It may have been the year’s most contentious PUD project in St. Johns County.
The Ponte Vedra Inn & Club sought to implement a 30-year revitalization plan of the nearly 100-year-old club and its sister resort, The Lodge & Club.
The commotion started on social media and riled so many Ponte Vedra Beach residents that a meeting room in the Ponte Vedra Branch Library couldn’t hold them all.
The St. Johns County Architectural Review Board voted to recommend approval.
That led to an 11-hour meeting of the Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board recommending that the planned unit development be denied.
Eventually, the matter came before the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners in November when the PUD was approved by a 4-1 vote.
Under the plan, expected to be completed in six phases, the oceanfront Ponte Vedra Inn & Club can expand to up to 349 rooms and 595,000 square feet of restaurant, bar and indoor recreation space.
The Lodge & Club can expand to up to 86 rooms and 70,000 square feet of restaurant, bar and indoor recreation space.
The PUD is limited to building resort-related facilities. The rumored construction of private homes and condos on the resort’s golf courses was not part of the plan.
Here is a look at some of the biggest deals and people who made headlines in 2023.
Top Deals:
Cosentino Group plans $270 million first phase of manufacturing plant. Story here
Phoenix Arts & Innovation District launches in New Springfield. Story here
Blackwater Development says it has Regency Square Mall deal. Story here
ICE finalizes its $11.9 billion acquisition of Black Knight Inc. Story here
‘Stadium of the Future’ plans are unveiled by the Jaguars. Story here
Gateway Jax plans $500 million Downtown project in NorthCore. Story here
Aldi buying Winn-Dixie, Harveys parent Southeastern Grocers. Story here
Regency Centers buys Urstadt Biddle in $1.4 billion deal. Story here
Top Newsmakers:
Donna Deegan makes history as Jacksonville’s first female mayor. Story here
Bryan Moll poised to help revitalize Downtown with Gateway Jax. Story here
Nick Allard guides JU College of Law toward new Downtown campus. Story here
Aundra Wallace an assured but low-key leader in region’s growth. Story here
Suzanne Pickett: Advocate for city’s Historic Eastside. Story here
Obituaries of 2023:
Activist and community advocate Ben Frazier. Story here
Beaver Street Fisheries Chairman Hans ‘Harry’ Frisch. Story here
Civic leader and insurance executive Marvin Cecil 'Ceree' Harden III. Story here