectly):
● direct obligations issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”);
● obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. federal government or its agencies;
● obligations (including certificates of deposit) of banks and thrifts;
● commercial paper and other instruments consisting of short-term U.S. dollar denominated obligations issued by corporations and banks;
● both registered and unregistered money market funds; and
● other highly rated short-term securities.
Investments in these securities and funds are not insured against loss of principal. Under certain circumstances we may be required to redeem all or part of our investment, and our right to redeem some or all of our investment may be delayed or suspended. In addition, there is no guarantee that our investments in these securities or funds will be redeemable at par value. A decline in the value of our investment or a delay or suspension of our right to redeem may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.
Risks Related to the Operation of Our Business
Our existing real estate investments are concentrated in Northwest Florida; therefore our long-term financial results are largely dependent on the economic and population growth of Northwest Florida.
The economic growth of Northwest Florida, where our land is located, is an important factor in creating demand for our products and services. We believe that the future economic growth of Northwest Florida will largely depend on the ability and willingness of state and local governments, in combination with the private sector, (i) to plan and complete significant infrastructure improvements in the region, such as new transportation hubs, roads, rail, pipeline, medical facilities and schools and (ii) to attract companies offering high-quality, high salary jobs to large numbers of new employees. If new businesses and new employees in Northwest Florida do not grow as anticipated, demand for residential and commercial real estate, as well as hospitality and related assets may be adversely affected.
In addition, the success of our communities will be dependent on strong migration and population expansion in Northwest Florida. We also believe that individuals seeking retirement or vacation homes in Florida will remain important target customers for our real estate products in the future. Florida’s population growth may be negatively affected in the future by factors such as adverse economic conditions, changes in state income tax laws, the occurrence of natural or manmade disasters and the high cost of real estate, insurance and property taxes. If Florida, especially Northwest Florida, experiences an extended period of slow growth, or even net out-migration, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition may suffer.
Downturns of the real estate market in Northwest Florida may adversely affect our operations.
Demand for real estate is sensitive to changes in economic conditions over which we have no control, including the level of employment, consumer confidence, consumer income, the availability of financing and interest rate levels. In addition, the real estate market is subject to downturns, and our business is especially sensitive to economic conditions in Northwest Florida, where our developments are located, and, more broadly, the Southeast region of the U.S., which in the past has produced a high percentage of our customers. If market conditions experience volatility or worsen, the demand for our hospitality and real estate products may decline, negatively impacting our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
We are exposed to risks associated with real estate development and construction (including homebuilding of our unconsolidated JV) that may adversely impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Our real estate development and construction (including homebuilding of our unconsolidated JV) activities entail risks that may adversely impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, including:
● Development and construction delays or cost overruns, which may increase project costs;
● shortages of skilled labor, particularly as a result of the recent low unemployment rate in Northwest Florida;
● claims for construction defects after property has been developed, including claims by purchasers and property owners’ associations, and claims for construction defects arising from third party contractors with whom we are in a principal-agent relationship;
● the discovery of hazardous or toxic substances, or other environmental, culturally-sensitive, or related issues;
● an inability to obtain required governmental permits and authorizations, an inability to secure tenants necessary to support commercial and multi-family projects;
● compliance with building codes and other local regulations;
● unavailability of raw materials when needed, which may result in project delays, stoppages or interruptions, which may make the project less profitable;
● increased costs or decreased supply of building materials, including lumber;
● insufficient infrastructure capacity or availability (e.g., water, sewer and roads) to serve the needs of our projects;
● instability in the financial industry may reduce the availability of financing;
● delay or inability to acquire property, rights of way or easements, which may result in delays or increased costs; and
● weather-related and geological interference, including landslides, earthquakes, floods, drought, wildfires and other events, which may result in delays or increased costs.
As certain approvals are subject to third party responses, it is not uncommon for delays to occur, which affect the timing of transaction closings and may also impact the terms and conditions of the transaction. Delays related to regulatory approvals may be due to the applicable governmental entity not being open due to the government being shut down or staffed sufficiently due to the government’s budgetary issues. These timing issues have caused, and may continue to cause, our operating results, particularly relating to the impact of our land sales, to vary significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year.
We are subject to various risks inherent to the hospitality industry beyond our control, any of which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and value of our hospitality assets.
Our business is subject to a number of business, financial and operating risks inherent to the hospitality industry and the agreements under which we operate, including, but not limited to:
● significant competition from other hospitality providers and lodging alternatives;
● an increase in supply of hotel rooms that exceeds increases in demand;
● dependence on business and leisure travel;
● governmental action and uncertainty resulting from U.S. and global political trends, including potential barriers to travel, trade and immigration;
● increases in energy costs and other travel expenses, which may adversely affect travel patterns;
● our relationships with and the performance of third-party managers and franchisors;
● our ability to satisfy our obligations under our franchise agreements;
● reduced travel due to geo-political uncertainty, including terrorism, legislation or executive policies, travel-related health concerns, including the widespread outbreak of infectious or contagious diseases in the U.S., such as the COVID-19 pandemic, inclement weather conditions, including natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and airline strikes or disruptions;
● reduced travel due to adverse national, regional or local economic and market conditions;
● changes in desirability of geographic region in which our hotels are located;
● increases in operating costs, including increases in the cost of property insurance, utilities and real estate and personal property taxes, due to inflation and other factors that may not be offset by increased room rates;
● labor shortages and increases in the cost of labor due to low unemployment rates or to government regulations surrounding wage rates, health care coverage and other benefits;
● changes in governmental laws and regulations, fiscal policies and zoning ordinances and the related costs of compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
● natural or man-made disasters, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, mudslides and floods; and
● any inability to remodel outdated buildings as required by a franchise or lease agreement.
Any of these factors may increase our costs or limit or reduce the prices we are able to charge for our hospitality products or services, or otherwise affect our ability to maintain existing properties, develop new properties or add amenities to our existing properties. As a result, any of these factors may reduce our revenues and limit opportunities for growth.
A decline in consumers’ discretionary spending or a change in consumer preferences may reduce our sales and harm our business.
Our real estate and hospitality revenue ultimately depends on consumer discretionary spending, which is influenced by factors beyond our control, including general economic conditions, the availability of discretionary income and credit, weather, consumer confidence and unemployment levels. Any material decline in the amount of consumer discretionary spending may reduce our revenue and harm our business. Alternatively, increases in consumer spending through e-commerce channels may significantly affect our tenants’ ability to generate sales in their stores, which could affect their ability to make payments to us. These economic and market conditions, combined with continuing difficulties in the credit markets and the resulting pressures on liquidity, may also place a number of our key customers under financial stress, which may adversely affect our occupancy rates and our profitability, which, in turn, may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
We provide a guarantee of the debt for several of our JVs, and may in the future enter into similar agreements, which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
We have provided a guarantee of the debt in connection with several of our JVs, and may in the future agree to similar agreements. In certain instances, these guarantees provide for the full payment and performance of the borrower. See Note 11. Debt, Net and Note 21. Commitments and Contingencies included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information. If we were to become obligated to perform on any of these guarantees our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition may be adversely affected.
We face potential adverse effects from the loss of commercial tenants.
The default, financial distress, or bankruptcy of a major tenant may adversely affect the income produced by our commercial properties. If one or more of our tenants, particularly an anchor tenant, declares bankruptcy, defaults or voluntarily vacates from the leased premises, we may be unable to collect rent payments from such tenant, re-lease such space or to re-lease it on comparable or more favorable terms. Additionally, the loss of an anchor tenant may make it more difficult to lease the remainder of the affected properties, which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. This may adversely affect our properties and growth.
Our ability to attract homebuilder customers and their ability or willingness to satisfy their purchase commitments may be uncertain.
We are highly dependent upon our relationships with homebuilders to be the primary customers for our homesites and to provide construction services in our residential developments. The homebuilder customers that have already committed to purchase homesites from us may decide to reduce, delay or cancel their existing commitments to purchase homesites in our developments. From time to time we finance real estate sales with mortgage note receivables. If these homebuilders fail to pay their debts to us or delay paying us, it would reduce our anticipated cash flows. Homebuilders also may not view our developments as desirable locations for homebuilding operations or they may choose to purchase land from other sellers. Any of these events may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Our results of operations may vary significantly from period to period, which may adversely impact our stock price, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Residential real estate sales tend to vary from period to period, particularly sales to homebuilders, who tend to buy multiple homesites in sporadic transactions. Commercial real estate projects are likewise subject to one-off sales and the timing of development of specific projects depends on demand. Therefore, there may be reporting periods in which we have no, or significantly less, revenue from residential or commercial real estate sales.
In addition, hospitality operations are affected by seasonal fluctuations. Revenue from our hospitality operations are typically higher in the second and third quarters; however, they can vary depending on the timing of holidays and school breaks, including spring break and may also be impacted by extraordinary events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This seasonality causes periodic fluctuations in room revenues, occupancy levels, room rates and operating expenses in particular hotels.
These variables have caused, and may continue to cause, our operating results to vary significantly from period to period, which may have an adverse impact on our stock price, cash flows, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business is subject to extensive regulation and growth management initiatives that may restrict, make more costly or otherwise adversely impact our ability to develop our real estate investments or otherwise conduct our operations.
A large part of our business is dependent on our ability to develop and manage real estate in Northwest Florida. Approval to develop real property in Florida entails an extensive entitlements process involving multiple and overlapping regulatory jurisdictions and often requiring discretionary action by local governments. This process is often political, uncertain and may require significant exactions in order to secure approvals. Real estate projects in Florida must generally comply with the provisions of the Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act (the “Growth Management Act”) and local land development regulations. Compliance with the Growth Management Act and local land development regulations is usually lengthy and costly and can be expected to materially affect our real estate development activities.
The Growth Management Act requires local governments to adopt comprehensive plans guiding and controlling future real property development in their respective jurisdictions and to evaluate, assess and keep those plans current. Included in comprehensive plans is a future land use map, which sets forth allowable land use development rights. Some of our land has an “agricultural” or “silviculture” future land use designation and we are required to seek an amendment
to the future land use map to develop real estate projects. Approval of these comprehensive plan map amendments is highly discretionary.
All development orders and permits must be consistent with the comprehensive plan. Each plan must address such topics as future land use and capital improvements and make adequate provision for a multitude of public services including transportation, schools, solid waste disposal, sewerage, potable water supply, drainage, affordable housing, open space, parks and others. The local governments’ comprehensive plans must also establish “levels of service” with respect to certain specified public facilities, including roads, schools and services to residents. In many areas, infrastructure funding has not kept pace with growth, causing facilities to operate below established levels of service. Local governments are prohibited from issuing development orders or permits if the development will reduce the level of service for public facilities below the level of service established in the local government’s comprehensive plan, unless the developer either sufficiently improves the services up front to meet the required level of service or provides financial assurances that the additional services will be provided as the project progresses. In addition, local governments that fail to keep their plans current may be prohibited by law from amending their plans to allow for new development.
If any one or more of these factors were to occur, we may be unable to develop our real estate projects successfully or within the expected timeframes. Changes in the Growth Management Act or the interpretation thereof, new enforcement of these laws or the enactment of new laws regarding the development of real property may lead to a decline in our ability to develop and market our communities successfully and to generate positive cash flow from these operations in a timely manner, which may have a materially adverse effect on our ability to service our demand and negatively impact our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.
Public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic have adversely affected, and could in the future, adversely affect our business or financial results.
An epidemic, pandemic or similar serious public health issue, and the measures undertaken by governmental authorities to address it, could significantly disrupt or prevent us from operating our business in the ordinary course for an extended period, and thereby, and/or along with any associated economic and/or social instability or distress, have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
In December 2019, a novel coronavirus outbreak was reported in China, and, in March 2020, the World Health Organization declared such outbreak a pandemic. Numerous states and municipalities also declared public health emergencies. Along with these declarations, extraordinary and wide-ranging actions have been taken by international, federal, state, and local public health and governmental authorities to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including quarantines, stay-at-home orders and business closure mandates requiring that individuals substantially restrict daily activities and that businesses substantially modify, curtail or cease normal operations. There is significant uncertainty regarding the extent to which and how long the COVID-19 pandemic and related government directives, actions and economic relief efforts will disrupt the U.S. economy and level of employment, capital markets, secondary mortgage markets, consumer confidence, demand for our homes and availability of mortgage loans to homebuyers.
Our hospitality operations have been, and may continue to be, disrupted by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal, state and local government actions to address it. Beginning in mid-March 2020 we were forced to temporarily close, reduce capacity or alter the operations of several hospitality assets we own or operate, including the WaterColor Inn, WaterSound Inn, The Pearl Hotel, retail outlets, food and beverage operations and beach clubs due to implementation of social distancing and other COVID-19 pandemic mandates from public health and governmental authorities. Our hospitality assets gradually reopened in May 2020, but could be ordered to close again. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. Further, some guests may choose for a period of time not to travel or visit our properties for health concerns, which could lead to lower occupancy and lower room rates at our hotels or additional disruptions in our hospitality operations.
Our business could also be negatively impacted over the medium-to-longer term if the ongoing disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic result in, among other things, any of the following:
● decrease in consumer confidence generally or with respect to purchasing a home;
● continued decrease in business and leisure travel or the ability to travel;
● significant decreases in the value of residential and/or commercial real estate;
● civil unrest;
● increased political polarization;
● prolonged economic downturn and/or an extended rise in unemployment or tempering of wage growth, any of which could lower demand for our products;
● impaired ability for us to develop and sell homesites in a typical manner or at all;
● labor shortages, particularly if an outbreak were to occur within one of our hotel or food and beverage operations;
● increased costs or decreased supply of building materials or the availability of subcontractors and other talent, including as a result of infections or medically necessary or recommended self-quarantining, or governmental mandates to direct production activities to support public health efforts;
● increased operational costs related to workplace safety and hygiene protocols;
● the inability of our third-party managers and franchisors to perform;
● the inability of our tenants to pay their rent when due;
● public health, governmental authority or industry-initiated action limiting our ability to collect rent or enforce remedies for the failure to pay rent; and
● reduced revenue and cash flows and/or access to the capital or lending markets (or significantly increased costs of doing so), which could lead to insufficient liquidity and inability to satisfy our anticipated working capital needs, expected capital expenditures and/or principal and interest payments on our long-term debt.
The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and difficult to forecast. Should any of the adverse impacts described above (or others that are currently unknown) occur, whether individually or collectively, we would expect to experience, among other things, material adverse impacts on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Significant competition may have an adverse effect on our business.
Our business is highly competitive and fragmented. We compete with local, regional and national real estate leasing and development companies, some of which may have greater financial, marketing, sales and other resources than we do. Competition from real estate leasing and development companies may adversely affect our ability to attract tenants and lease our commercial and multi-family properties, attract purchasers and sell residential and commercial real estate and attract and retain experienced real estate leasing and development personnel. In addition, we face competition for tenants from other retail shopping centers, commercial facilities and apartments, as well as for our senior living community.
A number of highly competitive companies participate in the hospitality industry. Our ability to remain competitive and to attract and retain guests, customers and club members depends on our success in distinguishing the quality and value of our products and services from those offered by others.
The forestry business is also highly competitive in terms of price and quality. Wood products are subject to increasing competition from a variety of substitute products, including non-wood and engineered wood products.
There can be no assurance we will be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors or that competitive pressures we face in the markets in which we operate will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Mortgage financing issues, including lack of supply of mortgage loans, tightened lending requirements and possible future increases in interest rates, may reduce demand for our products.
Many purchasers of our real estate products obtain mortgage loans to finance a substantial portion of the purchase price or they may need to obtain mortgage loans to finance the construction costs of homes to be built on homesites purchased from us. Also, our homebuilder customers depend on retail purchasers who rely on mortgage financing. The availability of mortgage financing is significantly influenced by governmental entities such as the Federal Housing
Administration, Veteran’s Administration and Government National Mortgage Association and government-sponsored enterprises known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If these or other lenders’ borrowing standards are tightened and/or the federal government were to reduce or eliminate these mortgage loan programs (including due to any failure of lawmakers to agree on a budget or appropriation legislation to fund relevant programs or operations), it would likely make it more difficult for potential purchasers of our products, including our homebuilder customers to obtain acceptable financing, which may have a negative effect on demand in our communities.
Increases in interest rates increase the costs of owning a home and may adversely affect the purchasing power of consumers and lower demand for residential real estate. In addition to residential real estate, increased interest rates and restrictions in the availability of credit may also negatively impact sales or development of our commercial properties or other land we offer for sale. If interest rates increase and the ability or willingness of prospective buyers to finance real estate purchases is adversely affected, our sales, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition may be negatively affected.
We have significant operations and properties in Northwest Florida that may be materially affected by natural disasters, manmade disasters, severe weather conditions or other significant disruptions.
Our corporate headquarters and properties are located in Northwest Florida. Because of its location between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, Florida is particularly susceptible to the occurrence of hurricanes. Depending on where any particular hurricane makes landfall, our developments in Northwest Florida, especially our coastal properties, may experience catastrophic damage. Such damage may materially delay sales or lessen demand for our residential or commercial real estate and lessen demand for our hospitality operations and leasing operations. If our corporate headquarters facility is damaged or destroyed, we may have difficulty performing certain corporate and operational functions.
The occurrence of other natural disasters and climate conditions in Florida, such as tornadoes, floods, fires, unusually heavy or prolonged rain, droughts, extreme heat, or other adverse weather events may have a material adverse effect on our ability to develop and sell properties or realize income from our projects. In addition, our timber assets are subject to damage by fire, insect infestation, disease, prolonged drought, flooding, hurricane and natural disasters, which may adversely affect our timber inventory and forestry business. Furthermore, sea level rise due to climate change may have a material adverse effect on our coastal properties.
The occurrence of natural disasters and the threat of adverse climate changes may also have a long-term negative effect on the attractiveness of Florida as a location for residences and as a location for new employers that can create high-quality jobs needed to support growth in Northwest Florida. Manmade disasters or disruptions, such as oil spills, acts of terrorism, power outages and communications failures may cause disruption to our properties, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Furthermore, any adverse change in the economic, political or regulatory climate of Florida, or the counties where our land is located, may adversely affect our real estate development activities. Ultimately, our business may be adversely affected by weak economic conditions or restrictive regulations.
Our insurance coverage on our properties may be inadequate to cover losses we may incur.
We maintain insurance on our properties, including property, liability, fire, flood and extended coverage. However, we do not insure our timber assets and we self-insure home warranty claims. Additionally, our insurance for hurricanes has limitations per named storm and is subject to deductibles. We use our discretion when determining amounts, coverage limits and deductibles for insurance. These terms are determined based on retaining an acceptable level of risk at a reasonable cost. This may result in insurance coverage that in the event of a substantial loss would not be sufficient to pay the full current market value or current replacement cost of our lost investment. Inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations and other factors also may make it unfeasible to use insurance proceeds to replace a facility after it has been damaged or destroyed. Under such circumstances, we may not receive insurance proceeds or the insurance proceeds we receive may not fully cover business interruptions or losses and our earnings, liquidity, or capital resources may be adversely affected.
Increases in property insurance premiums and decreases in availability of homeowner property insurance in Florida may reduce customer demand for homes and homesites in our developments.
Homeowner property insurance companies doing business in Florida have reacted to previous hurricanes by increasing premiums, requiring higher deductibles, reducing limits, restricting coverage, imposing exclusions, refusing to insure certain property owners, and in some instances, ceasing insurance operations in the state. It is uncertain what effect these actions may have on future property insurance availability and rates in the state.
Furthermore, Florida’s state-owned property insurance company, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., underwrites homeowner property insurance. If there were to be a catastrophic hurricane or series of hurricanes to hit Florida, the exposure of the state government to property insurance claims may place extreme stress on state finances.
The high costs of property insurance premiums in Florida may deter potential customers from purchasing a homesite in one of our developments or make Northwest Florida less attractive to new employers that can create high quality jobs needed to increase growth in the region, either of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Our leasing projects may not yield anticipated returns, which may harm our operating results, reduce cash flow, or the ability to sell commercial assets.
Our business includes the development and leasing of commercial and multi-family properties, management of commercial properties and commercial assets for sale. These commercial developments may not be as successful as expected due to leasing related risks, including the risk that we may not be able to lease new properties or obtain lease rates that are consistent with our projections, as well as the risks generally associated with real estate development. Additionally, development of leasing projects involves the risk associated with the significant time lag between commencement and completion of the project. This time lag subjects us to greater risks relating to fluctuations in the general economy, our ability to obtain construction or permanent financing on favorable terms, if at all, our ability to achieve projected rental rates, the pace that we will be able to lease to new tenants, higher than estimated construction costs (including labor and material costs), and delays in the completion of projects because of, among other factors, inclement weather, labor disruptions, construction delays or delays in receiving zoning or other regulatory approvals, or man-made or natural disasters. If any one of these factors negatively impacts our leasing projects we may not yield anticipated returns, which may have a material adverse effect on our operating results, cash flows and ability to sell commercial assets.
We are exposed to operational risks with respect to our senior living community that may adversely affect our revenue and operations.
We are exposed to various operational risks with respect to our senior living community that may increase our costs or adversely affect our ability to generate revenues. These risks include:
● fluctuations in occupancy, including as a result of general economic conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic, competition and willingness or ability of prospective residents to relocate to our senior living community;
● federal, state, local, and industry-regulated licensure, certification and inspection laws, regulations, and standards;
● state regulations regarding senior living resident agreements, which typically require a written resident agreement with each resident;
● the availability and increases in cost of general and professional liability insurance coverage;
● state regulation and rights of residents related to entrance fees; and
● the availability and increases in the cost of labor (as a result of unionization or otherwise).
Any one or a combination of these factors may adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
If labor costs increase or we fail to attract and retain qualified management and employees, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition may be adversely affected.
Our business is dependent on our ability to attract and retain experienced and knowledgeable management and other professional staff.
The labor markets in the industries in which we operate are competitive. We must attract, train and retain a large number of qualified employees while controlling related labor costs. Tighter labor markets may make it even more difficult for us to hire and retain qualified employees and control labor costs. Our ability to attract qualified employees and control labor costs is subject to numerous external factors, including prevailing wage rates, employee preferences, employment law and regulation, labor relations and immigration policy. A significant increase in competition or labor costs increasing from any of the aforementioned factors may have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
In addition, our hospitality operations are highly dependent on a large seasonal workforce. We have historically relied on the H-2B visa program to bring workers to the United States to fill seasonal staffing needs and ensure that we have the appropriate workforce in place. If we are unable to obtain sufficient numbers of seasonal workers, through the H-2B program or otherwise, we may not be able to recruit and hire adequate personnel as the required, and material increases in the cost of securing our workforce may be possible in the future. Increased seasonal wages or an inadequate workforce may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
We face risks associated with third-party service providers, which may negatively impact our profitability.
We rely on various third-parties to conduct the day-to-day operations of our multi-family properties and some of our commercial properties. Failure of such third parties to adequately perform their contracted services may negatively impact our ability to retain customers. As a result, any such failure may negatively impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Failure to maintain the integrity of internal or customer data may result in faulty business decisions, damage of reputation and/or subject us to costs, fines or lawsuits.
We face risks associated with security breaches or disruptions, whether through cyber-attacks or cyber intrusions over the Internet, malware, computer viruses, attachments to emails, persons inside our organization or persons with access to systems, energy blackouts, natural disasters, terrorism, war, and other significant disruptions of our networks and related systems. For a number of years, we have been increasing our reliance on computers and digital technology. While all of our business and internal employment records require the collection of digital information, our hospitality segment, in particular, requires the collection and retention of large volumes of internal and customer data, including credit card numbers and other personally identifiable information of our customers, as such information is entered into, processed, summarized, and reported by the various information systems we use. All of these activities give rise to material cyber risks and potential costs and consequences that cannot be estimated or predicted with any certainty. The integrity and protection of our customer, employee and other company data, is critical to us. Although we make efforts to maintain the security and integrity of these networks and related systems, we have implemented various measures to manage the risk of a security breach or disruption, and to date, have not had a significant cyber breach or attack that has had a material impact on our business, there can be no assurance that our security efforts and measures will be effective or that attempted security breaches or disruptions would not be successful or damaging.
The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber-attacks or cyber-intrusion, including by computer hackers, foreign governments, and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased.
Even the most well protected information, networks, systems and facilities remain potentially vulnerable because the techniques used in such attempted security breaches evolve and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, and in some cases are designed not to be detected and, in fact, may not be detected. Accordingly, we and our service providers may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate security barriers or other preventative measures, and thus it is impossible for us and our service providers to entirely mitigate this risk. Our failure to maintain the security of the data, which we are required to protect, including via the penetration of our network security and the misappropriation of confidential and personal information, may result in business disruption, damage to our reputation, fines, penalties, regulatory proceedings and other severe financial and business implications.
We face risks related to the sale of firearms.
We face risks relating to our recently constructed Powder Room Shooting Range and Training Center in Panama City Beach, Florida, which includes a 17,000 square feet facility with a retail store as well as training and educational space and 14 shooting lanes. We may incur losses due to lawsuits relating to, among other things, our compliance with state and federal law, as well as lawsuits relating to the improper use of firearms at our facility or sold by us. Our insurance coverage may be inadequate to cover these potential claims and liabilities. The sale of fire-arm related products may also present reputational risks and negative publicity, which could harm our results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Laws and Regulations
Changes to U.S. federal and state income tax laws may materially affect us and our stockholders.
The enacted 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) made substantial changes to the Internal Revenue Code. Among those changes are a significant permanent reduction in the generally applicable corporate tax rate, changes in the taxation of individuals and other non-corporate taxpayers that generally but not universally reduce their taxes on a temporary basis subject to ‘‘sunset’’ provisions, the elimination or modification of various currently allowed deductions (including substantial limitations on the deductibility of interest and, in the case of individuals, the deduction for personal state and local taxes), certain additional limitations on the deduction of net operating losses, and certain business income derived by non-corporate taxpayers in comparison to other ordinary income recognized by such taxpayers. The effect of these, and the many other, changes made in the Tax Act is highly uncertain, both in terms of their direct effect on the taxation of an investment in our common equity and their indirect effect on the value of our assets or market conditions generally. Furthermore, many of the provisions of the Tax Act will require guidance through the issuance of Treasury regulations in order to assess their effect. There may be a substantial delay before such regulations are promulgated, increasing the uncertainty as to the ultimate effect of the statutory amendments on us. There may also be technical corrections or superseding legislation proposed with respect to the Tax Act, the risk of which may be elevated due to newly elected members to the U.S. Congress and the election and inauguration of a new U.S. President following the 2020 U.S. federal elections, the effect and timing of which cannot be predicted and may be adverse to us or our stockholders.
From time to time, we may be subject to periodic litigation and other regulatory proceedings, which may impact our financial results of operations.
From time to time, we may be involved in lawsuits and regulatory actions relating to our business, our operations or our position as an owner and operator of real estate and related ventures. An adverse outcome in any of these matters may adversely affect our financial condition, our results of operations or impose additional restrictions or limitations on us. In addition, regardless of the outcome of any litigation or regulatory proceedings, these proceedings may result in substantial costs and may require that we devote substantial resources to defend our Company.
In addition, the land use approval processes we must follow to ultimately develop our projects have become increasingly complex. Moreover, the statutes, regulations and ordinances governing the approval processes provide third parties the opportunity to challenge the proposed plans and approvals. As a result, the prospect of third-party challenges to planned real estate developments provides additional uncertainties in real estate development planning and entitlements. Third-party challenges in the form of litigation may result in denial of the right to develop, or would, by
their nature, adversely affect the length of time and the cost required to obtain the necessary approvals. In addition, adverse decisions arising from any litigation would increase the costs and length of time to obtain ultimate approval of a project and may adversely affect the design, scope, plans and profitability of a project.
Environmental and other regulations may have an adverse effect on our business.
Our properties are subject to federal, state and local environmental regulations and restrictions that may impose significant limitations on our development ability. In most cases, approval to develop requires multiple permits, which involve a long, uncertain and costly regulatory process. Our land holdings contain jurisdictional wetlands, some of which may be unsuitable for development or prohibited from development by applicable law. Development approval most often requires mitigation for impacts to wetlands that require land to be conserved at a disproportionate ratio versus the actual wetlands impacted and approved for development. Some of our property is undeveloped land located in areas where development may have to avoid, minimize or mitigate for impacts to the natural habitats of various protected wildlife or plant species. Additionally, much of our property is in coastal areas that usually have a more restrictive permitting burden or must address issues such as coastal high hazard, hurricane evacuation, floodplains and dune protection.
In addition, our current or past ownership, operation and leasing of real property, and our current or past transportation and other operations, are subject to extensive and evolving federal, state and local environmental laws and other regulations. The provisions and enforcement of these environmental laws and regulations may become more stringent in the future. Violations of these laws and regulations can result in, among other things, civil penalties, remediation expenses, natural resource damages, personal injury damages, potential injunctions, cease and desist orders and criminal penalties. In addition, some of these environmental laws impose strict liability, which means that we may be held liable for any environmental damage on our property regardless of fault.
Some of our past and present real property, particularly properties used in connection with our previous transportation and papermill operations, were involved in the storage, use or disposal of hazardous substances that have contaminated and may in the future contaminate the environment. We may bear liability for this contamination and for the costs of cleaning up a site at which we have disposed of, or to which we have transported, hazardous substances. The presence of hazardous substances on a property may also adversely affect our ability to sell or develop the property or to borrow funds using the property as collateral.
Additionally, in recent years, assessments of the potential impacts of climate change have begun to influence governmental authorities, consumer behavior patterns and the general business environment of the U.S., including, but not limited to, energy-efficiency measures, water use measures and land-use practices. The implementation of these polices may require us to invest additional capital in our properties or it may restrict the availability of land we are able to develop. These changes, or changes in other environmental laws or their interpretation thereof, new enforcement of laws, the identification of new facts or the failure of other parties to perform remediation at our current or former facilities may lead to new or greater liabilities that may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.
Limitations on the access to the airport runway at the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport may have an adverse effect on the demand for our VentureCrossings Land adjacent to the airport.
Our land donation agreement with the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District (the “Airport Authority”) and the deed for the airport land provide access rights to the airport runway from our adjacently-owned lands (the “VentureCrossings Land”). We subsequently entered into an access agreement with the Airport Authority that provides access to the airport runway. Under the terms of the access agreement, we are subject to certain requirements of the Airport Authority, including but not limited to the laws administered by the Federal Aviation Administration (the “FAA”), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (the “FDEP”), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps of Engineers”) and Bay County, Florida. Should security measures at airports become more restrictive in the future due to circumstances beyond our control, FAA regulations governing these access rights may impose additional limitations that may significantly impair or restrict access rights.
In addition, we are required to obtain environmental permits from each of the Corps of Engineers and the FDEP in order to develop the land necessary for access from our planned areas of commercial development to the airport runway. Such permits are often subject to a lengthy agency administrative approval process, and there can be no assurance that such permits will be issued, or that they will be issued in a timely manner.
We believe that runway access is a valuable attribute of some of our VentureCrossings Land, and the failure to maintain such access, the imposition of significant restrictions on such access, or any associated permitting delays or issues, may adversely affect the demand for such lands and our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
We may not be able to fully realize the benefits of the federal “qualified opportunity zone” program, which may adversely affect our financial performance.
As part of the Tax Act, Congress established the Qualified Opportunity Zone program (the “QOZ Program”), which provides preferential tax treatment to taxpayers who invest eligible capital gains into qualified opportunity funds (“QOFs”). QOFs are self-certifying entities that invest their capital in economically distressed communities that have been designated as qualified opportunity zones (“QOZs”) by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and Treasury. We have positioned ourselves to take advantage of the tax benefits offered by the QOZ Program. While the IRS has recently issued final regulations which address some of the uncertainties under the QOZ Program, because the QOZ Program is relatively new, a number of open questions remain. To the extent the IRS issues additional interpretive guidance that renders ineligible certain categories of projects that are currently expected to qualify, we may be unable to fully realize the benefits of the QOZ Program as anticipated, which may impact our investment strategy.
Uncertainty about the future of the London Interbank Offer Rate ("LIBOR") may adversely affect our business and financial results.
Many of our current debt agreements have an interest rate tied to LIBOR. In July 2017, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced its intent to phase out LIBOR by the end of 2021. The cessation date for submission and publication of rates for certain tenors of LIBOR has since been extended by the ICE Benchmark Administration until mid-2023. While this announcement extends the transition period, the United States Federal Reserve issued a statement advising banks to stop new LIBOR issuances by the end of 2021. Accordingly, the potential effect of the phase-out or replacement of LIBOR cannot yet be determined and it is not possible to predict the effect of this announcement, including whether LIBOR will continue in place, and if so what changes will be made to it, what alternative reference rates may replace LIBOR in use going forward, and how LIBOR will be determined for purposes of loans, securities and derivative instruments currently referencing it if it ceases to exist. If the method for calculation of LIBOR changes, if LIBOR is no longer available or if lenders have increased costs due to changes in LIBOR, we may suffer from potential increases in interest rates on our debt agreements. These uncertainties or their resolution also may negatively impact our borrowing costs and other aspects of our business and financial results.
Risks Related to Our Company or Common Stock
The market price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be, highly volatile.
The market price of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) has been volatile. We may continue to experience significant volatility in the market price of our common stock. Numerous factors may have a significant effect on the price of our common stock, including:
● announcements of fluctuations in our operating results;
● other announcements concerning our Company or business, including acquisitions or litigation announcements;
● changes in market conditions in Northwest Florida or the real estate or real estate development industry in general;
● economic and/or political factors unrelated to our performance;
● impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic;
● changes in recommendations or earnings estimates by securities analysts;
● less volume due to reduced shares outstanding; and
● execution of the Stock Repurchase Program will reduce our “public float.”
In addition, the stock market in general has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations in recent years, which have sometimes been unrelated or disproportionate to operating performance. Continued volatility in the market price of our common stock may cause shareholders to lose some or all of their investment in our common stock.
A decline in real estate values or operating losses in our operating properties may result in impairments, which would have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $551.7 million of real estate investments, $38.0 million of investment in unconsolidated JVs and $20.8 million of property and equipment recorded on our books that may be subject to impairment. If market conditions were to deteriorate, our estimate of undiscounted future cash flows may fall below their carrying value and we may be required to take impairments, which would have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Our common stock has low trading volume.
Although our common stock trades on the NYSE, it is thinly traded and our daily trading volume is low compared to the number of share of common stock we have outstanding. The low trading volume of our common stock can cause our stock price to fluctuate significantly as well as make it difficult for a stockholder to sell their common stock quickly. As a result of our stock being thinly traded, institutional investors might not be interested in owning our common stock.
Fairholme has the ability to influence major corporate decisions, including decisions that require the approval of stockholders, and its interest in our business may conflict with yours.
As of December 31, 2020, clients of FCM, including Mr. Berkowitz, beneficially owned approximately 44.89% of our common stock. Given that the Fairholme Funds, Inc. may be deemed affiliates of ours (as previously explained), Fairholme is in a position to influence:
● the vote of most matters submitted to our shareholders, including any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets;
● the nomination of individuals to our Board; and
● a change in our control.
These factors may discourage, delay or prevent a takeover attempt that shareholders might consider in their best interests or that might result in shareholders receiving a premium for their common stock. Additionally, our articles of incorporation and certain provisions of Florida law contain anti-takeover provisions that may make it more difficult to effect a change in our control.
In addition, Fairholme is in the business of making or advising on investments in companies and may hold, and may, from time to time in the future, acquire interests in or provide advice to businesses that directly or indirectly compete with certain portions of our business. Fairholme may also pursue acquisitions that may be complementary to our business, and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us.
Furthermore, future sales of our common stock by Fairholme, or the perception in the public markets that these sales may occur, may depress our stock price.
We may not be able to utilize our net state operating loss carryforwards.
We have generated significant state net operating loss carryforwards. These state net operating loss carryforwards may be used against taxable income in future periods; however, we will not receive any tax benefits with regard to tax losses incurred except to the extent we have taxable income in the remaining net operating loss carryforward periods.
We cannot assure you that we will continue to pay dividends at the current rate or at all.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, we paid a cash dividend of $0.07 per share on our common stock and we expect to continue to pay quarterly dividends. The declaration and payment of any future dividends will be at the discretion of our Board after taking into account various factors, including without limitation, our financial condition, earnings, capital requirements of our business, the terms of any credit agreements or indentures to which we may be party at the time, legal requirements, industry practice, and other factors that our Board deems relevant. By paying cash dividends rather than investing that cash in our business or repaying any outstanding debt, we risk, among other things, slowing the expansion of our business, having insufficient cash to fund our operations or make capital expenditures or limiting our ability to incur borrowings. Our Board will periodically review the cash generated from our business and the capital expenditures required to finance our growth plans and determine whether to modify the amount of quarterly dividends. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that we will continue to pay dividends at the current rate or at all.
We utilize derivative financial instruments to reduce our exposure to market risks from changes in interest rates on some of our variable rate indebtedness and we will be exposed to risks related to counterparty credit worthiness or non-performance of these instruments.
We have entered into interest rate swap instruments and may enter into others to limit our exposure to changes in variable interest rates. While our hedging strategy is designed to minimize the impact of increases in interest rates applicable to some of our variable rate debt, there can be no guarantee that our hedging strategy will be effective, and we may experience credit-related losses in some circumstances. See Note 6. Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Our financing arrangements contain restrictions and limitations that could impact our ability to operate our business.
Our financing arrangements contain customary representations and warranties and customary affirmative and negative covenants that restrict some of our activities. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information. Our ability to comply with the covenants and restrictions contained in our financing arrangements may be affected by economic, financial and industry conditions beyond our control, including credit or capital market disruptions. The breach of any of these covenants or restrictions could result in a default that would permit the applicable lenders to declare all amounts outstanding thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest. In any such case, we may be unable to repay the amounts due under such financing arrangements, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Changes in accounting pronouncements may adversely affect our reported operating results, in addition to the reported financial performance of our tenants.
Accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. Uncertainties posed by various initiatives of accounting standard-setting by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and the SEC, which create and interpret applicable accounting standards for U.S. companies, may change the financial accounting and reporting standards or their interpretation and application of these standards that govern the preparation of our financial statements. These changes and others may have a material impact on our reported financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, we may be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in potentially material restatements of prior period financial statements.
Our business may be adversely impacted if we have deficiencies in our disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting.
The design and effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting may not prevent all errors, misstatements, or misrepresentations. While management will continue to review the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, there can be no guarantee that our internal control over financial reporting will be effective in accomplishing all control objectives at all times. Deficiencies, including any material weakness, in our internal control over financial reporting, which may occur in the future, may result in misstatements of our results of operations, restatements of our financial statements, a decline in our stock price, or otherwise materially adversely affect our business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition, or liquidity.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties
St. Joe owns 171,000 acres in Northwest Florida. The Sector Plan entitles, or gives legal rights, for us to develop over 170,000 residential dwelling units, over 22 million square feet of retail, commercial and industrial space and over 3,000 hotel rooms on lands within Florida’s Bay and Walton counties. We also have additional entitlements, or legal rights, to develop acreage outside of the Sector Plan. Approximately 86% of our real estate is located in Florida’s Bay, Gulf, and Walton counties. Approximately 90% of our real estate is located within 15 miles of the Gulf of Mexico. Undeveloped land is managed as timberlands until designated for development. We anticipate a wide range of residential, commercial and hospitality uses on these land holdings. We have operating assets and projects under development in our residential, hospitality, and commercial segments. For more information on our real estate assets, see “Item 1. Business” and “Schedule III (Consolidated) - Real Estate and Accumulated Depreciation” included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for further information.
In our residential segment, we develop land in multiple residential communities into homesites for sale to homebuilders and retail customers. As of December 31, 2020, we had completed homesites, homesites under development, engineering or in conceptual planning in 18 separate communities. These include Watersound Origins, Breakfast Point, Watersound Camp Creek, Watercolor, WindMark Beach, SouthWood, Titus Park, Ward Creek and other Northwest Florida locations. In our hospitality segment, we own a beach club and three golf courses that are situated in or near our residential communities. We own the WaterColor Inn and the WaterSound Inn, along with nearby retail and commercial space. We own properties under construction for an Embassy Suites hotel (the “Pier Park Resort Hotel JV”), Hilton Garden Inn hotel, Homewood Suites hotel, Camp Creek Inn and The Lodge 30A hotel (“The Lodge 30A JV”). We own additional properties in Panama City Beach, Florida that we operate as rental property. We own two marinas. We have leased land for development in downtown Panama City. In our commercial segment, we own the properties used in our operations, which include multi-family, retail, office and commercial property located in Beckrich Office Park, where we are headquartered; Pier Park North (the “Pier Park North JV”), Pier Park Crossings (the “Pier Park Crossings JV”), Pier Park Crossings II (the “Pier Park Crossings II JV”), Watersound Origins Crossings (the “Watersound Origins Crossings JV”), Watercrest Senior Living (the “Watercrest JV”), WindMark Beach, VentureCrossings and other Northwest Florida locations.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
We are subject to a variety of litigation, claims, other disputes and governmental proceedings that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of our business, none of which we believe will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity. In addition, we are subject to environmental laws and regulations, which include obligations to remove or limit the effects on the environment of the disposal or release of certain wastes or substances at various sites, including sites which have been previously sold. See Note 21. Commitments and Contingencies included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for further discussion.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
On February 22, 2021 we had approximately 862 registered holders of record of our common stock. Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “JOE.”
In the fourth quarter of 2020, we paid a cash dividend of $0.07 per share on our common stock and we expect to continue to pay quarterly dividends. We did not pay cash dividends in 2019. The declaration and payment of any future dividends will be at the discretion of our Board after taking into account various factors, including without limitation, our financial condition, earnings, capital requirements of our business, the terms of any credit agreements or indentures to which we may be party at the time, legal requirements, industry practice, and other factors that our Board deems relevant. See Item 1A. Risk Factors - Risks Related to our Common Stock - We cannot assure you that we will continue to pay dividends at the current rate or at all.
The following performance graph compares our cumulative shareholder returns for the period December 31, 2015, through December 31, 2020, assuming $100 was invested on December 31, 2015, in our common stock, in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, and a custom real estate peer group (the “Custom Real Estate Peer Group”), which is composed of Alexander & Baldwin Inc. (ALEX), CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (CTO), Five Point Holdings, LLC (FPH), The Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC), Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. (MLP), Stratus Properties Inc. (STRS) and Tejon Ranch Co. (TRC). Total returns shown assume that dividends are reinvested. Total return for the Custom Real Estate Peer Group use an equal weighting for each of the stocks within the peer group. The stock price performance shown below is not necessarily indicative of future price performance.
12/31/2015
12/31/2016
12/31/2017
12/31/2018
12/31/2019
12/31/2020
The St. Joe Company
$
$
102.65
$
97.51
$
71.15
$
107.13
$
229.86
S&P SmallCap 600 Index
$
$
126.56
$
143.30
$
131.15
$
161.03
$
179.20
Custom Real Estate Peer Group
$
$
110.97
$
119.46
$
84.86
$
103.97
$
73.05
Stock Repurchase Program
Our Board has approved the Stock Repurchase Program pursuant to which we are authorized to repurchase shares of our common stock. The Stock Repurchase Program has no expiration date. As of December 31, 2020, we had a total authority of $77.4 million available for purchase of shares of our common stock pursuant to the Stock Repurchase Program. We may repurchase our common stock in open market purchases from time to time, in privately negotiated transactions or otherwise, pursuant to Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The timing and amount of any additional shares to be repurchased will depend upon a variety of factors. Repurchases may be commenced or suspended at any time or from time to time without prior notice. The Stock Repurchase Program will continue until otherwise modified or terminated by our Board at any time in its sole discretion. Execution of the Stock Repurchase Program will reduce our “public float”, and the beneficial ownership of common stock by our directors, executive officers and affiliates will proportionately increase as a percentage of our outstanding common stock. However, we do not believe that the execution of the Stock Repurchase Program will cause our common stock to be delisted from NYSE or cause us to stop being subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. There were no stock repurchases during the fourth quarter of 2020.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. Reserved

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in this annual report on Form 10-K. The statements in this discussion regarding industry outlook, our expectations regarding our future performance, liquidity and capital resources and other non-historical statements in this discussion are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties described in “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in this annual report on Form 10-K. Our actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by any forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to revise or publicly release any revision to any forward-looking statements contained in this annual report on Form 10-K, unless required by law.
Business Overview
St. Joe is a real estate development, asset management and operating company with real estate assets and operations in Northwest Florida. We intend to use existing assets for residential, hospitality and commercial ventures. We have significant residential and commercial land-use entitlements. We actively seek higher and better uses for our real estate assets through a range of development activities. We may partner with or explore the sale of discrete assets when we and/or others can better deploy resources. We seek to enhance the value of our owned real estate assets by developing residential, commercial and hospitality projects to meet market demand. Approximately 86% of our real estate is located in Florida’s Bay, Gulf, and Walton counties. Approximately 90% of our real estate land holdings are located within fifteen miles of the Gulf of Mexico.
We believe our present capital structure, liquidity and land provide us with years of opportunities to increase recurring revenue and long-term value for our shareholders. We intend to focus on our core business activity of real estate development, asset management and operations. We are developing a broad range of asset types that we believe will provide acceptable rates of return, grow recurring revenues and support future business. Capital commitments will be funded with cash proceeds from completed projects, existing cash, owned-land, partner capital and financing arrangements. We do not anticipate immediate benefits from investments. Timing of projects may be subject to delays caused by factors beyond our control.
Our real estate investment strategy focuses on projects that meet long-term risk-adjusted return criteria. Our practice is to only incur such expenditures when our analysis indicates that a project will generate a return equal to or greater than the threshold return over its life.
COVID-19 Pandemic Update
The economic conditions in the United States have been and continue to be negatively impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in among other things, quarantines, “stay-at-home” orders and similar mandates for many individuals to substantially restrict daily activities and for many businesses to close or significantly reduce normal operations, and we expect these negative impacts to continue. Beginning in mid-March 2020, in response to federal, state and local orders and guidelines, we took a number of protective measures, including temporarily closing the WaterColor Inn, WaterSound Inn and The Pearl Hotel for overnight guests, closing retail outlets and beach clubs, closing or limiting restaurant activities at our food and beverage operations to pick up only (and in certain locations, local delivery), implementing cost reduction measures and “work from home” policies. Our hospitality assets gradually reopened in May 2020, but could be ordered to close again.
While the breadth and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic impact is still unknown, we could experience material declines within each of our reportable segments in one or more periods in 2021 and beyond compared to the historical norms. We will continue to monitor the potential impacts and evaluate each new project day by day and phase by phase and take prudent measures and respond as needed based on market conditions. Further discussion of the potential impacts on our business from the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed in Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Reportable Segments
We have the following three reportable segments: 1) residential, 2) hospitality and 3) commercial. Prior to the first quarter of 2020, commercial leasing and sales, as well as forestry were treated as individual reportable segments. Commencing in the first quarter of 2020, due to organizational changes, our previously titled “commercial leasing and sales” and “forestry” segments are reported as one segment and retitled to “commercial.” This change is consistent with our belief that the decision making and management of the assets in these segments are being made as one group. All prior year segment information has been reclassified to conform to the 2020 presentation. Also commencing in the first quarter of 2020, our previously titled “residential real estate” segment was retitled to “residential.” The change had no effect on the consolidated balance sheets, statements of income, statements of comprehensive income or statements of cash flows for the periods presented.
The following table sets forth the relative contribution of these reportable segments to our consolidated operating revenue:
Year Ended December 31,
Segment Operating Revenue
Residential (a)
46.6
%
32.7
%
39.2
%
Hospitality
29.5
%
36.0
%
35.9
%
Commercial
22.8
%
30.6
%
22.3
%
Other (b)
1.1
%
0.7
%
2.6
%
Consolidated operating revenue
100.0
%
100.0
%
100.0
%
(a) Includes revenue of $23.1 million in 2018 for a one-time receipt of RiverTown impact fees related to the 2014 RiverTown transaction. See Note 18. RiverTown Impact Fees included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for further discussion.
(b) Other includes mitigation bank credit sales and title fee revenue. For 2018, other includes revenue of $2.2 million related to a specific sale of mitigation bank credits.
For more information regarding our reportable segments, see Note 20. Segment Information included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K.
Residential Segment
Our residential real estate segment typically plans and develops residential communities of various sizes across a wide range of price points and sells homesites to homebuilders or retail consumers. Our residential real estate segment
also evaluates opportunities to enter into JV agreements for specific communities such as Latitude Margaritaville Watersound.
Watersound Origins, Watersound Camp Creek, Breakfast Point, Titus Park, College Station, Park Place, WindMark Beach and SouthWood are large scale, multi-phase communities with current sales activity and future phases. Homesites in these communities are developed based on market demand and sold primarily to homebuilders and retail customers on a limited basis.
Other residential communities of SummerCamp Beach and RiverCamps have homesites available for sale or lands for future development. In addition, the residential communities of WaterSound Beach, WaterSound West Beach, WaterColor and Wild Heron that are substantially developed, with homesites in these communities available for sale.
The Latitude Margaritaville Watersound community is a planned 55+ active adult residential community under development in Bay County, Florida. The community is located near the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway with convenient access to the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. The community is being developed as an unconsolidated JV with our partner Minto Communities USA, a homebuilder and community developer, and is estimated to include approximately 3,500 residential homes, which will be developed in smaller increments of discrete neighborhoods. The sales center and 13 model homes are currently under construction. In addition, homesite infrastructure for the initial neighborhoods including models is underway, with site development of 629 homesites.
Planned residential projects of East Lake Powell, Mexico Beach, Ward Creek and other Watersound communities are in the planning and engineering stages of development.
The residential homesite pipeline by community/project are as follows:
Residential Homesite Pipeline (a)
Additional
Platted or
Engineering or
Entitlements with
Community/Project
Location
Under Development
Permitting
Concept Plan
Total
Breakfast Point (b)
Bay County, FL
1,445
1,700
College Station
Bay County, FL
East Lake Powell (c)
Bay County, FL
-
-
Latitude Margaritaville Watersound (d) (e)
Bay County, FL
-
2,871
3,500
Mexico Beach (b)
Bay County, FL
-
-
Park Place
Bay County, FL
RiverCamps (c)
Bay County, FL
-
SouthWood (f)
Leon County, FL
1,305
SummerCamp Beach (b)
Franklin County, FL
-
Titus Park
Bay County, FL
1,154
Watersound (d)
Walton County, FL
-
5,781
5,896
Watersound Camp Creek (f)
Walton County, FL
Watersound Origins (f)
Walton County, FL
Ward Creek (d)
Bay County, FL
-
1,007
1,600
WaterColor Park District
Walton County, FL
-
-
WaterSound Beach
Walton County, FL
-
-
WaterSound West Beach
Walton County, FL
-
-
Wild Heron
Bay County, FL
-
-
WindMark Beach (f)
Gulf County, FL
1,281
Total Homesites
1,422
2,229
15,869
19,520
(a) The number of homesites are preliminary and are subject to change.
(b) Planned Unit Development (“PUD”).
(c) Development Agreement (“DA”).
(d) Detailed Specific Area Plan (“DSAP”).
(e) The unconsolidated Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV (the “Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV”), plans to build and sell homes in this community.
(f) Development of Regional Impact (“DRI”).
As of December 31, 2020, we had 1,269 residential homesites under contract with ten different local, regional, and national homebuilders, which are expected to result in revenue of approximately $115.0 million at closing of the homesites, which are expected over the next several years. As of December 31, 2019, we had 930 residential homesites under contract, which are expected to result in revenue of approximately $84.3 million ($20.3 million has been realized through December 31, 2020). The increase in homesites under contract is due to the development of additional homesites and increased homebuilder contracts for residential homesites. The number of homesites under contract are subject to change based on homesite closings and homebuilder interest in each community.
Hospitality Segment
Our hospitality segment features a private membership club (“The Clubs by JOE”), hotel operations, food and beverage operations, golf courses, beach clubs, retail outlets, gulf-front vacation rentals, management services, marinas and other entertainment assets. The hospitality segment generates revenue and incurs costs from membership sales, membership reservations, golf courses, the WaterColor Inn and WaterSound Inn, short-term vacation rentals, management of The Pearl Hotel, food and beverage operations, merchandise sales, marina operations, charter flights, other resort and entertainment activities and beach clubs, which includes operation of the WaterColor Beach Club. Hospitality revenue is generally recognized at the point in time services are provided and represent a single performance obligation with a fixed transaction price. Hospitality revenue recognized over time includes non-refundable club membership initiation fees, club membership dues, management fees and other membership fees. From time to time, we may explore the sale of certain hospitality properties, the development of new hospitality properties, as well as new entertainment and management opportunities. Some of our JV assets and other assets incur interest and financing expenses related to the loans as described in Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K.
The Clubs by JOE provides club members and guests in some of our hotels access to our member facilities, which include the Camp Creek Golf Club, Shark’s Tooth Golf Club, WaterSound Beach Club and our Pilatus PC-12 NG aircraft (“N850J”). The Clubs by JOE offers different types of club memberships, each with different access rights and associated fee structures. The Clubs by JOE is focused on creating a world class membership experience combined with the luxurious aspects of a destination resort. Club operations include our golf courses, beach club and facilities that generate revenue from membership sales, membership reservations, daily play at the golf courses, merchandise sales, charter flights and food and beverage sales and incur expenses from the services provided, maintenance of the golf courses, aircraft, beach club and facilities and personnel costs. Watersound Origins includes a six-hole golf course, resort-style pool, fitness center, two tennis courts and private lake dock located in the community. Access to amenities are reserved to Watersound Origins members consisting of the community residents. The golf course is available for public play.
WaterSound Beach Club is The Clubs by JOE’s private beach club located in Watersound, Florida, which includes over one mile of Gulf of Mexico frontage, two resort-style pools, two restaurants, three bars, kid’s room and a recreation area. Shark’s Tooth Golf Club includes an 18-hole golf course, a full club house, a pro shop, as well as two food and beverage operations. In addition to the golf course, The Clubs by JOE tennis center is located in the Wild Heron community near the Shark’s Tooth golf course. Camp Creek Golf Club is an 18-hole championship golf course located in Watersound, Florida. In the fourth quarter of 2019, we commenced construction on new club amenities adjacent to the Camp Creek golf course. Amenities are planned to include a health and wellness center, restaurants, a tennis center, pickle ball courts, a resort-style pool complex with separate adult pool, a golf teaching academy, pro shop and multi-sport fields. Once complete, these amenities will be available to The Clubs by JOE members and guests at some of our hotels. The Clubs by JOE also offers members private air charter flights through our N850J aircraft.
We own and operate the award-winning WaterColor Inn, which includes the FOOW restaurant, the WaterSound Inn and two gulf-front vacation rental houses. We own and operate retail and commercial outlets near our hospitality facilities. We also operate the award-winning The Pearl Hotel and Havana Beach Bar & Grill restaurant and the WaterColor Beach Club, which includes food and beverage operations and other hospitality related activities, such as beach chair rentals. Revenue is generated from (i) the WaterColor Inn, WaterSound Inn and operation of the WaterColor Beach Club, (ii) management of The Pearl Hotel, (iii) short-term vacation rentals, (iv) food and beverage operations and (v) merchandise sales. The WaterColor Inn, WaterSound Inn and operation of the WaterColor Beach Club generate
revenue from service and/or daily rental fees and incur expenses from the cost of services and goods provided, maintenance of the facilities and personnel costs. Revenue generated from our management services include management fees. Management services expenses consist primarily of internal administrative costs. Hotel operations and short-term vacation rentals generate revenue from rental fees and incur expenses from the holding cost of assets we own and standard lodging personnel, such as front desk, reservations and marketing personnel. Our food and beverage operations generate revenue from food and beverage sales and incur expenses from the cost of services and goods provided and standard personnel costs. Our retail outlets generate revenue from merchandise sales, which are recognized at the point of sale and incur expenses from the cost of goods provided, personnel costs and facility costs.
We are in the process of constructing an Embassy Suites hotel, with our JV partner, planned for 255 guest suites in the Pier Park area of Panama City Beach, Florida; an upscale 75 room boutique hotel located adjacent to the Camp Creek Golf Club near the highly desirable Scenic Highway 30A corridor; a Hilton Garden Inn near Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (“ECP”), which is planned to feature 143 guest rooms; a Homewood Suites by Hilton adjacent to the new Panama City Beach Sports Complex in Panama City Beach, Florida, which is planned to feature 131 one and two-bedroom guest suites; and The Lodge 30A, with our JV partner, an 85 room boutique hotel on Scenic Highway 30A in Seagrove Beach, Florida. In the third quarter of 2020 we executed a long-term land lease to develop, construct and operate a new waterfront Hotel Indigo and standalone restaurant in Panama City, Florida’s downtown waterfront district. Construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2021. Once complete, we will manage the day-to-day operations of all planned hotels and restaurants.
We own and operate two marinas consisting of the Bay Point Marina and Port St. Joe Marina. Our marinas generate revenue from boat slip rentals and fuel sales, and incur expenses from cost of services provided, maintenance of the marina facilities and personnel costs. At present, we are redeveloping the marinas. See Note 7. Hurricane Michael included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
We own and operate the WaterColor retail store that generates revenue from merchandise sales, which are recognized at the point of sale, and incur expenses from the cost of goods provided, personnel costs and facility costs. We own and operate the Powder Room Shooting Range and Training Center (“The Powder Room”) in Panama City Beach, Florida. The approximately 17,000 square feet facility was completed in December 2020 and includes a retail store with firearms and ammunition, as well as training and educational space and 14 shooting lanes. The Powder Room generates revenue from service fees and merchandise sales, which are recognized at the point of sale, and incurs expenses from the cost of services and goods provided, personnel costs and facility costs.
Commercial Segment
Our commercial segment includes leasing of commercial property, multi-family, a senior living community and other assets. The commercial segment also oversees the planning, development, entitlement, management and sale of our commercial and rural land holdings for a variety of uses, including a broad range of retail, office, hotel, senior living, multi-family, self-storage and industrial properties. We provide development opportunities for national, regional and local retailers and other strategic partners in Northwest Florida. We own and manage retail shopping centers and develop commercial parcels. We have large land holdings near the Pier Park retail center, adjacent to the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, near or within business districts in the region and along major roadways. We also lease land for hunting, rock quarrying and other uses.
The commercial segment also manages our timber holdings in Northwest Florida which includes growing and selling pulpwood, sawtimber and other products, such as fill dirt. As of December 31, 2020, we had an estimated 2.3 million tons of marketable pulpwood and 3.2 million tons of marketable sawlogs on approximately 64,000 acres. Based on our annual harvest plan, we anticipate harvesting approximately 260,000 tons of pulpwood and sawlogs during 2021.
The commercial segment generates leasing revenue and incurs leasing expenses primarily from maintenance and management of our properties, personnel costs and asset holding costs. Our commercial segment also generates revenue from the sale of developed and undeveloped land, timber holdings or land with limited development and/or entitlements and the sale of commercial operating properties. Real estate sales in our commercial segment incur costs of revenue directly associated with the land, development, construction, timber and selling costs. Our commercial segment
generates timber revenue primarily from open market sales of timber on site without the associated delivery costs. Some of our JV assets and other assets incur interest and financing expenses related to the loans as described in Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K.
The commercial segment’s portfolio of leasable properties continues to expand and diversify. Through wholly-owned subsidiaries and consolidated and unconsolidated joint ventures we are in the process of constructing 739 apartment units, in addition to the 378 apartment units and 107 senior living units that have recently been completed.
Pier Park Crossings, which was developed in two phases, includes 360 completed apartment units in Panama City Beach, Florida. In addition to Pier Park Crossings, we have three apartment communities under development or construction. Watersound Origins Crossings, consisting of 217 units, with 18 units completed as of December 31, 2020, is adjacent to the Watersound Town Center in Watersound, Florida. Sea Sound apartments, an unconsolidated JV consisting of 300 units, is located in Panama City Beach, Florida near the Breakfast Point residential community. Star Avenue apartments, consisting of 240 units, is located in Panama City, Florida.
Our leasing portfolio consists of approximately 908,000 square feet of leasable space for mixed-use, retail, industrial, office and medical uses. Within the leasing portfolio, our mixed-use lease space totals approximately 134,000 square feet. It consists primarily of WaterColor Town Center, WindMark Beach Town Center, WaterSound Gatehouse, WaterColor Crossings and various flex-space buildings. Our retail lease space totals approximately 352,000 square feet. It consists primarily of Pier Park North JV and other leasable properties. Our industrial lease space totals approximately 304,000 square feet, primarily located at VentureCrossings. Our office lease space consists of approximately 96,000 square feet, primarily located in the Beckrich Office Park in Panama City Beach, Florida. Our medical lease space consists of approximately 22,000 square feet. It consists of a medical clinic at the Watersound Town Center and medical space at Beckrich Office Park. Through separate unconsolidated JVs other commercial properties include a 124 room TownePlace Suites by Marriott operated by our JV partner in Panama City Beach, Florida and a Busy Bee branded fuel station and convenience store operated by our JV partner in Panama City Beach, Florida.
We have other commercial projects in the planning, engineering or construction stages. This includes a Publix supermarket totaling approximately 50,000 square feet, a self-storage facility totaling approximately 71,000 square feet and a new multi-tenant commercial building in the Watersound Town Center totaling approximately 20,000 square feet. In addition to the properties listed above, we have a number of projects in various stages of planning, including additional commercial buildings, apartment communities and an additional senior living community.
Results of Operations
Consolidated Results
Revenue and expenses. The following table sets forth a comparison of the results of our operations:
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Revenue:
Real estate revenue
$
87.6
$
61.5
$
52.2
Hospitality revenue
47.8
46.1
38.8
Leasing revenue
18.8
15.6
13.7
Timber revenue
6.3
3.9
5.6
Total revenue
160.5
127.1
110.3
Expenses:
Cost of real estate revenue
35.8
24.3
13.4
Cost of hospitality revenue
35.2
34.5
32.5
Cost of leasing revenue
5.9
4.7
4.7
Cost of timber revenue
0.8
0.6
0.7
Other operating and corporate expenses
22.9
21.4
20.6
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
12.8
10.3
9.0
Total expenses
113.4
95.8
80.9
Operating income
47.1
31.3
29.4
Other income (expense):
Investment income, net
5.0
10.7
12.2
Interest expense
(13.6)
(12.3)
(11.8)
Gain on land contribution to equity method investment
20.0
2.3
-
Other income, net
1.3
4.2
1.1
Total other income, net
12.7
4.9
1.5
Income before equity in loss from unconsolidated affiliates and income taxes
59.8
36.2
30.9
Equity in loss from unconsolidated affiliates
(0.6)
(0.1)
-
Income tax (expense) benefit
(13.7)
(9.4)
0.7
Net income
$
45.5
$
26.7
$
31.6
Results of operations in this Form 10-K generally discusses 2020 and 2019 items and comparisons. For a detailed discussion of results of operations and comparisons for 2019 and 2018, see Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the SEC on February 26, 2020.
Real Estate Revenue and Gross Profit
The following table sets forth a comparison of our total real estate revenue and gross profit for the three years ended December 31, 2020:
% (a)
% (a)
% (a)
Dollars in millions
Revenue:
Residential real estate revenue
Residential real estate revenue
$
74.1
84.6
%
$
41.1
66.8
%
$
19.7
37.7
%
RiverTown impact fees
-
-
%
-
-
%
23.1
44.3
%
Total residential real estate revenue
74.1
84.6
%
41.1
66.8
%
42.8
82.0
%
Commercial and rural real estate revenue
11.7
13.4
%
19.5
31.7
%
6.6
12.6
%
Other revenue
1.8
2.0
%
0.9
1.5
%
2.8
5.4
%
Real estate revenue
$
87.6
100.0
%
$
61.5
100.0
%
$
52.2
100.0
%
Gross profit:
Residential real estate
Residential real estate
$
44.4
59.9
%
$
21.1
51.3
%
$
9.9
50.3
%
RiverTown impact fees
-
-
%
-
-
%
23.1
100.0
%
Total residential real estate
44.4
59.9
%
21.1
51.3
%
33.0
77.1
%
Commercial and rural real estate
6.2
53.0
%
15.2
77.9
%
3.2
48.5
%
Other
1.2
66.7
%
0.9
100.0
%
2.6
92.9
%
Gross profit
$
51.8
59.1
%
$
37.2
60.5
%
$
38.8
74.3
%
(a) Calculated percentage of total real estate revenue and the respective gross margin percentage.
Residential Real Estate Revenue and Gross Profit. During 2020, total residential real estate revenue increased $33.0 million, or 80.3% to $74.1 million, as compared to $41.1 million during 2019. Total residential real estate gross profit increased $23.3 million, to $44.4 million (or gross margin of 59.9%), as compared to $21.1 million, (or gross margin of 51.3%) during 2019. Included in residential real estate revenue for 2018 is $23.1 million for a one-time receipt of RiverTown impact fees related to the 2014 RiverTown transaction, resulting in a gross profit margin of 100.0%. See Note 18. RiverTown Impact Fees included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for further discussion. During 2020, we sold 509 homesites and had unimproved residential land sales of $1.7 million, compared to 379 homesites sold during 2019. During 2020 and 2019, the average revenue, excluding homesite residuals, per homesite sold was approximately $124,000 and $87,000, respectively. The revenue and gross profit for each period was impacted by the volume of sales within each of the communities, the difference in pricing among the communities and the difference in the cost of the homesite development. The number of homesites sold varied each period due to the timing of homebuilder contractual closing obligations and the timing of development of completed homesites in our residential communities.
Commercial and Rural Real Estate Revenue and Gross Profit. During 2020, we had twenty-three commercial and rural real estate sales totaling approximately 473 acres for $11.7 million resulting in a gross profit margin of 53.0%. Commercial and rural real estate revenue for 2020 included $1.8 million related to the sale of the SouthWood Town Center. During 2019, we had twenty-five commercial and rural real estate sales totaling approximately 1,605 acres for $19.5 million resulting in a gross profit margin of 77.9%. Commercial and rural real estate sales in 2019 included approximately 28 acres totaling $4.3 million in revenue in the SouthWood community. Commercial and rural real estate sales in 2019 also included a sale totaling $9.9 million in revenue related to non-strategic land located in Leon County, Florida, with a gross profit of $9.7 million due to a low historical basis. Revenue from commercial and rural real estate can vary significantly from period to period depending on the proximity to developed areas and mix of real estate sold in each period, with varying compositions of retail, office, industrial and other commercial uses.
Our gross margin can vary significantly from period to period depending on the characteristics of property sold. Sales of rural and timber land typically have a lower cost basis than residential and commercial real estate sales. In addition, our cost basis in residential and commercial real estate can vary depending on the amount of development or other costs spent on the property.
Other Revenue. Other revenue primarily consists of mitigation bank credit sales and title fee revenue.
Hospitality Revenue and Gross Profit
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Hospitality revenue
$
47.8
$
46.1
$
38.8
Gross profit
$
12.6
$
11.6
$
6.3
Gross margin
26.4
%
25.2
%
16.2
%
Hospitality revenue increased $1.7 million, or 3.7%, during 2020, as compared to 2019. The increase in the current period was primarily due to an increase in revenue from WaterColor Inn lodging, the WaterSound Beach Club, charter flights, the WaterColor retail store and The Powder Room, which opened in December 2020. The increase in revenue was also related to an increase in the number of members and membership revenue in the current period, partially offset by a decrease related to the receipt of one-time membership reservations fee in the prior period. The increases in the current period were partially offset by a decrease in hospitality revenue due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in shut downs and reduced revenue from mid-March to mid-May, but was partially offset by a recovery from June to December that exceeded revenue as compared to the same periods in 2019. As of December 31, 2020, The Clubs by JOE had 1,563 members, compared with 1,274 members as of December 31, 2019. Gross profit during each 2020 and 2019 includes $1.3 million of business interruption proceeds received for the marinas related to Hurricane Michael. Hospitality had a gross margin during 2020 of 26.4%, compared to 25.2% during 2019. The increase in gross margin is related to an extended vacation season in the current period consistent with delayed school openings, increases in homeschooling and a rise in remote work arrangements, as well as management of expenses and labor, which was partially offset by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic from mid-March to mid-May 2020.
Leasing Revenue and Gross Profit
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Leasing revenue
$
18.8
$
15.6
$
13.7
Gross profit
$
12.9
$
10.9
$
9.0
Gross margin
68.6
%
69.9
%
65.7
%
Leasing revenue increased $3.2 million, or 20.5%, during 2020, as compared to 2019. The increase is primarily due to new leases at Pier Park Crossings apartments, which began leasing in the second quarter of 2019, as well as other new leases and higher rental rates. Gross profit during 2020 includes $0.7 million of business interruption insurance proceeds received for Pier Park Crossings apartments related to Hurricane Michael. Leasing gross margin was 68.6% during 2020, as compared to 69.9% during 2019. Excluding the business interruption proceeds received during the current period, our leasing gross margin was 64.9% during 2020, as compared to 69.9% during 2019. The decrease was primarily due to start-up expenses for new assets in the current period.
Timber Revenue and Gross Profit
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Timber revenue
$
6.3
$
3.9
$
5.6
Gross profit
$
5.5
$
3.3
$
4.9
Gross margin
87.3
%
84.6
%
87.5
%
Timber revenue increased $2.4 million, or 61.5%, during 2020, as compared to 2019. The increase is primarily due to an increase in the amount of tons sold and product mix changes. The revenue for 2019 was affected by Hurricane Michael’s significant market impact after landfall in October 2018. There were 322,000 tons sold during 2020, as compared to 220,000 tons sold during 2019. Gross margin increased during 2020 to 87.3%, as compared to 84.6% during 2019, primarily due to increased volume and changes in product mix. The cost of timber revenue is primarily fixed, which also resulted in an increase to gross margin for the period.
Other Operating and Corporate Expenses
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Employee costs
$
8.4
$
7.8
$
7.3
401(k) contribution
1.2
1.1
1.1
Non-cash stock compensation costs
-
0.1
0.1
Property taxes and insurance
5.3
5.0
4.9
Professional fees
4.7
4.0
3.5
Marketing and owner association costs
1.2
1.2
1.2
Occupancy, repairs and maintenance
0.7
0.8
0.9
Other miscellaneous
1.4
1.4
1.6
Total other operating and corporate expenses
$
22.9
$
21.4
$
20.6
Other operating and corporate expenses increased $1.5 million during 2020, as compared to 2019. The increase is due to the March 2020 payment of performance incentives and other employee related costs. The increase is also due to professional fees for legal, accounting and tax services related to the growth in operations.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization
Depreciation, depletion and amortization expense increased $2.5 million during 2020, as compared to 2019, primarily due to new assets placed in service.
Investment Income, Net
Investment income, net primarily includes (i) interest and dividends earned, (ii) accretion of the net discount, (iii) net realized gain or loss from the sale of our available-for-sale investments and equity securities, less other-than-temporary impairment loss, (iv) net unrealized gain or loss related to investments - equity securities, (v) interest income
earned on the time deposit held by a special purpose entity and (vi) interest earned on mortgage notes receivable and other receivables as detailed in the table below:
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Interest and dividend income
$
1.1
$
7.3
$
9.1
Accretion income
0.1
0.1
0.7
Net realized gain (loss) on the sale of investments
-
0.1
(1.0)
Other-than-temporary impairment loss
-
-
(2.3)
Unrealized loss on investments, net
(4.7)
(5.3)
(3.0)
Interest income from investments in special purpose entities
8.2
8.2
8.2
Interest accrued on notes receivable and other interest
0.3
0.3
0.5
Total investment income, net
$
5.0
$
10.7
$
12.2
Investment income, net decreased $5.7 million to $5.0 million for 2020, as compared to $10.7 million for 2019. The decrease in interest and dividend income for 2020, as compared to the same period in 2019, is primarily due the change in investments held during the period and lower interest rates. The change in investments held during the period is primarily related to a transition to a more liquid investment strategy and increased capital expenditures. Investment income, net during 2020 and 2019 includes an unrealized loss on investments, net of $4.7 million and $5.3 million, respectively, related to preferred stock.
Interest Expense
Interest expense primarily includes interest incurred on the Senior Notes issued by Northwest Florida Timber Finance, LLC, project financing, Community Development District (“CDD”) debt and finance leases as detailed in the table below:
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Interest expense and amortization of discount and issuance costs for Senior Notes issued by special purpose entity
$
8.8
$
8.8
$
8.8
Other interest expense
4.8
3.5
3.0
Total interest expense
$
13.6
$
12.3
$
11.8
Interest expense increased $1.3 million, or 10.6%, in 2020, as compared to 2019, primarily related to the increase in project financing. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information regarding project financing.
Gain on Land Contribution to Equity Method Investment
Gain on land contribution to equity method investment in 2020 and 2019 was $20.0 million and $2.3 million, respectively. Gain on land contribution to equity method investment for 2020 includes a gain of $15.3 million on land and $0.4 million on additional infrastructure improvements contributed to our unconsolidated Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV. The $15.3 million gain on land contributed to the Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV is comprised of $16.6 million for the present value of the land contribution, net of $1.3 million cost basis. The present value of the land contribution was based on our best estimate of the prevailing market rates for the source of credit using an imputed interest rate of 5.75%, the timing of homes sales and an additional performance obligation to provide for infrastructure improvements in the vicinity of the contributed land. Gain on land contribution to equity method investment for 2020 also includes a gain of $4.3 million on land and mitigation credits contributed to FDSJ Eventide, LLC, our unconsolidated JV (the “Sea Sound Apartments JV”). Gain on land contribution to equity method investment for 2019 includes a gain of $0.8 million on land contributed to SJBB, LLC, our unconsolidated JV (the “Busy Bee JV”) and a
gain of $1.5 million on land and mitigation credits contributed to Pier Park TPS, LLC, our unconsolidated JV (the “Pier Park TPS JV”). See Note 4. Joint Ventures included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Other Income, Net
Other income, net primarily includes income from our retained interest investments, gain on insurance recovery, loss from hurricane damage and other income and expense items as detailed in the table below:
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Accretion income from retained interest investments
$
1.4
$
1.4
$
1.2
Gain on insurance recovery
0.7
5.3
7.2
Loss from hurricane damage
(1.1)
(2.7)
(8.6)
Miscellaneous income, net
0.3
0.2
1.3
Other income, net
$
1.3
$
4.2
$
1.1
Other income, net decreased $2.9 million to $1.3 million during 2020, as compared to $4.2 million in 2019. Other income, net for 2020 and 2019 includes $0.7 million and $5.3 million, respectively, of gain on insurance recovery and $1.1 million and $2.7 million, respectively, of loss from hurricane damage related to Hurricane Michael. See Note 7. Hurricane Michael included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Income Tax Expense
Our income tax expense in 2020 was $13.7 million, compared to $9.4 million in 2019. Our effective tax rate was 23.2% in 2020, as compared to 26.1% in 2019.
Our effective rate for 2020 differed from the federal statutory rate of 21.0% primarily due to state income taxes, income tax credits related to our JV apartment projects and other permanent differences. Our effective rate for 2019 differed from the federal statutory rate of 21.0% primarily due to state income taxes, the change in Florida corporate income tax rate from 5.5% to 4.5%, the benefit recognized for certain investments in QOZs, and other permanent differences.
Segment Results
Residential
The table below sets forth the results of operations of our residential segment:
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Revenue:
Real estate revenue
$
69.4
$
37.0
$
17.7
Hospitality revenue
0.4
0.5
0.4
Leasing revenue
0.2
-
-
Other revenue
4.8
4.1
25.1
Total revenue
74.8
41.6
43.2
Expenses:
Cost of real estate and other revenue
29.8
19.9
9.8
Cost of hospitality revenue
0.6
0.6
0.4
Other operating expenses
5.3
4.9
4.7
Depreciation and amortization
0.3
0.3
0.3
Total expenses
36.0
25.7
15.2
Operating income
38.8
15.9
28.0
Other income (expense):
Investment income, net
0.2
0.1
0.2
Interest expense
(0.7)
(0.7)
(0.8)
Gain on land contribution to equity method investment
15.7
-
-
Other expense, net
-
(0.2)
(0.5)
Total other income (expense), net
15.2
(0.8)
(1.1)
Income before equity in loss from unconsolidated affiliates and income taxes
$
54.0
$
15.1
$
26.9
Real estate revenue includes sales of homesites, homes and other residential land and certain homesite residuals from homebuilder sales that provide us a percentage of the sale price of the completed home if the home price exceeds a negotiated threshold. Hospitality revenue includes some of our short-term vacation rentals. Other revenue includes tap and impact fee credits sold and marketing fees. Certain homesite residuals and other revenue related to homebuilder homesite sales are recognized in revenue at the point in time of the closing of the sale. Other revenue for 2018 includes $23.1 million for a one-time receipt of RiverTown impact fees related to the 2014 RiverTown transaction. See Note 18. RiverTown Impact Fees included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for further discussion. For 2020 and 2019, real estate revenue includes estimated homesite residuals of $1.9 million and $2.5 million, respectively. For 2020 and 2019, other revenue includes certain estimated fees related to homebuilder homesite sales of $1.9 million and $2.3 million, respectively. Cost of real estate revenue includes direct costs (e.g., development and construction costs), selling costs and other indirect costs.
The following tables set forth our residential real estate revenue and cost of revenue activity:
Year Ended December 31, 2020
Units
Cost of
Gross
Gross
Sold
Revenue
Revenue
Profit
Margin
Dollars in millions
Homesites
$
67.7
$
27.4
$
40.3
59.5
%
Land sales
N/A
1.7
0.4
1.3
76.5
%
Total
$
69.4
$
27.8
$
41.6
59.9
%
Year Ended December 31, 2019
Units
Cost of
Gross
Gross
Sold
Revenue
Revenue
Profit
Margin
Dollars in millions
Homesites
$
37.0
$
18.6
$
18.4
49.7
%
Year Ended December 31, 2018
Units
Cost of
Gross
Gross
Sold
Revenue
Revenue
Profit
Margin
Dollars in millions
Homesites
$
17.7
$
8.8
$
8.9
50.3
%
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2019
Homesites. Revenue from homesite sales increased $30.7 million, or 83.0%, during 2020, as compared to 2019, primarily due to the mix and number of homesites sold per community, the timing of homebuilder contractual closing obligations and the timing of development of completed homesites in our residential communities. During 2020 and 2019, the average revenue, excluding homesite residuals, per homesite sold was approximately $124,000 and $87,000, respectively. The increase in average revenue per homesite sold in 2020 was due to the mix of sales from different communities, which included initial sales in the Watersound Camp Creek community and final phase of the WaterColor community. Gross margin increased to 59.5% during 2020, as compared to 49.7% during 2019, primarily due to the mix and number of homesites sold from different communities during each respective period.
Land sale. During 2020 we had unimproved residential land sales for $1.7 million, resulting in a gross profit margin of 76.5%.
Other operating expenses include salaries and benefits, property taxes, marketing, professional fees, project administration, owner association and CDD assessments and other administrative expenses.
Investment income, net primarily consists of interest earned on our notes receivable. Interest expense primarily consists of interest incurred on our portion of the total outstanding CDD debt.
Gain on land contribution to equity method investment for 2020 includes a gain of $15.3 million on land and $0.4 million on additional infrastructure improvements contributed to our unconsolidated Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV. The $15.3 million gain on land contributed to the Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV is comprised of $16.6 million for the present value of the land contribution, net of $1.3 million cost basis. The present value of the land contribution was based on our best estimate of the prevailing market rates for the source of credit using an imputed interest rate of 5.75% and an additional performance obligation to provide for infrastructure improvements in the vicinity of the contributed land. See Note 4. Joint Ventures included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Hospitality
The table below sets forth the results of operations of our hospitality segment:
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Revenue:
Hospitality revenue
$
47.4
$
45.6
$
38.4
Leasing revenue
-
0.1
1.2
Total revenue
47.4
45.7
39.6
Expenses:
Cost of hospitality revenue
34.7
33.9
32.1
Cost of leasing revenue
-
-
1.3
Other operating expenses
1.2
0.8
0.6
Depreciation
4.6
4.6
3.6
Total expenses
40.5
39.3
37.6
Operating income
6.9
6.4
2.0
Other income (expense):
Interest expense
(0.2)
-
-
Other income (expense), net
0.5
0.2
(0.2)
Other income (expense), net
0.3
0.2
(0.2)
Income before equity in loss from unconsolidated affiliates and income taxes
$
7.2
$
6.6
$
1.8
The following table sets forth details of our hospitality segment revenue and cost of revenue:
Year Ended December 31, 2020
Year Ended December 31, 2019
Year Ended December 31, 2018
Gross
Gross
Gross
Gross
Gross
Gross
Revenue
Profit
Margin
Revenue
Profit
Margin
Revenue
Profit
Margin
In millions
Clubs
$
22.3
$
7.6
34.1
%
$
20.9
$
7.7
36.8
%
$
16.5
$
3.9
23.6
%
Hotel operations, food and beverage operations, short-term vacation rentals and other management services
23.2
3.8
16.4
%
23.6
3.0
12.7
%
20.6
2.1
10.2
%
Other
1.9
1.3
68.4
%
1.2
1.1
91.7
%
2.5
0.2
8.0
%
Total
$
47.4
$
12.7
26.8
%
$
45.7
$
11.8
25.8
%
$
39.6
$
6.2
15.7
%
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2019
Revenue from our clubs increased $1.4 million, or 6.7%, during 2020, as compared to 2019. The increase was primarily due to an increase in revenue for the WaterSound Beach Club and charter flights in the current period. The increase in revenue was also related to an increase in the number of members and membership revenue in the current period, partially offset by a decrease related to the receipt of one-time membership reservations fee in the prior period. In addition, the Camp Creek Golf Club was closed from March to October 2020 for renovations, however the decrease in revenue was offset by an increase in revenue at our Shark’s Tooth Golf Club. As of December 31, 2020, The Clubs by JOE had 1,563 members, compared with 1,274 members as of December 31, 2019. Our clubs gross margin decreased to 34.1% during 2020, compared to 36.8% during 2019. The decrease in gross margin was primarily due to an increase in golf course maintenance during renovation of the Camp Creek golf course.
Revenue from our hotel operations, food and beverage operations, some of our short-term vacation rentals and other management services decreased $0.4 million, or 1.7%, during 2020, as compared to 2019. The decrease is due to the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the current period, which resulted in shut downs and reduced revenue from mid-March to mid-May, but was partially offset by a recovery from June to December that exceeded revenue as compared to the same periods in 2019. The decrease was also partially offset by an increase in lodging revenue from the WaterColor Inn during the current period. Gross margin increased to 16.4% during 2020, as compared to 12.7% during 2019, due to an extended vacation season in the current period consistent with delayed school openings, increases in homeschooling and a rise in remote work arrangements related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as management of expenses and labor.
Revenue from other hospitality operations increased $0.7 million, or 58.3%, during 2020, as compared to 2019. The increase was primarily related to an increase in revenue for the WaterColor retail store, as well as the Powder Room, which opened in December 2020. We did not have revenue from our marinas during 2020 and 2019, due to the impact of Hurricane Michael on the marinas. See Note 7. Hurricane Michael included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for further discussion. Gross profit during each 2020 and 2019 includes $1.3 million related to business interruption insurance proceeds received, which impacted gross margin during each period.
Our hospitality segment gross margin was 26.8% during 2020, as compared to 25.8% during 2019. The increase is related to an extended vacation season in the current period consistent with delayed school openings, increases in homeschooling and a rise in remote work arrangements, as well as management of expenses and labor, which was partially offset by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic from mid-March to mid-May 2020. Gross profit during each 2020 and 2019 includes $1.3 million related to business interruption insurance proceeds received.
The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may further impact our future hospitality operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain. See Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Other operating expenses include salaries and benefits, occupancy fees, professional fees, property taxes, CDD assessments and other administrative expenses.
Interest expense primarily includes interest incurred from our hospitality project financing.
Commercial
The table below sets forth the results of operations of our commercial segment:
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Revenue:
Leasing revenue
Commercial leasing revenue
$
14.8
$
14.3
$
12.5
Apartment leasing revenue
3.9
1.2
-
Total leasing revenue
18.7
15.5
12.5
Commercial and rural real estate revenue
11.7
19.5
6.6
Timber revenue
6.3
3.9
5.5
Total revenue
36.7
38.9
24.6
Expenses:
Cost of leasing revenue
5.9
4.6
3.3
Cost of commercial and rural real estate revenue
5.5
4.3
3.5
Cost of timber revenue
0.8
0.7
0.7
Other operating expenses
3.7
3.5
3.6
Depreciation, amortization and depletion
7.0
5.3
4.9
Total expenses
22.9
18.4
16.0
Operating income
13.8
20.5
8.6
Other (expense) income:
Interest expense
(3.8)
(2.7)
(2.2)
Gain on land contribution to equity method investment
3.9
2.2
-
Other income (expense), net
0.1
1.2
(0.3)
Total other income (expense), net
0.2
0.7
(2.5)
Income before equity in loss from unconsolidated affiliates and income taxes
$
14.0
$
21.2
$
6.1
The following table sets forth details of our commercial segment revenue and cost of revenue:
Year Ended December 31, 2020
Year Ended December 31, 2019
Year Ended December 31, 2018
Gross
Gross
Gross
Gross
Gross
Gross
Revenue
Profit
Margin
Revenue
Profit
Margin
Revenue
Profit
Margin
In millions
Leasing
Commercial leasing
$
14.8
$
9.8
66.2
%
$
14.3
$
10.2
71.3
%
$
12.5
$
9.2
73.6
%
Apartments leasing
3.9
3.0
76.9
%
1.2
0.7
58.3
%
-
-
-
%
Total leasing
18.7
12.8
68.4
%
15.5
10.9
70.3
%
12.5
9.2
73.6
%
Commercial and rural real estate
11.7
6.2
53.0
%
19.5
15.2
77.9
%
6.6
3.1
47.0
%
Timber
6.3
5.5
87.3
%
3.9
3.2
82.1
%
5.5
4.8
87.3
%
Total
$
36.7
$
24.5
66.8
%
$
38.9
$
29.3
75.3
%
$
24.6
$
17.1
69.5
%
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2019
Total leasing revenue increased $3.2 million, or 20.6%, during 2020, as compared to 2019. The increase is primarily due to new leases at Pier Park Crossings apartments, which began leasing in the second quarter of 2019, as well as other new leases and higher rental rates. Cost of leasing revenue during 2020 includes $0.7 million of business interruption insurance proceeds received for Pier Park Crossings apartments related to Hurricane Michael. Leasing gross margin decreased during 2020 to 68.4%, as compared to 70.3% during 2019. Excluding the business interruption proceeds received during 2020, our leasing gross margin was 64.7% during 2020, as compared to 70.3% during 2019, primarily
due start-up expenses for new assets in the current period. As of December 31, 2020, we had net rentable square feet of approximately 908,000, of which approximately 774,000 square feet was under lease. As of December 31, 2019, we had net rentable square feet of approximately 882,000, of which approximately 758,000 square feet was under lease. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 we provided tenant rent abatements totaling $0.1 million, along with rent deferrals of $0.4 million, of which $0.1 million was subsequently collected.
The diversity of our commercial segment complements the growth of our residential and hospitality segments. Commercial and rural real estate revenue can vary depending on the proximity to developed areas and the mix and characteristics of commercial and rural real estate sold in each period, with varying compositions of retail, office, industrial and other commercial uses. During 2020, we had twenty-three commercial and rural real estate sales totaling approximately 473 acres for $11.7 million, resulting in a gross profit margin of approximately 53.0%. Commercial and rural real estate revenue for 2020 included $1.8 million related to the sale of the SouthWood Town Center. During 2019, we had twenty-five commercial and rural real estate sales totaling approximately 1,605 acres for $19.5 million, resulting in a gross profit margin of approximately 77.9%. Commercial and rural real estate sales in 2019 included approximately 28 acres totaling $4.3 million in revenue in the SouthWood community. Commercial and rural real estate sales in 2019 also included a sale totaling $9.9 million related to non-strategic land located in Leon County, Florida, with a gross profit of $9.7 million due to a low historical basis. As our focus continues to evolve more towards recurring revenue from leasing operations, we expect to have limited commercial and rural real estate sales. Further, we may continue to transform and operate commercial properties for higher and better use. This may result in certain assets moving from the commercial segment to the hospitality segment.
Timber revenue increased by $2.4 million, or 61.5%, during 2020, as compared to 2019. The increase is primarily due to an increase in the amount of tons sold and product mix changes. The revenue for 2019 was affected by Hurricane Michael’s significant market impact after landfall in October 2018. There were 322,000 tons sold during 2020, as compared to 220,000 tons sold during 2019. The average price per ton sold increased to $15.32 during 2020, as compared to $14.71 during 2019. Timber gross margin increased during 2020 to 87.3%, as compared to 82.1% during 2019, primarily due to increased volume and changes in product mix. The cost of timber revenue is primarily fixed, which also resulted in an increase to gross margin for the period.
Other operating expenses include salaries and benefits, property taxes, CDD assessments, professional fees, marketing, project administration and other administrative expenses.
The increase of $1.7 million in depreciation, amortization and depletion expense during 2020, as compared to 2019, was primarily due to new properties placed in service.
Interest expense primarily includes interest incurred from our commercial leasing project financing and CDD debt.
Gain on land contribution to equity method investment for 2020 includes a gain of $3.9 million on land contributed to our unconsolidated Sea Sound Apartments JV. Gain on land contribution to equity method investment for 2019 includes a gain of $0.8 million on land contributed to our unconsolidated Busy Bee JV and a gain of $1.4 million on land contributed to our unconsolidated Pier Park TPS JV. See Note 4. Joint Ventures included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Other income (expense), net for 2019, also included a $1.2 million gain on insurance recovery for the Pier Park Crossings JV related to Hurricane Michael. See Note 7. Hurricane Michael included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
The total net rentable square feet and percentage leased of leasing properties by location are as follows:
December 31, 2020
December 31, 2019
December 31, 2018
Net
Net
Net
Rentable
Rentable
Rentable
Square
Percentage
Square
Percentage
Square
Percentage
Location
Feet
Leased
Feet
Leased
Feet
Leased
Pier Park North JV
Bay County, FL
320,310
%
320,310
%
320,310
%
VentureCrossings (a)
Bay County, FL
303,605
%
303,605
%
243,605
%
Beckrich Office Park (b) (c)
Bay County, FL
86,296
%
68,398
%
67,108
%
WindMark Beach Town Center (b) (d)
Gulf County, FL
44,748
%
48,960
%
49,260
%
WaterColor Town Center (b)
Walton County, FL
23,121
%
20,033
%
21,200
%
Cedar Grove Commerce Park (e)
Bay County, FL
19,449
%
-
N/A
-
N/A
Beach Commerce Park (b)
Bay County, FL
17,450
%
14,700
%
14,700
%
Port St. Joe Commercial
Gulf County, FL
16,964
%
15,524
%
15,524
%
SummerCamp Commercial
Franklin County, FL
13,000
%
13,000
%
13,000
%
South Walton Commerce Park (f)
Walton County, FL
11,570
%
11,534
%
-
N/A
WaterSound Gatehouse (b)
Walton County, FL
10,271
%
11,515
%
13,049
%
WaterColor Crossings
Walton County, FL
7,135
%
7,135
%
7,135
%
395 Office building
Walton County, FL
6,700
%
6,700
%
6,700
%
Watersound Town Center (e)
Walton County, FL
6,496
%
-
N/A
-
N/A
Pier Park outparcel
Bay County, FL
5,565
%
5,565
%
5,565
%
Topsail West Commercial (e)
Walton County, FL
3,500
%
-
N/A
-
N/A
Bank building (e)
Bay County, FL
3,346
%
-
N/A
-
N/A
Bank building (e)
Gulf County, FL
3,346
%
-
N/A
-
N/A
WaterColor HOA Office
Walton County, FL
2,520
%
1,244
%
1,244
%
RiverCamps
Bay County, FL
2,112
%
-
N/A
-
N/A
SouthWood Town Center (b) (g)
Leon County, FL
-
N/A
34,230
%
34,230
%
907,504
%
882,453
%
812,630
%
(a) In December 2019, we completed construction of a 60,000 square feet flex space building.
(b) In addition to net rentable square feet there is also space that we occupy or that serves as common area.
(c) Included in net rentable square feet as of December 31, 2020, is 1,500 square feet leased to a consolidated JV.
(d) Included in net rentable square feet as of December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, is 13,808 square feet of unfinished space.
(e) Construction was completed in 2020.
(f) Included in net rentable square feet as of December 31, 2020, is 1,364 square feet leased to a consolidated JV.
(g) In January 2020, we sold the SouthWood Town Center.
Total units and percentage leased/occupied for apartments and senior living community by location are as follows:
December 31, 2020
December 31, 2019
Percentage
Percentage
Leased
Leased
Units
Units
Units
of Units
Units
Units
of Units
Location
Planned
Completed
Leased
Completed
Completed
Leased
Completed
Apartments
Pier Park Crossings (a)
Bay County, FL
99%
100%
Pier Park Crossings Phase II (b)
Bay County, FL
46%
-
-
N/A
Watersound Origins Crossings (c)
Walton County, FL
-
0%
-
-
N/A
Sea Sound (d)
Bay County, FL
-
-
N/A
-
-
N/A
Star Avenue (e)
Bay County, FL
-
-
N/A
-
-
N/A
Total apartment units
1,117
77%
100%
Senior living community
Watercrest Santa Rosa Beach (f)
Walton County, FL
-
N/A
-
-
N/A
Total senior living units
-
N/A
-
-
N/A
Total units
1,224
60%
100%
(a) Construction was completed in the first quarter of 2020.
(b) Construction was completed in December 2020. Subsequent to December 31, 2020, a significant number of additional units have been leased.
(c) Construction of the initial buildings was completed in December 2020. Subsequent to December 31, 2020, a significant number of the completed and available units have been leased.
(d) Construction began in the first quarter of 2020. The Sea Sound Apartments JV is unconsolidated and is accounted for under the equity method of accounting.
(e) Construction began in the fourth quarter of 2020.
(f) Construction was completed in the fourth quarter of 2020. Subsequent to December 31, 2020, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) issued a license for the facility which allowed operations and initial resident occupancy to begin.
Real Estate Revenue. Commercial real estate revenue for the three years ended December 31, 2020 includes the following:
Number of
Average Price
Gross Profit
Period
Sales
Acres Sold
Per Acre
Revenue
on Sales
In millions (except for average price per acre)
$
24,736
$
11.7
$
6.2
1,605
$
12,150
$
19.5
$
15.2
$
12,916
$
6.6
$
3.1
The total tons sold and relative percentages of total tons sold by major type of timber revenue are as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
Pine pulpwood
208,000
64.6
%
129,000
58.6
%
219,000
66.8
%
Pine sawtimber
75,000
23.3
%
35,000
15.9
%
85,000
25.9
%
Pine grade logs
26,000
8.1
%
21,000
9.6
%
23,000
7.0
%
Other
13,000
4.0
%
35,000
15.9
%
1,000
0.3
%
Total
322,000
100.0
%
220,000
100.0
%
328,000
100.0
%
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents of $106.8 million compared to $185.7 million as of December 31, 2019. During 2020, we transitioned our cash equivalents from commercial paper to short-term U.S. Treasury Bills. Our cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020 included $11.0 million of U.S. Treasury Money Market Funds and $79.0 million of short-term U.S. Treasury Bills. In addition to cash and cash equivalents, we consider our investments classified as Securities, as being generally available to meet our liquidity needs. Securities are not as liquid as cash and cash equivalents, but they are generally convertible into cash within a relatively short period of time. As of December 31, 2020, we had investments - debt securities in U.S. Treasury Bills of $48.0 million and corporate debt securities of $0.1 million and investments - equity securities in preferred stock investments of $2.6 million. See Note 5. Investments included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information regarding our investments.
We believe that our current cash position, financing arrangements and cash generated from operations will provide us with sufficient liquidity to satisfy our anticipated working capital needs, expected capital expenditures, principal and interest payments on our long term debt, capital contributions to JVs, Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV Note commitment, authorized stock repurchases and authorized dividends for the next twelve months. However, we are continuing to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our business, customers, tenants, and industry as a whole. See Part II. Item 1A. Risk Factors.
During 2020, we incurred a total of $162.2 million in capital expenditures, which includes $33.6 million for our residential segment, $85.1 million for our commercial segment, $42.8 million for our hospitality segment and $0.7 million for corporate expenditures. Our 2021 capital expenditures budget exceeds our 2020 expenditures. We anticipate that these future capital commitments will be funded through cash generated from operations, new and existing financing arrangements, cash on hand and cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2020, we had a total of $157.1 million in construction and development related contractual obligations, of which a portion will be funded through committed or new financing arrangements.
As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had various loans outstanding totaling $161.4 million and $94.5 million, respectively, with maturities from May 2024 through June 2060. The weighted average rate on our variable rate loans as
of December 31, 2020 was 2.2%. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk for additional information regarding LIBOR related risks. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
In October 2015, the Pier Park North JV entered into a $48.2 million loan (the “PPN JV Loan”). As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, $44.6 million and $45.5 million, respectively, was outstanding on the PPN JV Loan. The PPN JV Loan accrues interest at a rate of 4.1% per annum and matures in November 2025. In connection with the PPN JV Loan, we entered into a limited guarantee in favor of the lender, based on our percentage ownership of the JV. In addition, the guarantee can become full recourse in the case of any fraud or intentional misrepresentation by the Pier Park North JV; any voluntary transfer or encumbrance of the property in violation of the due-on-sale clause in the security instrument; upon commencement of voluntary bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings or upon breach of covenants in the security instrument. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
In May 2018, the Pier Park Crossings JV entered into a $36.6 million loan, insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), to finance the construction of apartments in Panama City Beach, Florida (the “PPC JV Loan”). As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, $36.1 million and $34.6 million, respectively, was outstanding on the PPC JV Loan. The PPC JV Loan accrues interest at a rate of 4.0% per annum and matures in June 2060. A prepayment premium is due to the lender of 1.0% - 10.0% of any principal prepaid through June 30, 2030. The PPC JV Loan is secured by the Pier Park Crossings JV’s real property and the assignment of rents and leases. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
In May 2019, the Watersound Origins Crossings JV entered into a $37.9 million loan (the “Watersound Origins Crossings JV Loan”). As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, $27.2 and $2.9 million, respectively, was outstanding on the Watersound Origins Crossings JV Loan. The Watersound Origins Crossings JV Loan bears interest at a rate of 5.0% and matures in May 2024. The Watersound Origins Crossings JV Loan is secured by the real property, assignment of rents and the security interest in the rents and personal property. In connection with the Watersound Origins Crossings JV Loan, we executed a guarantee in favor of the lender to guarantee the payment and performance of the borrower under the Watersound Origins Crossings JV Loan. We are the sole guarantor and receive a monthly fee related to the guarantee from our JV partner based on the JV partner’s ownership percentage. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
In June 2019, the Watercrest JV entered into a $22.5 million loan (the “Watercrest JV Loan”). As of December 31, 2020, $18.1 million was outstanding on the Watercrest JV Loan. As of December 31, 2019, there was no principal balance outstanding on the Watercrest JV Loan. The Watercrest JV Loan bears interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 2.2% and matures in June 2047. The Watercrest JV Loan is secured by the real property, assignment of rents, leases and deposits and the security interest in the rents and personal property. In connection with the Watercrest JV Loan, we executed a guarantee in favor of the lender to guarantee the payment and performance of the borrower under the Watercrest JV Loan. We are the sole guarantor and receive a quarterly fee related to the guarantee from our JV partner based on the JV partner’s ownership percentage. The Watercrest JV entered into an interest rate swap to hedge cash flows tied to changes in the underlying floating interest rate tied to LIBOR. The interest rate swap is effective June 1, 2021 and matures on June 1, 2024 and fixed the variable rate debt on the notional amount of related debt of $20.0 million to a rate of 4.37%. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
In August 2019, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ours entered into a $5.5 million loan (the “Beckrich Building III Loan”). As of December 31, 2020, $5.4 million was outstanding on the Beckrich Building III Loan. As of December 31, 2019, there was no principal balance outstanding on the Beckrich Building III Loan. The Beckrich Building III Loan bears interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 1.7% and matures in August 2029. The Beckrich Building III Loan is secured by the real property, assignment of leases, rents and profits and the security interest in the rents and personal property. In connection with the Beckrich Building III Loan, we executed a guarantee in favor of the lender to guarantee the payment and performance of the borrower under the Beckrich Building III Loan. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
In October 2019, the Pier Park Crossings II JV entered into a $17.5 million loan (the “PPC II JV Loan”). As of December 31, 2020, $15.9 million was outstanding on the PPC II JV Loan. As of December 31, 2019, there was no principal balance outstanding on the PPC II JV Loan. The PPC II JV Loan matures in October 2024 and bears interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 2.25% during construction and LIBOR plus 2.10% after completion of construction and final draw. The PPC II JV Loan is secured by the real property, assignment of rents and leases and the security interest in the rents, leases and personal property. In connection with the PPC II JV Loan, we executed a guarantee in favor of the lender to guarantee the payment and performance of the borrower under the PPC II JV Loan. We are the sole guarantor and receive a monthly fee related to the guarantee from our JV partner based on the JV partner’s ownership percentage. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
In March 2020, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ours entered into a $15.3 million loan (the “Airport Hotel Loan”). As of December 31, 2020, $3.5 million was outstanding on the Airport Hotel Loan. The Airport Hotel Loan bears interest at LIBOR plus 2.0%, with a floor of 3.0%, and matures in March 2025. The Airport Hotel Loan is secured by the real property, assignment of leases, rents and profits and the security interest in the rents and personal property. In connection with the Airport Hotel Loan, we executed a guarantee in favor of the lender to guarantee the payment and performance of the borrower under the Airport Hotel Loan. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
In April 2020, the Pier Park Resort Hotel JV entered into a loan with an initial amount of $52.5 million up to a maximum of $60.0 million through additional earn-out requests (the “Pier Park Resort Hotel JV Loan”). As of December 31, 2020, there was no principal balance outstanding on the Pier Park Resort Hotel JV Loan. The Pier Park Resort Hotel JV Loan matures in March 2027 and bears interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 2.15% during construction and LIBOR plus 1.95% upon hotel opening. The Pier Park Resort Hotel JV Loan is secured by the real property, assignment of rents and leases and the security interest in the rents, leases and personal property. In connection with the Pier Park Resort Hotel JV Loan, as guarantor, we and our JV partner entered into a guarantee based on each partner’s ownership interest in favor of the lender, to guarantee the payment and performance of the borrower. As guarantor, our liability under the Pier Park Resort Hotel JV Loan will be released upon reaching and maintaining certain debt service coverage for twelve months. In addition, the guarantee can become full recourse in the case of the failure of guarantor to abide by or perform any of the covenants or warranties to be performed on the part of such guarantor. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
In November 2020, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ours entered into a $16.8 million construction loan to finance the construction of a Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel in the Breakfast Point area of Panama City Beach, Florida (the “Breakfast Point Hotel Loan”). As of December 31, 2020, there was no principal balance outstanding on the Breakfast Point Hotel Loan. The Breakfast Point Hotel Loan matures in November 2042 and bears interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 2.75% through November 2022, 3.25% over the 5-Year T-Bill Index from November 2022 through November 2027 and 3.25% over the 1-Year T-Bill Index from November 2027 through November 2042, with a minimum rate of 3.75% throughout the term of the loan. The Breakfast Point Hotel Loan is secured by the real property, assignment of rents and the security interest in the rents and personal property. In connection with the Breakfast Point Hotel Loan, we executed a guarantee in favor of the lender to guarantee the payment and performance of the borrower under the Breakfast Point Hotel Loan. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
In November 2020, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ours entered into a $5.8 million construction loan to finance the construction of a self-storage facility in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida (the “Self-Storage Facility Loan”). As of December 31, 2020, there was no principal balance outstanding on the Self-Storage Facility Loan. The Self-Storage Facility Loan matures in November 2025 and bears interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 2.5%, with a floor of 3.0%. Upon receipt of final lien waivers and certificate of occupancy, the Self-Storage Facility Loan will bear interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 2.35%, with a floor of 2.85%. The Self-Storage Facility Loan is secured by the real property, assignment of leases and rents and the security interest in the rents and personal property. In connection with the Self-Storage Facility Loan, we executed a guarantee in favor of the lender to guarantee the payment and performance of the borrower under the Self-Storage Facility Loan. Our liability as guarantor under the Self-Storage Facility Loan shall not exceed $2.9 million, plus any additional fees, upon reaching and maintaining certain debt service coverage. See Note 11. Debt, Net included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
CDD bonds financed the construction of infrastructure improvements in some of our communities. The principal and interest payments on the bonds are paid by assessments on the properties benefited by the improvements financed by the bonds. We have recorded a liability for CDD debt that is associated with platted property, which is the point at which it becomes fixed and determinable. Additionally, we have recorded a liability for the balance of the CDD debt that is associated with unplatted property if it is probable and reasonably estimable that we will ultimately be responsible for repayment. We have recorded CDD related debt of $6.3 million as of December 31, 2020. Total outstanding CDD debt related to our land holdings was $15.8 million as of December 31, 2020, which is comprised of $12.9 million at SouthWood, $2.5 million at the existing Pier Park retail center and $0.4 million at Wild Heron. We pay interest on this total outstanding CDD debt.
As of December 31, 2020, our unconsolidated Sea Sound Apartments JV, Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV, Pier Park TPS JV and Busy Bee JV had various loans outstanding, some of which we have entered into guarantees. See Note 4. Joint Ventures and Note 21. Commitments and Contingencies included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
In June 2020, we, as lender, entered into a $10.0 million secured revolving promissory note with the unconsolidated Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV, as borrower (the “Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV Note”). As of December 31, 2020, $2.7 million was outstanding on the Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV Note. The Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV Note was provided by us to finance the development of the pod-level, non-spine infrastructure, which will be repaid by the JV as each home is sold by the JV, with the aggregate unpaid principal and all accrued and unpaid interest due at maturity in June 2025. The Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV Note is secured by a mortgage and security interest in and on the real property and improvements located on the real property of the JV. See Note 4. Joint Ventures and Note 9. Other Assets included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we repurchased a total of 532,034 and 1,263,159 shares, respectively, of our common stock outstanding for an aggregate purchase price of $8.8 million and $20.8 million, respectively, including costs. See Item 5. Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities and Note 15. Stockholders’ Equity included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K for additional information regarding common stock repurchases related to the Stock Repurchase Program and treasury stock retirement during 2020 and 2019.
As part of a timberland sale in 2007 and 2008, we have recorded a retained interest with respect to notes contributed to bankruptcy-remote qualified special purpose entities of $12.9 million for the installment notes monetized through December 31, 2020. This balance represents the present value of future cash flows to be received over the life of the installment notes, using management’s best estimates of underlying assumptions, including credit risk and interest rates as of the date of the monetization, plus the accretion of investment income based on an effective yield, which is recognized over the term of the notes, less actual cash receipts.
As part of certain sales of timberlands in 2007, 2008 and 2014, we generated significant tax gains. The installment notes structure allowed us to defer the resulting federal tax liability of $33.7 million until 2022 - 2023 and $37.8 million until 2029, respectively, the maturity dates for the installment notes. We have a deferred tax liability related to the gains in connection with these sales.
As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, we were required to provide surety bonds that guarantee completion of certain infrastructure in certain development projects and mitigation banks of $24.2 million and $10.7 million, respectively, as well as standby letters of credit in the amount of $6.6 million as of December 31, 2020, which may potentially result in a liability to us if certain obligations are not met.
In conducting our operations, we routinely hold customers’ assets in escrow pending completion of real estate transactions, and are responsible for the proper disposition of these balances for our customers. These amounts are maintained in segregated bank accounts and have not been included in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, consistent with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and industry practice. The cash deposit accounts and offsetting liability balances for escrow deposits in connection with our title agency real estate transactions
were $4.5 million and $4.3 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, these escrow funds are not available for regular operations.
Summary of Cash Flows
A summary of our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities are as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
In millions
Net cash provided by operating activities
$
37.3
$
30.4
$
41.4
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities
(164.5)
(29.3)
44.1
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
48.6
(10.5)
(79.9)
Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
(78.6)
(9.4)
5.6
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of the year
188.7
198.1
192.5
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of the year
$
110.1
$
188.7
$
198.1
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Cash flows from operating activities includes net income, adjustments for non-cash items, changes in operating assets and liabilities and expenditures related to assets ultimately planned to be sold, including residential real estate development and related amenities, sales of timberlands or undeveloped and developed land and land developed by the commercial segment. Adjustments for non-cash items primarily include depreciation, depletion and amortization, unrealized loss on investments, net, deferred income tax expense, cost of real estate sold and gain on land contribution to equity method investment. Net cash provided by operations was $37.3 million in 2020, as compared to $30.4 million in 2019. During 2020 net income was $45.5 million, compared to $26.7 million in 2019.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Cash flows (used in) provided by investing activities primarily include capital expenditures for operating property and property and equipment used in our operations and purchases of investments, partially offset by sales and maturities of investments, proceeds from insurance claims, maturities of assets held by special purpose entities and proceeds from the disposition of assets. During 2020, net cash used in investing activities was $164.5 million, which included capital expenditures for operating property and property and equipment and purchases of investments of $58.9 million, partially offset by maturities of investments of $11.0 million, sales of investments of $3.7 million, proceeds from insurance claims of $0.7 million and maturities of assets held by special purpose entities of $0.8 million. During 2019, net cash used in investing activities was $29.3 million, which included purchases of investments of $5.9 million and capital expenditures for operating property and property and equipment, partially offset by sales of investments of $30.8 million, maturities of investments of $7.0 million, proceeds from insurance claims of $12.1 million, maturities of assets held by special purpose entities of $0.8 million and proceeds from the disposition of assets of $0.1 million.
Capital expenditures for operating property and property and equipment were $121.8 million and $74.2 million during 2020 and 2019, respectively, which were primarily for our commercial and hospitality segments.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $48.6 million for 2020 and net cash used in financing activities was $10.5 million for 2019. Net cash provided by financing activities during 2020 included borrowings on debt of $69.0 million and capital contribution from non-controlling interests of $7.7 million, partially offset by capital contribution to unconsolidated affiliates of $10.8 million, repurchases of common shares of $8.8 million, dividends paid of $4.1 million, principal payments for debt of $1.9 million, debt issuance costs of $1.8 million, capital distribution to non-controlling interest of $0.6 million and principal payments under finance lease obligation of $0.1 million. Net cash used in financing activities during 2019 included the repurchase of common stock of $20.8 million, additional ownership interest in
Windmark of $11.6 million, principal payments for debt of $1.6 million, debt issuance costs of $1.2 million, capital contribution to unconsolidated affiliate of $1.1 million and capital distribution to non-controlling interest of $0.6 million, partially offset by borrowings on debt of $23.9 million and capital contribution from non-controlling interest of $2.5 million.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. We base these estimates on historical experience, available current market information and on various other assumptions that management believes are reasonable under the circumstances. Additionally, we evaluate the results of these estimates on an on-going basis. Management’s estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions and our accounting estimates are subject to change.
Investment in Real Estate and Cost of Real Estate Revenue. Costs associated with a specific real estate project are capitalized during the development period. These development costs include land and common development costs (such as roads, structures, utilities and amenities). We capitalize costs directly associated with development and construction of identified real estate projects. Indirect costs that clearly relate to a specific project under development, such as project administration, interest (up to total interest expense) and real estate taxes, may also be capitalized.
A portion of real estate development costs and estimates for costs to complete are allocated to each unit based on the relative sales value of each unit as compared to the estimated sales value of the total project. These estimates are reevaluated at least annually and more frequently if warranted by market conditions, changes in the project’s scope or other factors, with any adjustments being allocated prospectively to the remaining property or units.
The capitalization period relating to direct and indirect project costs is the period in which activities necessary to ready a property for its intended use are in progress. The period begins when such activities commence, typically when we begin the site work or construction on land already owned, and ends when the asset is substantially complete and ready for its intended use. In the event that the activities to ready the asset for its intended use are suspended, the capitalization period will cease until such activities are resumed. If we determine not to complete a project, any previously capitalized costs that are not recoverable are expensed in the period in which the determination is made and recovery is not deemed probable.
Our investments in real estate are carried at cost, net of depreciation and timber depletion, unless circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. If we determine that an impairment exists due to the inability to recover an asset’s carrying value, an impairment charge is recorded to the extent that the carrying value exceeds estimated fair value. If such assets were held for sale, the provision for loss would be recorded to the extent that the carrying value exceeds estimated fair value less costs to sell.
Long-Lived Assets. Long-lived assets include our investments in land holdings, operating and development properties, investment in unconsolidated JV’s and property and equipment. Our investments in land holdings, operating and development properties and property and equipment are carried at cost, net of depreciation and timber depletion. We review our long-lived assets for impairment quarterly to determine whether events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. As part of our review for impairment of long-lived assets, we review the long-lived asset’s carrying value, current period actual financial results as compared to prior period and forecast contained in our business plan and any other events or changes in circumstances to identify whether an indicator of potential impairment may exist. Some of the events or changes in circumstances that are considered as indicators of potential impairment include:
● a prolonged decrease in the value to below cost or demand for the properties;
● a change in the expected use or development plans for the properties;
● a material change in strategy that would affect the value of our properties;
● continuing operating or cash flow losses for an operating property;
● an accumulation of costs in excess of the projected costs for development or operating property; and
● any other adverse change that may affect the value of the property.
We use varying methods to determine if an impairment exists, such as (i) considering indicators of potential impairment, (ii) analyzing expected future cash flows and comparing the expected future undiscounted cash flows of the property to its carrying value or (iii) determining market resale values.
The accounting estimate related to real estate impairment evaluation is susceptible to change due to the use of assumptions about future sales proceeds and future expenditures. For projects under development or construction, an estimate of future cash flows on an undiscounted basis is performed using estimated future expenditures necessary to maintain the existing project and using management’s best estimates about future sales prices and planned holding periods. Based on our investment return criteria for evaluating our projects under development or undeveloped land, management’s assumptions used in the projection of undiscounted cash flows include:
● the projected pace of sales of homesites based on estimated market conditions and our development plans;
● estimated pricing and projected price appreciation over time;
● the amount and trajectory of price appreciation over the estimated selling period;
● the length of the estimated development and selling periods, which can differ depending on the size of the development and the number of phases to be developed;
● the amount of remaining development costs, including the extent of infrastructure or amenities included in such development costs;
● holding costs to be incurred over the selling period;
● for bulk land sales of undeveloped and developed parcels, future pricing is based upon estimated developed homesite pricing less estimated development costs and estimated developer profit;
● for commercial, multi-family and senior living development property, future pricing is based on sales of comparable property in similar markets; and
● whether liquidity is available to fund continued development.
For operating properties, an estimate of undiscounted cash flows requires management to make similar assumptions about the use and eventual disposition of such properties. Some of the significant assumptions that are used to develop the undiscounted cash flows include:
● for investments in hotels, other rental units and vacation rental homes, use of average occupancy and room rates, revenue from food and beverage and other amenity operations, operating expenses and capital expenditures, and eventual disposition of such properties as hotels, private residence vacation units or condominiums, based on current prices for similar units appreciated to the expected sale date;
● for investments in commercial, multi-family, senior living or retail property, use of future occupancy and rental rates, operating expenses and capital expenditures and the amount of proceeds to be realized upon eventual disposition of such property at a terminal capitalization rate; and
● for investments in club and retail assets, use of revenue from membership dues, future golf rounds and greens fees, merchandise and other hospitality operations, operating expenses and capital expenditures, and the amount of proceeds to be realized upon eventual disposition of such properties at a multiple of terminal year cash flows.
Other properties that management does not intend to sell in the near term under current market conditions and has the ability to hold are evaluated for impairment based on management’s best estimate of the long-term use and eventual disposition of the property. Typically, assets are carried based on historical cost basis, which in some cases may exceed fair value if sold in the near term. The results of impairment analysis for development and operating properties are particularly dependent on the estimated holding and selling period for each asset group.
If a property is considered impaired, the impairment charge is determined by the amount the property’s carrying value exceeds its fair value. We use varying methods to determine fair value, such as (i) analyzing expected future cash flows, (ii) determining resale values in a given market, (iii) applying a capitalization rate to net operating income using prevailing rates in a given market or (iv) applying a multiple to revenue using prevailing rates in a given market. The fair value of a property may be derived either from discounting projected cash flows at an appropriate discount rate, through appraisals of the underlying property or a combination thereof.
We classify the assets and liabilities of a long-lived asset as held-for-sale when management approves and commits to a formal plan of sale and it is probable that a sale will be completed. The carrying value of the assets held-for-sale is then recorded at the lower of their carrying value or fair value less costs to sell.
Income Taxes. In preparing our consolidated financial statements, significant management judgment is required to estimate our income taxes. Our estimates are based on our interpretation of federal and state tax laws. We estimate our actual current tax due and assess temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items for tax and accounting purposes. The temporary differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included in our consolidated balance sheets. Adjustments may be required by a change in assessment of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, changes due to audit adjustments by federal and state tax authorities and changes in tax laws. To the extent adjustments are required in any given period, we will include the adjustments in the deferred tax assets and liabilities in our consolidated financial statements. We record a valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets as needed based upon our analysis of the timing and reversal of future taxable amounts and our historical and future expectations of taxable income.
In general, a valuation allowance is recorded, if based on the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. Realization of our deferred tax assets is dependent upon us generating sufficient taxable income in future years in the appropriate tax jurisdictions to obtain a benefit from the reversal of deductible temporary differences and from net loss carryforwards.
As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had a state net operating loss carryforward of $304.0 million and $341.4 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, we had $2.3 million of federal net operating loss carryforwards and no federal net operating loss carryforwards as of December 31, 2019. The federal net operating loss carryforwards as of December 31, 2020 are applicable to a specific QOF entity of the Company and do not expire. The majority of state net operating losses are available to offset future taxable income through 2036 and will begin expiring in 2029. In the third quarter of 2018, we reassessed our need for a valuation allowance by evaluating all available evidence, including but not limited to historical and projected pre-tax income. Based on this assessment, we determined that we had the ability to fully realize the future benefit of our net operating loss carryforward and released the valuation allowance in full, resulting in a $5.0 million tax benefit. As of December 31, 2020, we had income tax payable of $2.7 million, included within other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2019 we had an income tax receivable of $2.8 million, included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheets, that included a federal alternative minimum tax (“AMT”) credit receivable of $2.2 million, which was converted to a tax deposit and partially utilized on the federal income tax return filed for the tax year ended December 31, 2019.
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
Financial Instruments - Credit Losses
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326) (“ASU 2016-13”), that required a financial asset measured at amortized cost to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected and required that credit losses from available-for-sale debt securities be presented as an allowance for credit loss. The
allowance for credit losses should reflect management’s current estimate of credit losses that are expected to occur over the remaining life of a financial asset. In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-19, which clarified that impairment of receivables from operating leases should be accounted for using lease guidance. In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-04, which clarified and improved ASU 2016-13. In May 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-05, which provided an option to irrevocably elect the fair value option for certain financial assets previously measured at amortized cost basis. In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-11, which provided codification improvements to clarify narrow-scope issues of ASU 2016-13.
We adopted the new guidance, including amendments, as of January 1, 2020, and elected to implement Topic 326 retrospectively using the cumulative-effect adjustment transition method as of the date of adoption. As a result, prior periods have not been restated. We elected the practical expedient to not measure an allowance for credit losses for accrued interest receivables and will write-off uncollectible balances in a timely manner, which is 90 days from when it is determined uncollectible. As of the date of adoption, a cumulative-effect adjustment was recorded to beginning retained earnings. The impact of adopting this guidance resulted in an adjustment to decrease retained earnings by $0.1 million, net of the related tax effects, a decrease in accounts receivable, net and notes receivable, net for allowance for credit losses of $0.1 million and an increase to other liabilities related to allowance for credit losses for unconsolidated JV debt guaranteed by us of less than $0.1 million. There were no adjustments related to operating lease receivables for which we are the lessor. The adoption of this guidance did not materially impact results of operations or cash flows.
Codification Improvements to Financial Instruments
In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-03, Codification Improvements to Financial Instruments (“ASU 2020-03”), which made narrow-scope improvements to various aspects of financial instruments guidance. The standard is effective immediately for certain amendments and for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The implementation of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
Income Taxes
In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes - Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU 2019-12”) which simplifies the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740, Income Taxes (“Topic 740”). The amendment also improves consistent application of and simplify GAAP for other areas of Topic 740 by clarifying and amending existing guidance. This new guidance will be effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Investments - Equity Securities, Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures and Derivatives and Hedging
In January 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-01, Investments - Equity Securities (Topic 321), Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323), and Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Clarifying the Interactions between Topic 321, Topic 323, and Topic 815 (a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force) (“ASU 2020-01”), which clarifies the interaction between the accounting standard on recognition and measurement of financial instruments in Topic 321, Investments - Equity Securities and Topic 323, Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures. The new guidance will be effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Reference Rate Reform
In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting (“ASU 2020-04”) that provides temporary optional guidance to ease the
potential burden in accounting for or recognizing the effects of reference rate reform on financial reporting. The new guidance provides expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contract modifications and hedging relationships affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The amendments apply only to contracts and hedging relationships that reference LIBOR or another reference rate that is expected to be discontinued due to reference rate reform. In January 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-01, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848) (“ASU 2021-01”) that clarifies that certain optional expedients and exceptions in contract modifications and hedge accounting apply to derivatives that are affected by the discounting transition. This new guidance is effective immediately through December 31, 2022. There is no current impact to us from this guidance and we are evaluating the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Codification Improvements
In October 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-10, Codification Improvements (“ASU 2020-10”) that improves consistency by including all disclosure guidance in the appropriate disclosure sections and clarifies application of various provisions in the Codification. The amendments in this ASU should be applied retrospectively. This new guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2020. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have an impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and we do not expect a material impact on the disclosures to the financial statements.
Forward-Looking Statements
This annual report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements include, among other things, information about possible or assumed future results of the business and our financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans, strategies, prospects and objectives. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by our use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Specifically, this annual report contains forward-looking statements regarding:
● the potential impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic;
● our expectations concerning our current and future business strategy, including the use of existing assets for residential, hospitality and commercial ventures;
● our expectations regarding our capital structure and ability to fund capital commitments;
● our expectations concerning the demand for our homesites;
● our ability to develop and sell homesites in a typical manner or at all;
● our intention to optimize the value of our real estate by developing residential, hospitality and commercial projects that meet growing market demands and provide opportunities to build recurring revenues and enterprise value;
● our expectations regarding investments that we believe will contribute towards increasing our future growth, particularly in real estate projects that provide recurring revenue;
● our 2021 capital expenditures budget and the timing of benefits of these investments;
● our assessment and expectations regarding the impact of Hurricane Michael, including the amount and timing of insurance proceeds and ability to recover additional losses;
● our assessment and expectations regarding the demographics and corresponding market demand and growth of Northwest Florida;
● our expectations regarding the amount and timing of revenue we expect to realize upon closing over the life of the residential homesites under contract;
● our expectations regarding homesite sales and timing of sales from new developments;
● our beliefs regarding opportunities to develop, improve or acquire a broad range of asset types that will generate recurring revenue;
● our plan to focus on investing in residential communities that have the potential for long term, scalable and repeatable revenue;
● our expectation to continue to be a developer of completed residential homesites for sale to homebuilders and retail homesites for sale to consumers in our communities;
● our intention to form additional JVs with third parties, which may be in consolidated or unconsolidated JVs with differing accounting treatments;
● our plan to expand the scope and scale of our hospitality assets and services in order to enhance the value and contribution those assets provide;
● our expectations regarding our senior living community;
● our intention to continue to work collaboratively with public and private partners on strategic infrastructure and economic development initiatives that will help to attract quality job creators and help to diversify the Northwest Florida economy;
● our expectations regarding opportunities near the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport and our other land holdings in Northwest Florida;
● our belief that by entering into partnerships, JVs or other collaborations and alliances with best of class operators, we can efficiently utilize our land assets while reducing our capital requirements;
● our expectation to continue a cost and investment discipline to ensure low fixed expenses and bottom line performance;
● our plan to continue to maintain a high degree of liquidity while seeking opportunities to invest our cash in ways that we believe will increase shareholder value, including investments in Securities, authorized dividends, share repurchases, real estate and other strategic investments;
● our expectation regarding our liquidity or ability to satisfy our working capital needs, declared dividends, expected capital expenditures and principal and interest payments on our long-term debt;
● our intention to continue paying a quarterly dividend;
● our estimates regarding our annual harvest plan;
● our estimates and assumptions regarding the installment notes and the Timber Note;
● our estimates and assumptions regarding the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act;
● our estimated impact of new accounting pronouncements; and
● our expectation regarding the impact of pending litigation, claims, other disputes or governmental proceedings, on our cash flows, financial condition or results of operations.
These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We wish to caution readers that certain important factors may have affected and could in the future affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. The most important factors that could prevent us from achieving our goals, and cause the assumptions underlying forward-looking statements and the actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by those forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those risk factors and disclosures set forth in this Form 10-K and subsequent Form 10-Qs and other current reports, and the following:
● any changes in our strategic objectives or our ability to successfully implement such strategic objectives, including development of our real estate, expanding our portfolio of income producing commercial and residential properties and expanding the scope of our hospitality assets and services;
● our ability to capitalize on our investments in new business opportunities;
● any potential negative impact of our longer-term property development strategy, including losses and negative cash flows for an extended period of time if we continue with the self-development of our entitlements;
● our ability and the ability of our investment advisor to identify and acquire suitable investments for our investment portfolio;
● significant decreases in the market value of our investments in Securities or any other investments;
● our ability to attract and work effectively with strategic partners;
● volatility in the consistency and pace of our residential real estate revenue;
● our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions, JVs, investments in leasable spaces and operations and share repurchases;
● our dependence on the real estate industry and the cyclical nature of our real estate operations;
● our ability to successfully and timely obtain land use entitlements and construction financing, maintain compliance with state law requirements and address issues that arise in connection with the use and development of our land, including the permits required;
● disruptions by an epidemic or pandemic (such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic), or similar public threat, or fear of such an event, and the measures that international, federal, state and local governments, agencies, law enforcement and/or health authorities have implemented and may continue to implement, as well as additional measures to address it;
● our ability to capitalize on strategic opportunities presented by a population growth and migration in Florida, particularly Northwest Florida;
● economic or other conditions that affect the future prospects for the Southeastern region of the U.S. and the demand for our products, including a slowing of the population growth in Florida, inflation, or unemployment rates or declines in consumer confidence or the demand for, or the prices of, housing;
● our ability to accurately predict market demand for the range of potential residential, hospitality and commercial uses of our real estate holdings in Northwest Florida;
● any reduction in the supply of mortgage loans or tightening of credit markets;
● the impact of natural or man-made disasters or weather conditions, including hurricanes, fires and other severe weather conditions, on our business;
● our ability to fully recover under claims for losses related to Hurricane Michael;
● any downturns in real estate markets in Florida or across the nation;
● increases in operating costs, including costs related to real estate taxes, owner association fees, construction materials, labor and insurance and our ability to manage our cost structure;
● our ability to close and realize the expected revenue of the residential homesites currently under contract;
● our ability to successfully and timely complete homesite construction in our new developments;
● our ability to realize the anticipated returns from our commercial projects;
● our ability to maintain our commercial tenants;
● operational risks with respect to our senior living community;
● our ability to effectively manage risks associated with the hospitality industry;
● our ability to effectively manage our real estate assets, as well as the ability of us or our JV partners to effectively manage the day-to-day activities of our JV projects;
● our ability to successfully enter into previously announced potential JVs;
● our ability to retain key personnel and recruit staff effectively;
● risks related to the sale of firearms;
● the expense, management distraction and possible liability associated with litigation, claims, other disputes or governmental proceedings;
● potential liability under environmental or construction laws, or other laws or regulations;
● changes in laws, regulations or the regulatory environment affecting the development of real estate;
● our ability to anticipate the impact of pending environmental litigation matters or governmental proceedings on our financial condition or results of operations;
● our ability to fully realize benefits of the federal QOZ Program;
● the impact of changes in federal or state tax laws on our business and financial condition;
● uncertainty about the future of LIBOR may adversely affect our business and financial results;
● our ability to effectively deploy and invest our assets, including our Securities;
● our ability to satisfy our current debt obligations and to obtain additional financing in the future;
● the sufficiency of our current cash position, financing arrangements and cash generated from operations to satisfy our anticipated working capital needs, capital expenditures and principal and interest payments on long term debt, capital contributions to JVs, Latitude Margaritaville Watersound JV Note commitment, authorized stock repurchases and authorized dividends;
● our ability to carry out the Stock Repurchase Program in accordance with applicable securities laws;
● potential limitations on our ability to pay dividends at our expected rate, or at all;
● the obligations associated with being a public company require significant resources and management attention; and
● the impact if we have deficiencies in our disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting; the impact if the SEC were to disagree with our Investment Company Act determinations.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
We are exposed to market risks primarily from interest rate risk fluctuations. We have investments in U.S. Treasury Bills and corporate debt securities that have fixed interest rates for which changes in interest rates generally affect the fair value of the investment, but not the earnings or cash flows. A hypothetical 100 basis point increase in interest rates would result in an insignificant change in the market value of these investments as of December 31, 2020. Any realized gain or loss resulting from such interest rate changes would only occur if we sold the investments prior to maturity or if a decline in their value is determined to be related to credit loss. We also have investments in certain preferred stock that have fixed interest rates for which changes in interest rates generally affect the fair value of the investment and are recorded in the consolidated statements of income. A hypothetical 100 basis point increase in interest rates would result in a decrease of approximately $0.1 million in the market value of these investments as of December 31, 2020. In addition, our investments in corporate debt securities and preferred stock are non-investment grade, which could affect their fair value.
We have exposure to credit risk associated with our Securities and these instruments are subject to price fluctuations as a result of changes in the financial market’s assessment of issuer credit quality, increases in delinquency and default rates, changes in prevailing interest rates and other economic factors. A downgrade of the U.S. government’s credit rating may also decrease the value of our Securities. As of December 31, 2020, approximately 95% of our total Securities are rated AA or better.
Our cash and cash equivalents are invested in money market instruments and short-term U.S. Treasury Bills. Changes in interest rates related to these investments would not significantly impact our results of operations. The amount of interest earned on one of our retained interest investments is based on LIBOR. A 100 basis point change in the interest rate may result in an insignificant change in interest earned on the investment.
The amount of interest expense on some of our construction loans are based on LIBOR. Based on the outstanding balance of these loans as of December 31, 2020, a hypothetical 100 basis point increase in the applicable rate would result in an increase to our annual interest expense of $0.3 million.
LIBOR is expected to be discontinued after 2021. Many of our current debt agreements have an interest rate tied to LIBOR, but these agreements provide for an alternative base rate in the event that LIBOR is discontinued. There can be no assurances as to what alternative base rates may be and whether such base rate will be more or less favorable than LIBOR and any other unforeseen impacts of the potential discontinuation of LIBOR. We intend to continue monitoring the developments with respect to the potential phasing out of LIBOR after 2021 and work with our lenders to ensure any transition away from LIBOR will have minimal impact on our financial condition.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
The Financial Statements, related notes and the Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms are included in Part IV, Item 15 of this Form 10-K and incorporated by reference.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
(b) Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. During the quarter ended December 31, 2020, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
(c) Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
(i)pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets;
(ii)provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and
(iii)provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. In making this assessment, management used the criteria described in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.
Based on our assessment and those criteria, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2020. Management reviewed the results of their assessment with our Audit Committee. The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020 has been audited by Grant Thornton LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their attestation report as follows.
(d) Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
Board of Directors and Stockholders
The St. Joe Company
Opinion on internal control over financial reporting
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of The St. Joe Company (a Florida corporation) and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in the 2013 Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in the 2013 Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by COSO.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the consolidated financial statements of the Company as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020, and our report dated February 24, 2021, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.
Basis for opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and limitations of internal control over financial reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Grant Thornton LLP
Tampa, Florida
February 24, 2021

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information
On February 23, 2021, the Company and FCM amended the Investment Management Agreement, to provide that the investment guidelines and restrictions described in the Amended Investment Management Agreement require that any new securities for purchase must be issues of the U.S. Treasury or U.S. Treasury Money Market Funds. The Amended Investment Management Agreement terminated specific restrictions from the previous investment guidelines and restrictions.
The foregoing description of the Amended Investment Management is qualified in its entirety to the full text of the agreement, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 10.6 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated by reference into this Item 9B.
PART III

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is located on our internet web site at www.joe.com under “Investor Relations-Corporate Governance.” We intend to provide disclosure of any amendments or waivers of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for our executive officers or directors on our website within four business days following the date of the amendment or waiver.
The items required by Part III, Item 10 are incorporated herein by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for our 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed on or before April 30, 2021.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation
Information concerning executive compensation will be included in the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for our 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed on or before April 30, 2021 and is incorporated by reference in this Part III.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
Information concerning the security ownership of certain beneficial owners and of management will be set forth under the caption “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners, Directors and Executive Officers” in the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for our 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed on or before April 30, 2021 and is incorporated by reference in this Part III.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence
Information concerning certain relationships and related transactions during 2020 and director independence will be set forth under the captions “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” and “Director Independence” in the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for our 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed on or before April 30, 2021 and is incorporated by reference in this Part III.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
Information concerning our independent registered public accounting firm will be presented under the caption “Audit Committee Information” in the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for our 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed on or before April 30, 2021 and is incorporated by reference in this Part III.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
(a) (1) Financial Statements
The financial statements listed in the accompanying Index to Financial Statements and Financial Statement Schedules and Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms are filed as part of this Report.
(2) Financial Statement Schedule
The financial statement schedules listed in the accompanying Index to Financial Statements and Financial Statement Schedules are filed as part of this Report.
(3) Exhibits
The exhibits listed on the accompanying Index to Exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Report.
Exhibit Index
Exhibit
Number
Description
2.1
Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated December 31, 2013, by and between The St. Joe Company and Mattamy (Jacksonville) Partnership d/b/a Mattamy Homes, (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.55 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 6, 2014).
2.1a
Amendment to Agreement for Sale and Purchase executed on March 19, 2014, by and between The St. Joe Company and Mattamy (Jacksonville) Partnership d/b/a Mattamy Homes (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.57 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 25, 2014).
3.1
Restated and Amended Articles of Incorporation of the registrant, (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2010).
3.2
Amended and Restated Bylaws of the registrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 4, 2011).
4.1
Indenture, dated April 10, 2014, between Northwest Florida Timber Finance, LLC and Wilmington Trust, National Association (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014).
4.2
Form of 4.750% Senior Secured Note due 2029 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014).
4.3
Description of the Common Stock Registered Under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019).
10.1†
Form of Indemnification Agreement for Directors and Officers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 13, 2009).
10.2†
Form of Director Restricted Stock Award (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019).
10.3
Master Airport Access Agreement dated November 22, 2010 by and between the registrant and the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District (the “Airport District”) (including as attachments the Land Donation Agreement dated August 22, 2006, by and between the registrant and the Airport District, and the Special Warranty Deed dated November 29, 2007, granted by St. Joe Timberland Company of Delaware, LLC to the Airport District) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 30, 2010).
Exhibit
Number
Description
10.4†
2015 Performance and Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22a to the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015).
10.5
Investment Management Agreement dated August 23, 2019, by and between The St. Joe Company and Fairholme Capital Management, L.L.C. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2019).
10.6**
First Amendment to Investment Management Agreement dated February 23, 2021, by and between The St. Joe Company and Fairholme Capital Management, L.L.C.
10.7†
Employment Agreement, dated October 1, 2013, between Marek Bakun and The St. Joe Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.52 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 3, 2013).
10.8†
Form of Employment Agreement between Executive and The St. Joe Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.56 to the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013).
10.9
Form of Note Purchase Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.58 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on April 9, 2014).
10.10
Separate Guaranty of Retained Liability Matters, dated October 19, 2015, among the St. Joe Company, Don M. Casto, III and Kensington Gardens Builders Corporation, in favor of Keybank National Association (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.60 to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015).
10.11†
Summary of Compensation Program for Non-Employee Directors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2017).
21.1**
Subsidiaries of The St. Joe Company.
23.1**
Consent of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accounting firm for the registrant.
31.1**
Certification by Chief Executive Officer.
31.2**
Certification by Chief Financial Officer.
32.1*
Certification by Chief Executive Officer.
32.2*
Certification by Chief Financial Officer.
101**
The following information from the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, formatted in Inline XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language): (i) the Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) the Consolidated Statements of Income, (iii) the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income, (iv) the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity, (v) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows and (vi) Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)
* Furnished herewith.
** Filed herewith.
† Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.