The PGA Tour Friday announced plans to consolidate its offices into one almost 200,000-square-foot building in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The pro-golf nonprofit also promises to expand its workforce by 300 people.
PGA Tour, which organizes tournaments and represents touring golfers, will be moving staff out of its current 17 buildings in Ponte Vedra and into one massive, modern headquarters.
Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said it’ll be a good change for his 800 employees.
“Given that we are a global company, having people working together in one centralized location, collaborating, I think just culturally it just creates an incredible energy,” he said.
Monahan said the building, designed by London-based architects Foster + Partners, will feature a wrap-around lake and an open floor plan with skylights. It should be complete by spring of 2020.
According to County Commission notes, the PGA Tour’s $86 million project will also get St. Johns County tax and fee breaks totaling around $2.8 million over four years, but it’s agreed to purchase county land adjacent to the project. The Tour is also getting a break on some zoning regulations.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott was in town for the announcement and said he’s confident the tour will make good on promises of increased economic activity.
“I know everybody is going to be continuing to focus on how we make sure that if any taxpayer dollars are used, they are used properly and they’re used to get a great return. I know the PGA Tour will do the same thing,” he said.
The PGA Tour estimates its 300 new full-time employees will have an average salary of $79,442. The Tour said it does not know exactly what these new employees would be hired to do.
Reporter Ryan Benk can be reached at rbenk@wjct.org, at (904) 358 6319 or on Twitter @RyanMichaelBenk.
