resort type subsidiary industry hospitality and real estate development founded 1971 headquarters amelia island florida key people donald stamets managing director mary o donnell general manager number of employees 825 1 parent omni hotels & resorts website www.omnihotels.com hotels amelia island plantation amelia island plantation aip is a luxury resort community located on amelia island florida the westernmost barrier island on the atlantic ocean in the u.s. the resort s tennis facility hosted the bausch & lomb championships a major women s tennis association tournament for 20 years . 2 the 404 room hotel on the property is now part of omni hotels & resorts . contents 1 resort 2 history 2.1 economic downturn 3 golf 3.1 amelia river 4 tennis 5 references 6 external links resort edit the 1 350 acre community includes a 404 room hotel nine restaurants three golf courses and nearly two dozen har tru clay tennis courts . the development has a total value of 1.95 billion when the 1 150 condominiums 800 homes and unbuilt lots are counted . 1 history edit development of amelia island plantation began in 1971 by the hilton head island s sea pines company in conjunction with ian mcharg of the urban planning & design firm wallace mcharg roberts & todd . 3 the emphasis was to develop the resort in harmony with nature . 4 to balance the development with the environment a master plan was created and became part of the deed covenants that protected the tidal marshes dunes savannas and wildlife that existed there . a minimum 40 foot 12 m buffer of natural vegetation was established for waterways . 4 unfortunately the original owners filed chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1976 . the resort was purchased in 1978 by a group of investors headed by richard cooper . the new owners took the name amelia island company aic but the resort and company are synonymous . over the next 30 years the property was further developed and enhanced as a prestigious location . the hotel s name was changed from amelia island plantation hotel to amelia inn & beach club to its current omni amelia island plantation once omni hotels & resorts purchased the real estate in 2010 . it is a four diamond aaa resort which offers 80 000 sq ft 7 400 m2 of flexible space to accommodate meetings and conventions of up to 1 600 participants . 5 aip was host of a woman s professional tennis tournament beginning in 1980 which became the bausch & lomb championships from 1987 to 2008 . many other events are hosted by the resort each year including a wine festival golf tournaments and a jazz festival . the facility features 20 swimming pools a full service spa kids club and stocked fishing lake situated between 3 miles of white sand beaches and the intracoastal waterway convenient for those with boats . 6 although longtime company president richard cooper died in 2008 the cooper family retained ownership . 1 economic downturn edit the late 2000s recession affected real estate and resorts significantly and aip suffered a substantial negative cash flow forcing the company to cut wages and layoff 25 % of their workforce . 1 in january 2009 atlanta developer redquartz development announced an agreement to become majority owner of amelia island plantation for 60 million but by may the deal was abandoned when redquartz couldn t raise the cash . 7 the company also contemplated the sale of the hotel and a couple of golf courses to metropolitan life insurance company but a deal could not be reached . 1 the amelia island company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on november 13 2009 friday the 13th to buy time with its creditors while it completed a reorganization plan . the plasencia group served as investment advisor to the debtor . aic filed a reorganization plan in may 2010 in which the noble investment group would acquire aic and invest 45.9 million to pay off debts and provide the capital needed to emerge from bankruptcy . under the acquisition agreement the cooper family interests would receive up to 5 million and homeowners would be able to buy ownership of one of the resort golf courses and of the clubhouse they currently use exclusively . on august 23 2010 trt holdings parent company of omni hotels emerged as the successful bidder in an auction conducted in federal bankruptcy court . the transaction closed in early september 2012 . 8 9 golf edit one of the biggest attractions at aip are the golf courses . the resort boasts three championship courses . the oak marsh course was pete dye s design and winds through salt marshes and heritage oaks draped with spanish moss . bobby weed s ocean links course as the name implies runs through coastal hammock and dunes . it abuts the beach on five holes and a brisk breeze off the water is typical . the challenging long point course designed by tom fazio includes eight water hazards that must be crossed . 10 amelia river edit starting in 2005 the amelia island company leased the royal amelia golf course and it was renamed amelia river golf club in 2007 . 11 the property was owned by the city of fernandina beach and was created by tom jackson . it is a traditional course with wide manicured fairways large smooth greens and groups of trees at strategic points . when aic filed for bankruptcy in 2009 the lease was terminated and possession was returned to the owner . tennis edit tennis is another big attraction at the plantation . the resort is home to 23 har tru clay courts shaded by tall southern live oak trees during the day and fully lit at night . the facility offers the cliff drysdale tennis instruction program and has been rated the 16th best tennis resort in the united states by tennis resorts online 12 and a top 50 tennis resort by tennis magazine . 13 references edit a b c d e basch mark november 17 2009 . amelia island plantation owner files for bankruptcy . florida times union . retrieved 13 june 2010 . history mps group championships website green initiatives . www.villasofameliaisland.com . a b 1 amelia island plantation website about history 2 amelia island plantation website conferences 3 expedia website amelia island plantation amelia island plantation deal is dead . jacksonville business journal . may 20 2009 . retrieved 13 june 2013 . basch mark bidder for amelia island plantation expects success florida times union june 8 2010 asset purchase agreement filed with jacksonville federal bankruptcy court championship golf amelia island plantation website turner kevin november 17 2007 . royal amelia course is now amelia river course . florida times union . retrieved 13 june 2013 . cox roger . top 100 tennis resorts & camps . may 1 2013 . tennis resorts online . retrieved 13 june 2013 . tennis at amelia island plantation . villas of amelia island plantation . retrieved 13 june 2013 . external links edit amelia island plantation website coordinates 30 33 22 n 81 26 59 w 30.55611 n 81.44972 w 30.55611 ; 81.44972 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title amelia island plantation & oldid 683616195 categories buildings and structures in nassau county floridajacksonville metropolitan areaplanned communities in floridagolf clubs and courses designed by bobby weedgolf clubs and courses designed by pete dyegolf clubs and courses designed by tom faziovisitor attractions in nassau county florida1971 establishments in floridaseaside resorts in floridapopulated coastal places in florida on the atlantic oceanhidden categories pages using infobox company with unsupported parameterscoordinates not on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print 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