Amelia Island Plantation
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Hospitality and Real estate development |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Headquarters | Amelia Island, Florida |
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Key people
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Donald Stamets - Managing Director Mary O'Donnell - General Manager |
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Number of employees
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825 |
| Parent | Omni Hotels & Resorts |
| Website | www |
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. The 404-room hotel on the property is now part of Omni Hotels & Resorts.
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.
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. The emphasis was to develop the resort "in harmony with nature". 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.
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. 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 3½ miles of white sand beaches and the Intracoastal Waterway, convenient for those with boats. Although longtime company president Richard Cooper died in 2008, the Cooper family retained ownership.
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Wikipedia