Archive for the ‘Community’ category
Amelia Island – Fernandina Beach, Florida Aerial Tour
September 5th, 2011The History of Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach
September 4th, 2011When the first Europeans, a group of French sailors lead by Admiral Jean Ribault, landed on the
island on May 3, 1562, they were greeted by Native American Timucuans, who were descendants of the first inhabitants who had lived here since 2000 B.C. What the native Timucuans called Napoyca, Ribault promptly renamed L’isle de Mai, honoring the month he arrived. He claimed it for France and raised the first of eight flags that would fly over the island.
In 1565, the Spanish, who had just established St. Augustine as America’s first town, arrived on the island commanded by Pedro Menendez. They vanquished the French, killed Ribault and set up the Santa Maria Mission. They named the island for the mission and raised the Spanish flag for the first time.
The island technically remained Spain’s possession until 1763. By a quirk of chronology, however, the island got the name “Amelia” before the English actually took possession. James Ogelthorpe, who was founder and governor of Georgia (the English colony which he named for King George II), led a scouting expedition south and came upon the island in March 1736. Ogelthorpe immediately named it Amelia Island in honor of King George’s daughter. Ogelthorpe established a fort on the island but abandoned it in 1742 during the war between Spain and England.
The island then became an uninhabited buffer between Spanish Florida and English Georgia. In 1761, during the French and Indian War, the Spanish sided with the French, which cost them the island. In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ended the war and made Florida England’s possession. The English flag was raised over the island.
During the English period (1763 to 1783), the island was known as Egmont because nearly all of it was owned, under a royal grant, by John Perceval, the Second Earl of Egmont, who never actually came to the island. Stephen Egan was the resident superintendent looking after things for Lady Egmont after the Earl died in 1770. Egan’s name is remembered today on creeks and subdivisions.
In 1784, after the American Revolution, the second Treaty of Paris gave Florida back to Spain because of its support for the Americans. The second Spanish possession lasted until 1821. It was during this period that the town of Fernandina got its name. In January, 1811, the Spanish post on the island was named Fernandina in honor of Spanish King Ferdinand VII. (Fernandina is the feminine diminutive form of the monarch’s name.)
However, during this second Spanish period, two other flags were hoisted over Amelia Island. With the blessing of President James Madison’s government, which feared the British buildup in Florida prior to the War of 1812, a group of American “patriots” in St. Marys, Georgia, made a bloodless invasion of Amelia Island and raised their flag on March 17, 1812. The Spanish, in retaliation, amassed a force of freed blacks and Seminole Indians, which exerted so much pressure that the American patriots left Amelia Island on May 16, 1813.
In June, 1817, yet another flag was raised over Amelia Island. General Sir Gregor MacGregor, a British army veteran who went to South America and fought under Simon Bolivar for independence from Spain, was determined to help America rid north Florida of its Spanish presence. With financial backing from certain Americans in Baltimore, MacGregor launched another successful bloodless invasion against aging and not very aggressive Spanish garrison troops on Amelia Island and raised his own family flag with St. George’s Green Cross on a white field. In early September, MacGregor, and what was left of his troops, most of whom had left him, departed the island upon hearing the news that the Spaniards were readying an attack on Fernandina.
In the meantime, a Frenchman named Luis Aury was displaying his dislike for the Spanish by plundering their ships in the Gulf of Mexico. He had been a colleague of MacGregor in South America and considered himself legally sanctioned as a privateer (a semi-legitimate pirate) because he had a letter of marque from Mexican revolutionary leaders. He ran into troubles in his base on Snake Island (now Galveston, Texas), making his departure advisable. He had heard his colleague MacGregor needed help in Fernandina and he headed for the island, which was known as an excellent deep water harbor.
On September 17,1817, after MacGregor had already gone, Aury sailed with his armada of three ships into Fernandina harbor and, three days later, hoisted the red-bordered, blue and white checked flag of the Mexican revolutionaries and declared himself ruler of the island.
Aury’s rule lasted only a few months because on December 23, 1817, five American ships sailed into Fernandina and disembarked 200 troops to reclaim the island “in trust for Spain.” When Aury surrendered without a fight, the American flag flew above the island, which the Americans occupied.
Although the island still legally belonged to Spain, the Americans wanted it and President John Quincy Adams refused to withdraw the garrison of American troops, even during a yellow fever epidemic in 1818 when the commander asked to leave. After the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, America had its eyes on acquiring Florida from Spain. President Adams, taking advantage of political problems in Madrid, pushed for Spain to relinquish her possessions in Florida which she officially did on July 10, 1821.
While the American flag was now flying over Amelia Island, one more was yet to be hoisted. On
January 8, 1861, two days before Florida seceded from the Union, the Third Regiment of Florida Volunteers marched into Fort Clinch and raised the Confederate flag.
When word got to Fernandina in early 1862 that a Union flotilla of 28 gunboats was on its way, a great majority of citizens decided to leave. Most of the Confederate forces deserted, and the Confederate flag was replaced by the Stars and Stripes, which has remained the island’s flag ever since.
Downtown Victorian Past
September 4th, 2011Architecturally, downtown Fernandina is a time capsule locked in a period covering the last 25 years of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th, and provides a very good idea of what the town’s buildings and homes looked like in its “golden days.”
Saloons were a big part of turn of the century life in Fernandina. The Palace Saloon, built in 1878 as a haberdashery, became a saloon in 1903 and is considered Florida’s oldest continuously operating saloon. Unfortunately, it was severely damaged by fire in February 1999, but has since been restored and is open for business.
Further up Centre St. on the north side, you’ll find a building with three large stars worked into the brickwork on the second floor level. This was the Three Star Saloon, built in 1877 by William Marson who was known to like to sample his merchandise. His daughter sold it after his death on the condition that alcoholic beverages would never be sold there again. It has not been a saloon since.
You’ll find two examples of turn of the century “government” architecture on Centre St., the courthouse and the post office. The Nassau County Courthouse, built in 1891-92, is one of the finest surviving Victorian courthouses in Florida and is the oldest county courthouse in continuous use. The stately Post Office and Customs House across the street was built in 1910. It was
designed in the style of the Medici Palace in Florence. On the second floor of the Post Office you can see a fully restored courtroom which served the area early in this century.
Right next to the Post Office is the Lesesne House, one of the oldest houses on the island, built
in 1860. It has the original floors that were laid with dowels not nails.
Two other structures of architectural interest are: The Tabby House at Ash and 7th which was built in 1885 of tabby, a mixture of oyster shells, cement and lime used by the early settlers on the island, and the Villa Las Palmas at 304 Alachua St., an imposing structure of massive proportions which was built in 1910 by a prosperous lumberman for his much younger bride.
Downtown Fernandina is also the location of The Florida House, considered one of the oldest
tourist hotels in Florida. It was built by the railroad in 1857-59 and was patronized by wealthy visitors through the turn of the century.
Community Info
September 4th, 2011Community Information
Whether you’re visiting Amelia Island for a few hours or a few days, you’ll find many things to see and do in historic downtown Fernandina Beach. The downtown area, which is named as a Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places, is essentially the 50 square block area between the Harbor Marina and Eighth Street and three blocks north and south of Centre Street.
You can step back in history by just strolling around. Look at the shrimp boats moored at their docks, visit quaint little shops, view stately Victorian homes, study the architecture which spans more than a century and enjoy dining in your choice of first rate restaurants.
The Nassau County Public Library-Fernandina Branch (277-7365) is at 4th and Alachua St. The hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10:00a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday and Thursday. Closed Sunday.
The Post Office (261-4848) is at 1997 Sadler Road and is a full “retail post office.”
Amelia Island has a theater group offering live performances. Shows have included a wide range of theatrical offerings such as Broadway musicals, heavy contemporary dramas, Neil Simon comedies and Shakespeare. The season runs from September to June with an occasional summer performance in July. Call for information and reservations. The Amelia Community Theatre (261-6749)
The City Hall and Police Station are located at the corner of 2nd St. and Ash St.
City Hall: 277-7305
Police: Emergency 911 – Non-emergency 277-7342
City Fire/Rescue Non-emergency: 277-7331
For history enthusiasts, the Amelia Island Museum of History (261-7378) offers two walk-in tours daily, Monday through Saturday, at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Reservations are not required. A docent describes the island’s fascinating history.The museum has undergone a complete renovation and has many exciting new exhibits. The Museum also contains many tools and artifacts of local land and marine archaeology plus a reference library and a research room. Regular Museum hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Museum docents also conduct outdoor tours which include walking/driving tours of the North and South Fernandina Beach Historic District. These are for four or more guests and require an appointment
with 24 hours notice.
Another daily outdoor tour is the Centre Street Stroll with a guide to explain the architectural treasures in the heart of downtown Fernandina Beach. The stroll is for one or more walkers who meet at 3:00 p.m. at the old depot (Chamber of Commerce building) on Thursdays and Fridays. (This tour is suspended June through August except by appointment.) There are nominal charges associated with all the Museum’s tours. Call for information.
Where America’s Money Is Moving
June 16th, 2010Jon Bruner
Jun 14th, 2010
Low taxes, warm sunshine and deep discounts on real estate. No wonder IRS data shows the wealthiest among us are headed south.
Surprise: America’s wealthy like warm weather and low taxes. That’s the takeaway from IRS data, analyzed by Forbes, on moves between counties. We looked for counties that the rich are moving to in big numbers.
Slide Show: Where America’s Money Is Moving
Topping the list: Collier County, Fla., which includes the city of Naples. Tax returns accounting for 15,150 people showed moves to Collier County from other parts of the country in 2008, the latest year for which IRS data is available. Their average reported income: $76,161 per person–equivalent to $304,644 for a family of four. Although slightly more taxpayers moved out of Collier County than into it, the departing residents’ average income came out to just $26,128 per person.
Households that moved to Collier County principally came from other parts of Florida, with Lee, Miami Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Orange counties leading the list. Big northern cities also sent lots of migrants: Cook County, Ill. (home to Chicago); Oakland County, Mich. (near Detroit); and Suffolk County, N.Y. (on Long Island) each sent more than 100 people to Collier County during 2008.
In second place is Greene County, Ga., with a population of just 15,743 at the Census Bureau’s last estimate. The IRS data show that in 2008, 788 people moved to the county, about 75 miles east of Atlanta.
Rounding out the top five: Nassau County, Fla., near Jacksonville; Llano County, Texas, 70 miles northwest of Austin; and Walton County, Fla., 80 miles east of Pensacola.
The dominance of the list by Florida and Texas–the former has eight of the top 20 counties, the latter four– makes sense to Robert Shrum, manager of state affairs at the Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C., since neither state has an income tax. “If you’re a high-income earner, then that, from a tax perspective, is going to be a driving decider if you’re going to move to one of those two states,” Shrum says.
After accounting for property taxes, Shrum’s analysis shows that Texas has the fourth-lowest personal tax burden in the country, and Florida has the eighth lowest. Shrum also points to eight states that have targeted wealthy households with extra-high tax brackets:California, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Hawaii, Oregon, Connecticut and Wisconsin. Six of the top 10 counties the rich are fleeing are located in those states.
Pitkin County, Colo., home to the pricey Aspen ski community, where home listings average more than $3.5 million, saw an exodus of rich people in 2008 as the economy began to contract. The 962 tax filers and dependents who left Pitkin had an average income of $71,473 per capita, while the equivalent figure for those moving to the county was $30,000 lower. Of those leaving Pitkin County, 224 moved to neighboring Garfield County where, according to real estate information service Trulia, homes list for 75% less than those in Pitkin County. IRS data also show movement from the resort area to cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
Behind the Numbers
To find places the rich are moving, Forbes used IRS data on household moves broken down by county and income. We included counties where arriving households are richer than households that didn’t move and departing households are poorer than households that didn’t move. The final ranking orders counties by the difference in per-capita income between incoming households and those that didn’t move.
Our ranking of places the rich are fleeing essentially reverses these criteria, looking for counties where departing households are wealthier than the population as a whole and where incoming households are poorer.
In order to find patterns among the wealthy, we restricted the lists to counties where departing or arriving households had per-capita incomes of $35,000 or more. That figure is equivalent to an annual income of $140,000 for a family of four–a very high income for any large subset of the American population (of 3,142 counties with IRS data, only 130 have average incomes above this level). And in order to avoid statistical anomalies, we only included counties with at least 500 people listed as arriving or departing.
This technique essentially finds new hot spots–places that aren’t necessarily wealthy now but where wealthy people are moving. Some upscale places like Westchester County, N.Y., and Teton County, Wy., don’t make the list because people moving into those counties aren’t as rich as the people who already live there.
The IRS warns that these counts are only approximations; because they don’t include households that don’t file income tax returns, poor and elderly people are underrepresented. These counts also don’t include returns filed after late-September 2009–a small fraction of total returns that tends to include some very rich people with complex returns who file for extensions.
Top 5 Places Where America’s Money Is Moving
No. 1: Collier County, Fla.
Arriving average income per capita: $76,161
Departing average income per capita: $26,128
Stationary household average income per capita: $49,959
Total arriving people: 15,150
Total departing people: 16,802
Top origin: Lee County, Fla. (2,987 people)
No. 2: Greene County, Ga.
Arriving average income per capita: $56,414
Departing average income per capita: $25,432
Stationary household average income per capita: $30,875
Total arriving people: 788
Total departing people: 778
Top origin: Putnam County, Ga. (76 people)
No. 3: Nassau County, Fla.
Arriving average income per capita: $51,833
Departing average income per capita: $29,312
Stationary household average income per capita: $32,306
Total arriving people: 4,785
Total departing people: 3,690
Top origin: Duval County, Fla. (1,721 people)
No. 4: Llano County, Texas
Arriving average income per capita: $44,324
Departing average income per capita: $22,541
Stationary household average income per capita: $26,201
Total arriving people: 1,192
Total departing people: 1,018
Top origin: Burnet County, Texas (312 people)
No. 5: Walton County, Fla.
Arriving average income per capita: $45,591
Departing average income per capita: $28,360
Stationary household average income per capita: $30,553
Total arriving people: 3,939
Total departing people: 3,230
Top origin: Okaloosa County, Fla. (1,148 people)
Come Join Us for the Statewide Florida Open House
April 9th, 2010Red Maple Investors
April 3rd, 2010Red Maple Investors has asked the Amelia Island Company to distribute the following announcement and the attached two page letter to all Club members and property owners. AIC feels it is in the community’s best interest that we distribute this information for RMI.
Red Maple Investors Town Hall Meeting For All AIP Property Owners Thursday, April 8 9:30 AM Racquet Park Conference Center
Red Maple Investors (RMI) has submitted a formal offer to purchase the Amelia Island Company. RMI invites all AIP property owners and Club members to attend an informal meeting so we can share information, objectives, issues, and facts that may impact your lifestyles and property values for years to come. We will keep it short, to the point and candid. We will introduce RMI’s partners, RePlay Resorts, whose executives will introduce their Company, its expertise, and its philosophies. Most importantly, you will have ample opportunity to get the most direct answers available to your most important concerns regarding the AIP bankruptcy and turnaround process as viewed by your fellow property owners from RMI. We encourage you to print and review the attached two page document that offers a brief overview of the AIP Situation and Red Maple Investors, LLC. The two page summary should provide a basis for some important questions and answers. Please pass along this email and letter to any AIP friends who do not have access to email so everyone will be aware of this opportunity. We are planning to arrange a ‘webinar’ or similar vehicle for delivering content to those who are unable to attend the meeting in person. Once arranged, we will provide time, date and other access information in a subsequent email blast. We will make every effort to assure this meeting is the most informative to date concerning the AIC financial crisis and the issues and choices we all face over the next few months. We look forward to seeing you Thursday. Sincerely, Red Maple Investors, LLC
AIP Situation Overview: Living, working and vacationing at AIP has been nearly ideal for several decades. Certainly most will agree that AIP’s advantages have far outweighed its disadvantages. However, AIP is an extremely complex integrated community and resort property. The recent bankruptcy is proof. In our daily lives on AIP, property owners interact with “the Company”, the “Community Association”, the “Amelia Island Club”, and our “condominium associations”. AIP has approximately 35 individual associations which have overlapping interests to manage and protect. In a community with so many different special interest groups, there will inevitably be disagreement over issues such as the effectiveness of delivered services and the fairness of cost sharing. Each entity on the AIP property has its own issues such as: property to maintain, its own governance (budgets, rules, and procedures), and its own ‘business’ objectives and legal restrictions. This diversity within the AIP community creates numerous operational and financial challenges for everyone, especially for the future owners of AIC. In bankruptcy, we are all confronted with a significant challenge. The bankruptcy process and the outcome will greatly impact our relationships, lifestyles and property values for years to come. Some of the choices we make now will be irreversible. As a community, our collective common interests can unite us or our diverse special interests can divide us. We have a unique ‘one time’ opportunity to create a better community by working together and trusting that our common interests are the pathway to maximizing our individual interests. Red Maple Investors, LLC Red Maple Investors, LLC (RMI) was formed in October by a group of AIP property owners and Club members. From its inception, RMI’s mission has been to stabilize and reorganize the Amelia Island Company in order to help preserve and enhance the lifestyle and property values for the entire community, which we define as: all property owners (whether club members or not) plus the resort’s employees inclusive of all the vendors and tradesmen who provide us with goods and services. The extended AIP community consists of thousands of families. This past November, RMI members provided critical assistance to the AIP community by establishing a $5 million escrow account when AIC’s senior lender, Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company (PRIAC), refused to loan AIC the funds needed to keep the business going with the full knowledge that by their refusal, PRIAC’s would force AIC into an involuntary liquidation scenario. Without RMI’s backstop financing, AIC could have closed its doors on November 20, 2009 when it would have been unable to meet payroll. Because of RMI’s loan commitment, AIC was able to elect Chapter 11 protection. Ultimately, RMI’s pressure resulted in PRIAC extending the $5 million line of credit that is now permitting our uninterrupted lifestyle with a more orderly reorganization of AIC. Recently, RMI members have offered more than their financial resources, they have offered their wealth of knowledge and expertise – and they have offered their personal commitments to their and your community. On Wednesday, March 17, Red Maple Investors submitted their formal bid to purchase AIC by their “Commitment to Purchase” the Amelia Island Company. This commitment comes from individuals who have enjoyed success in their professional careers: twelve (12) of the fifteen individual RMI members have served as either CEO or Chairman of substantial corporations; eight (8) have considerable financial expertise having served as Chief Financial Officer of respected corporations or as Chief Executive Officer of major financial or investment institutions; several are currently serving on Boards of Directors of multi-billion dollar corporations. Supplementing the commitments of the individual RMI property owners, RePlay Resorts has joined RMI and has committed substantial equity. RePlay brings their considerable expertise to the enhancement of the AIP community. Cynical individuals within our community may view RMI’s commitment as motivated by a desire to achieve personal financial gain. This is categorically not RMI’s purpose. The RMI individuals understand that the AIP turnaround will be difficult and will take several years. Financial rewards for RMI individuals will likely be minimal. RMI’s commitment is aimed at: 1) preventing the disintegration of a wonderful community, 2) enhancing property values for all AIP property owners, and 3) enhancing employment opportunities for our employees and tradesmen by upgrading the resort and Club. For the RMI individual investors, risks associated with the purchase of AIP far outweigh any possible financial rewards. If another buyer will consummate a better solution for the community, RMI will quickly defer to any ‘friendly’ party. RMI members have no desire to become enemies of their neighbors while embarking on a 3-5 year resort community turnaround plan that places their personal capital at risk. With respect to an equity club, a financially sound Club is essential to RMI’s commitment. To our knowledge, only RMI is willing to structure either an equity club or a professionally operated RMI/RePlay owned club. As far as we know, only RMI has offered the additional option to structure the ‘future’ purchase of assets for an equity club. Answers to a few important questions will determine the viability of the equity club. In particular, the Club must secure sufficient funding to accomplish the Equity Club conversion plan. For long term viability, the plan must be sufficiently supported by members to adequately fund Club operations. If the Club is unsuccessful in raising sufficient initial capital, or if the club is encumbered by excessive debt or is underfunded due to insufficient member support, the AIP community at large will be impacted. The AIC Plan of Reorganization will be impacted by the success of the Club. RMI wants to get it right. With respect to RMI’s efforts, if the AIP Community does not enthusiastically support RMI’s effort or if another solution for AIP’s financial predicament is more attractive and more viable, RMI cannot succeed and will gladly dissolve without regret. However, if RMI withdraws, we are concerned that, at the end of the day, there may be no other ‘friendly’ buyer for this complex community. Evidence is mounting in support of our concern as dozens of potential buyers have declined to invest after studying AIC. We invite questions from all parties concerning our activities, objectives or interests. RMI believes there should be open and factual communication within the community concerning this serious financial crisis. RMI members want the same things you want – we ‘are’ you. Sincerely, Red Maple Investors, LLC April 2, 2010
Carolyn Lockhart Wins AINCAR Rookie of the Year!
January 15th, 2010Our Specialty Is Your Home
February 20th, 2009Just like the grains of sand on Amelia Island, no two houses are exactly alike. Many of my clients are interested in all types of property, from single- and multi-family residences to manufactured and builder homes. The only real constant between them is their desire to have someplace to call their own.
That’s where we come in: we specialize in dealing with a number of property types, from the financing to the day-to-day practical considerations that accompany any unique piece of real estate. Call or email us to go over the different options available to you. 904-261-9311 or info@chaplinwilliams.com.
One stop real estate shop for Amelia Island, Fernandina ands Yulee residents
November 16th, 2005By JOE LIGHT
The Times-Union,
Marketing 10,000 homes at once is pretty tough, especially when most of those homes don’t yet exist. But, come January, one Realtor will try to do just that, and if the company has its way, home buyers searching for real estate in the Yulee region will no longer have to hit the streets and troll dozens of communities in search of the perfect fit.
In the latest home selling strategy to hit Jacksonville’s explosive building market, Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty is taking a novel approach — a one stop community shop for prospective Nassau residents weary of driving to dozens of new communities planned for the Yulee region.
Although people moving into a region generally drive to many different communities in search of the neighborhood that they will target and live in, in Yulee, where thousands of homes are planned along the A1A corridor, doing so has become a chore for potential residents.
Jim Ewing, who manages Prudential Chaplin Williams’ Mainland Market Center in Yulee, decided to try to bring the flavor of all of those new communities under one roof, in a New Home Welcome Center slated to open in January. Ewing said that it’s the only one of its kind in Northeast Florida, and the center promises to cut down the driving time of new residents significantly as they use the New Home center to narrow down their search.
Officials at the Prudential office will receive a commission for every homebuyer that they refer to a builder for the purchase of a new home.
Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty’s center is part of a growing trend in real estate and new home sales that foregoes the traditional drive-by buyer sales model for a more convenient, and some say more effective, retail model.
If a customer chooses a community constructed by certain homebuilders, their retail real estate experience might not end there. KB Home, for example, has customers choose their floorplans and home features not in the builder’s office, but in another retail setting — the KB Home studio, which includes price tags, with estimated additional monthly payments, on every item.
Connie Braithwaite, one of Watson Custom Home Builders’ sales people for Nassau County, said that the developer saw the New Home Center as a good way to make sure home buyers kept Watson in mind when looking for a new home.
“It really is about having a one stop shop for these neighborhoods,” she said.
The new sales model could save days for a new home buyer, accustomed to visiting many model homes and real estate offices to sort out their neighborhood options, said David Parker, a principal for Parker and Associates, a Jacksonville-based real estate development marketing consultant.
“Going to model homes is a very time-consuming business,” he said. “You can narrow it down to three or four neighborhoods to tour instead of the 14 or 15 that you would normally.”
Parker said that he designed and opened a similar type of store in St. Augustine but closed it after a year due to insufficient customer traffic. He said that his company did not invest enough money in the center to make it work.
“Normally, you have to rely completely on the salesman or agent to sort out houses you might want,” he said. “This is an idea borne out of sitting around a table and asking, ‘How can you do it better?’”
joe.lightjacksonville.com, (904) 359-4689
