The St. Joe Company on Friday announced a new real estate strategy that might indicate a more middle-market approach to land development than the upscale developments the company is known for in Bay, Walton and Gulf counties.

The company said in a statement that its board of directors had adopted a new strategy for real estate investment focused on spending less money on infrastructure, amenities and master planned community development.

The statement also said the company would attempt to speed the sale of existing properties through sale in bulk, sale of undeveloped parcels, or through lowering the price.

St. Joe issued the statement this morning but wouldn't answer questions about their strategy or how it would apply to developments underway in Bay, Walton and Gulf counties. St. Joe is the developer of such communities as WaterColor, WaterSound, WindMark, Wild Heron and River Camps. The company said it was in a required quiet period before a 10K filing in February.

The company did state in the release that the moves were being made to allow St. Joe to increase short-term and medium-term cash flow, reduce long-term risk, and "maintain the strong cash position necessary to weather a tepid and uncertain real estate environment."

The company said the new strategy follows a review of the company's assets and projects by a new management team led by Park Brady, who was named CEO of St. Joe in October.

The statement also said the company has modified the development plans for certain of its projects to meet the company's new strategy. It did not say which of its developments' plans had been changed or whether there would be an impact on local developments.

"In 2011, the new board directed management to reduce expenses," Brady said in the statement. "We have met that goal, and, as a result, we currently expect to have positive operating cash flow in 2012, excluding discretionary capital expenditures.

"The next request of our board was the evaluation of our assets and development of a strategy to reduce future capital outlays and enhance the risk-adjusted return on investment while continuing to minimize potential risk to the company in light of uncertain economic conditions. We believe that this new straetgy will fulfill that request."

As a result of the change in its strategy, the company said it expected a non-cash charge of $325 million to $375 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

St. Joe owns about 573,000 acres of land, concentrated in Northwest Florida. The majority of the land is not under development and is used for growing and selling timber, or is for sale.