The Ponte Vedra/Palm Valley Architectural Review Committee unanimously approved the materials to be used in construction of the new Global Home of the PGA Tour on Tuesday, Aug. 21, allowing the organization to commence preparations for the next phase of the project.
“We couldn’t have been more thrilled to get past that step,” said Kirsten Sabia, vice president of integrated communications for the PGA Tour. “Our architect, Foster + Partners, presented and showed the myriad samples that we needed to get approved by the council, and that included the surface of the roof; the glass, which is a very big part of the building; the skylight material that we’ll have — a number of things, and we actually brought in physical samples.”
While preliminary work for the new headquarters — to be located off Palm Valley Road — began this summer, Sabia advised that construction of the building itself is anticipated to commence this November, with the overall project expected to be completed by late 2020.
Designed to blend in with its natural surroundings, the 187,000-square-foot building will be three stories tall and feature a contemporary style, with a flat roof, columns and outdoor decks and balconies made of wood.
“The roof will be a matte roof, and in fact, the roof panels will have the only applied color on the exterior of the building, because a lot of it will be made with natural surfaces and glass,” Sabia said. “The concrete that will be used for a lot of the main pillars will be as light as possible, because they’re trying to resemble the sand of our beaches, and the windows they’re trying to make a neutral gray, because that avoids unnecessary reflection — especially because there will be the water features that flank the building.”
The material to be used for the skylight, Sabia added, is ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene), the same material that was used for the translucent roof of the Minnesota Vikings’ new home, U.S. Bank Stadium.
“Each element that we got approved was representative of the palette that was really inspired by the landscape of Ponte Vedra in general,” she explained. “We want to be in harmony with it, so that it feels like it fits within the nature of it all.”
With THE PLAYERS Championship moving to March (to be held March 12-17) and the new headquarters being built in the tournament’s usual spot for general parking, Sabia said the PGA Tour would continue to encourage fans to take advantage of ride-sharing services and the tournament’s “four or more park for free” carpool vouchers.
“We will continue to have parking in the lot,” she advised. “There will be a portion of it that will not be able to be used, because it will be in a construction zone … but we’ll just really be pushing those elements to alleviate for any lost spaces.”
