The Jackson County community of Bascom (population 106) is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Academy Awardwinning actor Faye Dunaway. More recently, Bascom is making a bid to become the Caviar Capital of America.

Just south of the Alabama border and 100 miles west of Tallahassee, Bascom is home to Sturgeon Aquafarms, whose fish stock produces top-grade caviar. Headquartered in Miami, Sturgeon Aquafarms is run by Christopher Hlubb, president and COO.

While there are a few other sites in the U.S. that produce caviar, including Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Sturgeon Aquafarms is the only grower of all five of the highly desired native Caspian Sea species, including beluga.

Why would a south Florida company choose to locate an aquafarm in Bascom?

“It was the water,” says Hlubb. “We needed a natural supply of fresh water at year-round temperatures lower than those available in south Florida. Sturgeon cannot sustain water temperatures above 81 degrees for long periods of time.”

Located on 120 acres next to a cotton farm, Sturgeon Aquafarms houses dozens of large freshwater holding tanks where the fish are raised.

An important aspect of the operation, says Hlubb, is determining the sex of the sturgeon fingerlings. The males are separated early from the egg-laying females and later processed for their meat.

Depending on the species of sturgeon, the farm’s caviar sells from $10 an ounce to $200. Most of the production is sold to restaurants, hotels and high-end retail shops.

“The facility and our caviar production have been growing slowly over the years,” says Hlubb. “It’s like a winery; it takes a lot of time to develop.”

Business Briefs

CARRABELLE — Chicagobased investment firm MJM Carrabelle has bought the St. James Golf Resort for $3.25 million. The complex includes the golf course, pro shop and Crooked River Grill, 57 single-family lots and sites suitable for condo development.

DESTIN — Howard Group, a Miramar-based development company, is building an 84- room, five-story Hyatt Place hotel in Sandestin that’s expected to open in late 2018.

PENSACOLA — The University of West Florida has sold Scenic Hills Country Club and its 150-acre golf course for $1.1 million. It bought the property in 2012 for $2.2 million. The property was purchased by a limited liability company comprised of residents of the Scenic Hills neighborhood. The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency has approved developer Robert Montgomery’s plan for a $35-million condominium and retail development on a 2.2-acre site known as the Hawkshaw property adjacent to Gulf Power’s headquarters. The Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition says it will seek to develop a marine research facility at the Port of Pensacola. Randy Hammer, a spokesman at the institute, says the institute is in the process of applying for funds from Triumph Gulf Coast, the nonprofit corporation created to oversee the distribution of $1.5 billion in economic damage funds recovered by the state as a result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Pensacola developer Quint Studer has bought a 20% stake in Two Hundred Garden West, a property owned by attorney and developer Jim Reeves. The five-acre site in downtown Pensacola was acquired from the Escambia County School District for $3.4 million. Reeves says initial plans are to develop the property as mixed-use retail and residential.

TALLAHASSEE — An additional 3,300 apartment units are either under construction or at various stages of permitting, says the Tallahassee- Leon County Office of Economic Vitality. Seven apartment complexes, with 883 units, are scheduled to be completed by late fall.

Players

Former Florida Senate aide Susan Skelton has been hired as executive director of Triumph Gulf Coast. Triumph is the non-profit corporation that’s overseeing the distribution of funds recovered by the state as a result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Chase Christianson is Capital Regional Medical Center’s new COO. He formerly was an executive at Kingwood Medical Center in Texas.

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