Omni Amelia island Plantation

$80 million to rejuvenate Plantation By Garrett Pelican, News-Leader Nassau County Commissioners have unanimously approved Omni's $80 million plans to revitalize the Amelia Island Plantation. The plans - including additions to the resort hotel, convention center and commercial area - drew praise from commissioners and members of the audience alike. "It's all about jobs," he said. "We're creating jobs, we're bringing in new jobs, we're keeping jobs. ... I'm excited that Omni's a very good corporate citizen and a very good corporate partner for Nassau County, and I welcome them and thank them so much for what they're doing." Omni, one of the county's largest employers, would add about 100 new jobs once the project is completed, not to mention the benefits of construction employment. Steve Rieck, executive director of the Nassau County Economic Development Board, told commissioners that he received a phone call from the governor's office notifying him that the development has been approved for a rural jobs tax credit award of $210,000, to be administered when the jobs become available. "We think that this project is going to go a long way towards what we're all trying to achieve here in terms of a better working environment and a larger economic pie for us all to enjoy," he said. "I'd like to say on the record that NCEDB fully supports and will offer whatever assistance we can in the future to making this project successful." Omni plans to make major improvements on Amelia Island Plantation's 1,350-acre site. They includes: ~~ Reconstruction and expansion of the resort's hotel, adding 155 rooms to its current 249. ~~ A new Beach Club, including new swimming pools and ancillary facilities. ~~ A new three-story parking structure. ~~ Addition of 41,000 square feet, including a new ballroom, to the existing convention center. ~~ Two new restaurants and new pedestrian walkways and traffic pattern changes to the Spa & Shops commercial area. ~~ Interior and exterior enhancements to many of the current facilities, some of them dating to the Plantation's origins 40 years ago. The county commission has authority over the project because it is a Planned Unit Development subject to local and state laws governing residential and commercial areas of substantive size and impact. The Amelia Island Plantation development began in 1972 and was expanded in 1982. Its development plan has been amended over the years, including as recently as December 2006, but this is the first major redevelopment and expansion since 1982. Omni Amelia Island LLC assumed ownership of the Amelia Island Co. about a year ago as the result of a bankruptcy proceeding, the second such in the history of the Amelia Island Plantation, originally founded on the southern end of the island by the resort developers of the Hilton Head, S.C. John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com