St. Joe Executes Airport Access - Analyst Blog

The St. Joe Company (JOE), a publicly-held operationally diversified real estate company, has recently signed a ‘Master Airport Access' agreement to provide through-the-fence access at the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.

The airport, built on 4,000 acres of land donated by St. Joe, is the first new international airport to be opened in the U.S. since the 2001 terrorist attack. St. Joe is also developing approximately 1,000 acres adjacent to the new airport for industries, offices, retailers and hotels.

These include approximately 100 acres designated for retail, office and hotel uses, approximately 300 acres for light industrial uses, and approximately 600 acres for manufacturing, distribution and logistics companies. The commercial development, titled VentureCrossings Enterprise Centre, has become a major growth driver for Northwest Florida, creating jobs and revenue-generating opportunities for the entire region.

The through-the-fence agreement would facilitate direct access to airport taxiways and runways to the various companies within VentureCrossings Enterprise Centre. St. Joe has initially identified three through-the-fence access points and is currently mulling construction improvements at the sites to meet the operational needs of the end-users.

The agreement, however, provides for flexibility relating to the number and location of the access points and could be increased to meet the rising demands of the customers.

Based in Jacksonville, St. Joe is one of Florida's largest real estate developers engaged in town, resort, commercial, and industrial development, land sales, and commercial real estate operations. The company also has significant interests in the timber industry.

Currently, St. Joe carries a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold recommendation and indicates that the stock is expected to perform in line with the overall U.S. equity market for the next 1–3 months. We also have a long-term Neutral recommendation and a Zacks #3 Rank for Rayonier Inc. (RYN), a competitor of St. Joe.

 
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