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| By Jim Faber, The Island Packet, Hilton Head Island, S.C.McClatchy-Tribune Business News Dec. 1--When Paul Franks started with the Sea Pines Real Estate Co. 28 years ago, it had just 14 agents and sold about $30 million a year in real estate. When Franks, 72, retires as broker-in-charge at the end of the year, he's leaving a company with more than 130 agents and roughly $1 billion in sales. And the real estate company as well as the resort are heading into an exciting time over the next few years, said Franks and other company leaders. Mike Lawrence, president of the real estate company since 1993, is the new broker-in-charge. Steve Birdwell is the new general manager of the resort, moving up from chief financial officer. The resort will undergo improvements soon, including renovations of the Sea Marsh Golf Course and the likely addition of a spa, Birdwell said. The resort's purchase by The Riverstone Group and William Goodwin last year has meant that long-held plans for improving the resort can now be enacted, Lawrence said. The real estate side has slowed this year, a nationwide trend, although the pinch might have been a bit tighter in the resort market, Franks said. "We were hit harder than the real world," he said. Still, real estate is cyclical and the company will be ready to go "guns blazing" when the market heads back up, Lawrence said. The real estate company also is looking to the west. Less than half of its sales are in Sea Pines, and the company is a major player in Sun City Hilton Head and other off-island communities, Franks said. The retirement of baby boomers and impending population explosion west of the island should keep real estate strong, but the resort part of Sea Pines is facing a more competitive market, Birdwell said. Focusing on the family-friendly amenities, like water sports and a lengthy trail system, will keep families coming back to Sea Pines. "It's not every resort where you can feel comfortable letting your 12-year-old ride his bike to Harbor Town alone," Birdwell said. ----- Copyright (c) 2006, The Island Packet, Hilton Head Island, S.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |