CBRE, a global real estate services firm, will take over marketing the old Gilman Paper site on roughly 700 acres of waterfront St. Marys land.
The company will have about 12 to 18 months to find a master developer for a mixed-use destination with a marina, according to an agreement approved Thursday by the board of the Camden County Joint Development Authority, which owns the land.
The choice of Dallas-based CBRE comes at the end of a four-month evaluation of six proposals received by the authority in response to their call for pitches from brokers and developers. The agency specified that they envision a “a cohesive, phased, mixed-use live-work-play destination that activates the waterfront, attracts year-round economic activity, and serves both residents and visitors.”
Both brokers and developers responded, but “we really were not happy with any of the developer proposals,” said James Coughlin, executive director of the Camden JDA.
CBRE will focus its marketing on developers with experience in master-planned communities, marina operations, hospitality developers and investors with good track records in waterfront redevelopment projects. The company will be compensated by the developer, not by the JDA, Coughlin said.
The hunt for a new developer was triggered by the 2025 bankruptcy of Cumberland Inlet, a company controlled by Atlanta developer Jim Jacoby. That company never got many more shovels in the ground beyond the 2022 ceremonial groundbreaking.
The Cumberland Inlet failed to repay the development authority about $9 million on a loan the development authority extended to jumpstart development. The authority expects to recoup the loss, plus fees and interest, by selling the property to one or more new developers.
The Tide brings regular notes and observations on news and events by The Current staff.
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