ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – St. Johns County Commissioners want to hear what the community wants to do with World Golf Village as the Hall of Fame moves back to its original home in North Carolina.
They held the second of two public meetings Thursday morning to get feedback from residents. You can access a replay of the meeting at https://www.sjcfl.us/GTV/watchGTV.aspx.
Dozens of people shared their opinions at Wednesday night’s meeting, including a wide range of suggestions for the property, from a church or a library to building a new middle school.
“We need to keep this area nice and upscale,” one resident said. “That is what people bought into here instead of all this willy-nilly throwing stuff at us development that has been happening in this county.”
People also want there to be more opportunities for entertainment, specifically performing arts, and additional options for eating and shopping.
“We have a whole bunch of young kids. They need entertainment. They need something where they can get together and do things together,” one resident said.
Some of the residents did express concerns about the possibility of more traffic.
“If you were going to put in something that is going to bring more traffic, just for that intersection alone, think about it. It will not work,” one resident said.
One thing the county is working to keep open at the property is the IMAX theater. It was originally scheduled to close Sept. 1, but commissioners said Thursday that they are working on a plan to keep it active through at least the rest of the year.
Two companies have already expressed interest in keeping it open, but regardless of what happens to it, the equipment is expected to stay, which includes the movie screen and audio and visual elements.
The Hall of Fame, PGA Tour Productions office and parking lots are clearing out.
But a lot of other businesses are not relocating, including a restaurant, hotel and others.
“There are tons of activities that the small businesses are already trying to keep alive and going in that area,” one resident said. “I would promote to just bring in more small businesses.”
If you didn’t attend Thursday’s meeting, you are still able to give your input online at https://www.sjcwgv.com. That opportunity ends after Saturday.
There is no firm timeline of when a decision will be made on what will happen to the property. Commissioners said they expect to have more public meetings.
“This is the biggest piece of prime real estate that we have in our community,” Commissioner Roy Alaimo said. “For us, it is very important as we make decisions up there to listen to the residents. We want to be very proactive, and we want to hear what they have to say. We want to hear their concerns.”