Conch House sold, condos could be built

Conch House sold, condos could be built

Restaurant, tiki bar, marina expected to continue operations

By PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustinerecord.com
Publication Date: 01/01/06

The Conch House, a family-owned St. Augustine restaurant and marina long popular for its party-down Reggae Sundays and annual Great Chowder Debate, was sold to a group of local investors who plan to build condominiums there.

David Ponce, whose family has owned the property since 1946, confirmed the sale Saturday and said he would release details about the purchase this week.

"I'm sure it will be a shocker and one of the biggest land deals anyone has ever seen in St. Augustine," Ponce said.

Sold were the Conch House Restaurant at 57 Comares Ave., the 200-slip marina behind the restaurant, three residential parcels across the street, the antique store at Comares and Anastasia Boulevard and Salt Run Tavern on Anastasia Boulevard.

Ponce said 2005 had been good to his business.

"Even with all the storms, it was the best year we ever had," he said. "But it's time to move on and enjoy myself. All I've ever done is work."

Ponce would not say how much the investors paid for the property or reveal their corporate name.

Mayor George Gardner said the group is represented by one of its members, Robert Graubard of St. Augustine, developer and owner of Westcott House and Villa de Marin bed-and-breakfasts on the bayfront.

Graubard could not be reached for comment Saturday.

However, Gardner said the city will closely watch any development planned for the Conch House property.

"The commercial aspect of that business, which impacted (Davis Shores) negatively, may now be a thing of the past," Gardner said. "What we have to worry about now is what replaces it."

Ponce said his family would relinquish control of the property on Jan. 31, but that the restaurant, tiki bar and marina would continue operations.

"We worked with the new owners and I don't think any one of our 250 employees will lose their job. I don't think they will ever shut it all down. They'll just build around it," Ponce said.

Though the selling price was not announced, participants in a previous sale attempt said the price on the table then was $20 million.

Told that, Ponce said that it was much more than that.

Gardner said Graubard and representatives of the investor group intend to discuss their building plans with city officials this week.

Gardner said the new owners likely will propose a planned unit development (PUD).

"Over the past several years we've learned to use PUD zoning as the effective control tool that it is, giving our city a say in every detail of a project," Gardner said.

This sale, he said, is another example of the continuing strong real estate market in St. Augustine.

Over the years, neighbors of the Conch House have complained to police and City Hall about heavy traffic, speeders, loud music, customers parking on private property, intoxicated individuals near their homes and alcohol-related litter that followed nearly every weekend.

The Ponces hired off-duty St. Augustine police officers to patrol surrounding streets.

One Davis Shores neighbor, Dan Alexander, of 311 Ribault St., said he'd learned to live with the disruptions. But he couldn't say if he's happy about the purchase.

"I suppose it depends on what they're going to do with the property," Alexander said. "Things may not change too much at all."

Doug Ferrell, also a Ribault Street resident, ran for City Commission in 2002 because he was so irate at Conch House intrusion into the surrounding residential streets. He lost that race in the primary, but says now that the Conch House hasn't been bothersome recently.

"I'd be glad if they would put a condominium there and toned down all the drinking," Ferrell said Saturday. "I've always wanted them to be less commercial and more residential."

Ponce said the new "security team" really knew their business.

"They were able to maintain a level of quiet and tranquility in the neighborhood," he said.

His family first landed in St. Augustine in the 1590s, he said. His parents, James and Jacqueline Ponce, began with only four motel units in 1946.

By the time it closed, the Conch House was paying $250,000 a year in property taxes.

Ponce said he and his sons and brother will continue to dabble in real estate. They still own 206 acres on Black Creek in Green Cove Springs, which has more than a mile of waterfront.

"We're in the process of doing something with that," Ponce said.

Gardner said there were two ways of looking at the Conch House sale.

"(Events) like the Great Chowder Debate and Reggae Sunday did bring a lot of money into the city. But then there's a side that says we don't need disruption of our neighborhoods," Gardner said. "That's a hard call. We'll be getting together to work out something in the interest for everyone."

Ponce said he will miss the property he's managed since 1977.

"I was born and raised there," he said. "It'll remain a part of me for the rest of my life."


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