Avalon Timberlands
Executive Summary
Avalon Timberlands is an excellent timberland investment opportunity in North Florida’s Jefferson County, located only 20 miles east of Tallahassee. Consisting of 8,675± acres, this is one of the largest contiguous timber investment properties available in northwest Florida. The location is in the desirable Red Hills region, where land tends to have higher and better uses beyond timber management. More importantly, given Avalon Timberlands’ focused history of professional timber management, this North Florida location benefits from a very active and competitive regional forest product market with readily available access to several mills. As of June 2020, there are more than 160,000 tons of pine timber, 70% of which are sawlogs, and 404,000 tons of hardwood and cypress timber on the property. The recreational hunting opportunities abound and two hunting leases generate $70,000± annually in income.
Just the Facts
- 8,675± contiguous acres in Jefferson County, Florida
- Commercially managed for timber production
- Timber value estimated at over $9.3M per 2020 cruise
- Approximately 18% is merchantable pines over 30 years old
- 41.4% upland/pineland, 53.8% natural hardwoods/bottomland, & 4.8% in non-forest land.
- Strong site index on pine plantation stands that exhibit a range of approximately 75 to 80 feet (base age 25) - above average for the region
- Approximately 79% of the current pre-merchantable pine plantations consist of superior loblolly and slash pine containerized seedlings. Specifically, these seedlings were produced via Mass Control Pollination process.
- Excellent regional forest product market
- $70,000± in annual income from established hunting leases
- Located in the highly desirable Red Hills region, many of the neighboring and nearby properties are large timber and recreational plantations
- Buggs Creek and Beasley Creek flow through property
- Owned for the past 19 years by one of America’s greatest conservationists as part of his 30,000-acre contiguous landholding
- Just eight miles south of Monticello and 20 miles east of Tallahassee
- The majority of access points are along WPA Road and Turkey Scratch Road and convenient to I-10, US-19, HWY 27, and CR 257
- Very good internal road system for logging operations
- Unencumbered; conservation easement donation benefits still available
Location
Avalon Timberlands is located in Jefferson County, Florida, just eight miles south of the county seat, Monticello, and 20 miles east of the city limits of Florida’s capital, Tallahassee. The region’s well-established forest product market offers a competitive base of outlets all within reasonable haul distances. The majority of the access points are along WPA Road and Turkey Scratch Road with convenient access to I-10, US-19, HWY 27, and CR 257.
The property borders, or is in close proximity to, a significant number of large recreational and agricultural properties, including some of the most well-known wing shooting plantations of the Red Hills, a region that spans between Tallahassee and Thomasville.
Tallahassee International Airport is 35 minutes west of the property offering both private and public air transportation.
Climate
North Florida’s subtropical climate offers a long growing season and the ample moisture and warm temperatures in which trees thrive. Between November and March, the temperatures average 68 degrees and low temperatures on average are 43 degrees. Rainfall usually peaks in March and during the summer months, with average annual rainfall of 54 inches.
Acreage (Deeded & Leased)
Additional Information
Hunting Lease Income
There are two hunting leases that generate $70,000/year in income.
Timber Resources
Avalon Timberlands primarily consist of loblolly pine plantations with a marginal amount of slash pine present. Of the total 8,765± acres, 22% is in pre-merchantable pine and 79% of this pre-merchantable pine consists of superior containerized seedlings. More specifically, these seedlings were produced via Mass Control Pollination (MCP) process. Each MCP family is created by applying the pollen of the highest performing father trees to the flowers of the best mother trees on a large scale. Unlike open pollinated families in traditional orchards, by controlling both the mother and father in these crosses, each seedling family is a unique hybrid combination. Generally, these plantations have higher seedlings costs but exhibit superior growth characteristics as compared to typical pine seedlings (open source pollination).
19% of the property is in merchantable pine plantations, which is almost exclusively in 30-year-old loblolly stands giving the opportunity to harvest 100,000± tons of sawtimber in the very immediate future.
Utilizing current cruise data provided by a very reputable forester with a lot of history on the property, Avalon Timberlands has a strong site index on its pine plantation stands that exhibit a range of approximately 75 to 80 feet (base age 25), which is above average for the region.
53.8% of Avalon Timberlands is comprised of nonconvertible natural hardwoods that have not been touched since before 1970. Most of the hardwood areas are predominantly mixed hardwood bottoms that tend not to be suitable for intensive management. However, most hardwood areas have been subject to custodial-type management with opportunistic harvesting available as weather and logging conditions permit.
Taxes
The annual property taxes for Avalon Timberlands are approximately $21,550.
Recreational Considerations
There are two established hunting leases on Avalon Timberlands that generate approximately $70,000 in income annually. The recreational hunting opportunities in this neighborhood of Florida are highly sought after and hunting leases are in high demand on properties such as Avalon Timberlands.
The property is nearly entirely surrounded by plantations, farms, and recreational properties who manage their properties for wildlife, which creates the potential for higher recreational values on some parcels of Avalon Timberlands.
The hunt clubs have a long history of operating in the best interest of the property and follow QDMA guidelines for harvesting and building a quality deer herd. They are interested in continuing the leases.
General Operations
An offering of this size and quality allows the owner several options for full service property management solutions and exceptional turnkey management programs that would include, but not be limited to, harvest and sales management, site preparation and planting, rotational prescribed burning, inventory and mapping, recreational lease management, contractor oversight, and annual reporting. The current owner has worked with a highly respected forestry company for many years and this relationship could easily transition to the new owner.