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Sea Island, Georgia

Coordinates: 31°11′09″N 81°20′34″W / 31.18583°N 81.34278°W / 31.18583; -81.34278
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Sea Island is an affluent resort island located in the barrier islands just off the Atlantic coast of southern Georgia in the United States.[1] The resort complex is located in an unincorporated Glynn County.

Sea Island is part of the group of islands known as the Golden Isles of Georgia, which include Jekyll Island, St. Simons Island, and Little St. Simons Island. Visitors to the resort island travel across a long causeway that crosses marshland. This area was immortalized by 19th-century poet Sidney Lanier in 'The Marshes of Glynn" (1878).[2]

History

This relatively secluded area has drawn developers and other investors since the first two decades of the 20th century:

  • 1911 -- Howard Coffin (owner of the Hudson Motor Company) purchased 20,000 acres (81 km²) of land on nearby Sapelo Island; and he began developing it as a private retreat.
  • 1926 -- Coffin purchased what was formerly called Long Island; and he renamed it Sea Island.
  • 1927 -- "The Plantation" golf course was built.
  • 1928 -- Coffin began an overnight inn and lodge, named "The Cloister."

Land on Sea Island is owned by the Sea Island Company, and public access is limited. In addition, the company owns property off the island limits on St. Simons Island. The Sea Island Company is managed by the Chairman and CEO, Bill Jones III. Jones is a known cigar fancier. In an interview with Cigar Aficionado magazine, he discussed the expansion of Sea Island and was quoted as saying, "The banks almost pay you to borrow money today."[2] Jones III is also the foremost turkey-call collector in the world. His collection numbers in the hundreds and is thought to be worth several million dollars.[3]

  • 2003 -- The Sea Island Company closed the main building of The Cloister. After 75 years of service, it replaced the buildingwith a new one.
  • 2004 -- Sea Island hosts the G8 Summit.
  • 2006 -- The new main building opened along the Black Banks River on the west side of Sea Island. In addition, the spa, tennis center, stables and docks were opened.
  • 2007 -- A new Beach Club was opened.
  • 2008 -- Sea Island Company announced layoffs affecting approximately 500 employees, or 25% of the workforce.[4]
  • 2009 -- Sea Island Company made history by receiving four Five-Star awards from the Mobil Travel Guide, for The Cloister, The Lodge at Sea Island, the Georgian Room at The Cloister, and The Cloister Spa.
  • April 2009 -- Synovus announces that Sea Island Company defaulted on its loans and that the banks would work to restructure the loan package.
  • July 2009 -- Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP filed a US District Court class action lawsuit against Synovus Financial Corp. on behalf of an institutional investor, alleging that the defendants harmed Synovus investors by failing to disclose its exposure to the Sea Island Company and "the deteriorating condition of Sea Island".
  • July 2009 -- Sea Island announces that Synovus and Bank of America have restructured a $400,000,000 loan package[3].
  • October 2009 -- The Sea Island company places large tracts of undeveloped land on the market in order to raise funds to pay down debt[4].
  • November 2009 -- Wells Fargo takes over the deed to Sea Island's Frederica property to settle a loan estiamted to be $140mm to $150mm. Wells Fargo also took ownership of other pieces of vacant land including Cannon's Point [5].
  • January 2010 -- Sea Island defaults on the restructured loan package, the second default in less than 12 months[6].
  • February 2010 -- Sea Island announces that Goldman Sachs has been hired to assess strategic options including the possible sale of the company[7].

G8 summit

In June 2004 (June 8–10), the Sea Island Company hosted a summit of the Group of Eight leaders at Sea Island. As with previous sites of the G8 meeting, the venue is remote, easily secured, and has luxurious accommodations. As part of the security measures, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated the summit a National Special Security Event (NSSE). DHS also began to deal with another NSSE: the state funeral of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.

The venue was specifically chosen to control access to the conference. The geographic isolation was enhanced by positioning the International Media Center for the Sea Island summit in Savannah, 80 miles away on the Georgia mainland.[1] Protestors and demonstrations were effectively marginalized, in part because the conference venue was located in a nearly inaccessible place. The island's security cordon was enhanced when the Governor of Georgia declared a state of emergency in six counties, which began on May 25, 2004 to deal with the potential danger of violence or damage by demonstrators during the Group of 8 economic summit.[6]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Sanger, David and Richard Stevenson. "Gathering on Sea Island: the Scene; World Leaders Get a Glimpse of America's High Life," New York Times. June 10, 2004.
  2. ^ Porter, Darwin. Frommer's The Carolinas & Georgia, p. 476.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Robbie Brown, "An Unwelcome Guest Intrudes on a Worry-Free Zone for the Rich," New York Times, 30 Sept 2008
  5. ^ http://www.ajc.com/business/sea-island-co-to-589188.html
  6. ^ Hart, Ariel. "Gathering on Sea Island: the Protests; At Summit, Police and Delegations Outnumber the Demonstrators," June 10, 2004; Hart, Ariel. "National Briefing | South: Georgia: Group Of 8 Security," New York Times. May 25, 2004.

References

31°11′09″N 81°20′34″W / 31.18583°N 81.34278°W / 31.18583; -81.34278

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