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| According to preliminary estimates presented to me yesterday by DPZ Design--it appears as if the Escambia County Taxpayers may achieve a net return on investment on OLF-8 of between $12Million and as much as $47 Million once this plan is finalized and this land is developed/sold. |
Yesterday afternoon I had an individual briefing with the DPZ design team on their four potential plans for OLF-8.
All four plans allow space/acreage such that the creation of a minimum of 1,000 good jobs is achievable.
All four plans include space for community amenities, green space, and trails around the property.
Three of the four plans recommend a significant amount of differing types of residential construction on the property (Single-Family, Loft over Commercial, Townhome, Apartment)
All four allow for commercial/retail along the frontage of 9-Mile road.
Once presented with the materials and given the briefing (which will also be held publicly at an upcoming committee of the whole), I had three basic questions/requests of the team:
1. Can they get a metric and bring it to the upcoming meeting detailing the short and long term financial impact/benefit to the County if the property generates 1,000 jobs, or 2,000 jobs, or 3,000 jobs etc.? (This sort of a metric was missing)
2. Can they get a metric or "star rating" for each plan based upon the likelihood (or not) of each plan securing a Triumph Gulf Coast Grant?
3. Will the team be able to take input from the commissioners and bring back a hybrid plan based upon what the BCC considers an optimal "mix" of these plans to create a plan that creates jobs and value for the community and the citizens to a degree that it will garner at least 3 votes to move forward?
The answer to all three questions was "YES"--and I must say there are attributes to each of the plans that I feel are extremely appealing. I stressed to the DPZ team on the call my continuing belief that whatever the final "plan" is that comes out of the other end of the sausage hopper of design---I believe it will represent a compromise and no entity will get 100% of what they want--but everyone will get some of what they want.
But the financial winner in this whole evolution, it is becoming more and more evident, will be the taxpayers of Escambia County.
Although we spent nearly $18 Million acquiring this property, we have already recouped $4 Million when we sold 100 acres of it to NFCU. This leaves us with an outstanding expenditure of $14 Million left to recoup. Since the time of our acquisition of this property----the value of land in Beulah has gone straight up like a rocket.
Which begs the question: Just how good will the OLF-8 project end up being, financially, for the Taxpayers of Escambia County?
Well--- according to the expert analysis of the DPZ team in their presentation yesterday---the property, once divested, will generate proceeds of between $26.48 Million and $61.77 Million.
Subtracting the remaining $14Million invested--this represents a potential net return to the County's LOST fund of between $12.48Million to $47.77 Million---depending upon how the property is developed and disposed of.
But no matter which way it is sliced and diced---and regardless of how sloppy the deal was as we assembled it like a go-cart already pushed down a hill---it looks as though the taxpayers are going to score a major financial coup with this project!
[Sorry, I accidentally put this under your Coffee post...you can delete from there.]
ReplyDeleteJust fantastic news Commissioner Bergosh. I've understood why residents up there are sparring with each other and you over the end product. I get that. But I have *never* understood how and why--once the appraisals were in--anybody could make the argument with a straight face that this wasn't going to be a huge profit to the taxpayers just by dint of the sale of the parcels.
I'm happy for the other commissioners also who really went through hell and highwater and had some very white knuckle periods on this. Fantastic outcome on the financials, whatever compromise ends up there.
Two things. First, for the love of God, make them leave some trees.
Second, for the businesses along 9 mile have them inward turning so that they can only be accessed through access roads and you don't have turning off and turning on directly through 9 mile. Makes a nice boutique effect as well, and you can stipulate that the back ends of the businesses facing the road have to beautify with plants and trees. You can get some really nice effects this way.
Congrats!
--Melissa Pino
Just keep the property and throw out the "master plan" that the mob forced on us. "We" bought the property for a commerce park. What do people not get about representative constitutional republic, not mob rule? It would be better just to hold on to it and not expect a quick return. Things move slow. In fact don't even mow it. Leave it like it is for future generations.
ReplyDeleteIt is ridiculous to watch the ones slobbering over it like it is theirs to decide what to do with it. It's not.
Guess who is on the PNJ "editorial board"?
ReplyDeleteThe hit piece opinion on the PNJ editorial today looks about like the garbage someone printed Jan 11 earlier this year. ' memba? Opinions are like aholes aren't they?
ReplyDeleteDid you notice Oracle and Tesla are relocating to Texas. Wouldn't it be grand if someone like that relocated to our property otherwise known as OLF 8?