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I have established this blog as a means of transparency to the public, outreach to the community, and information dissemination to all who choose to look. Feedback is welcome, but because public participation is equally encouraged, appropriate language and decorum is mandatory.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Has the New Auction for OLF 8 Begun?

As I had anticipated would be the case--the BCC has now received a fresh offer for all 540 acres of OLF 8 for the tidy sum of $40 Million Dollars. (and I anticipate several more in the coming weeks)

In this particular, very bare bones, three page offer (see it below)--no mention of the DPZ Master Plan--but multiple requests for full cooperation in rezoning the property, achieving preliminary site plan approvals, and amending the comprehensive plan.  So there is that.

-120 day inspection period requested

-total of $1 Million in earnest money, with an additional $100,000 that goes hard after several steps are taken and after the inspection period.

-Three (3) 30-day extensions requested.

I see some issues with the offer, chief among them is the guidance that the BCC already gave signalling that we will reserve 250 acres for job creation--so I would expect that this offer will have to be re-tooled.

Some of the speakers at recent meeting should be ecstatic.  It is someone other than DR Horton.....

We will see what the full board chooses to do with this offer--as this decision is up to the full 5-member board.





7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The devil is in the details. You don’t always get what you want but you get what you need. Seems like this is a type of community like nature trail across the street. The company on the surface buys much bigger plots of land in the Tampa area, let’s see if the BCC succumbs to selling the whole thing with regulating plans in place and in effect with the sunsets taking place per DPZ master plan. It would be interesting to see how a developer with much higher standards now brings in homes similar to Mr. Bergosh across the street- which I would I support in any day in lieu of Horton quality. Stay tuned Beulah, this appears to be the best offer and we should stay the course with the master plan but be feasible and amenable to things that this new offer may bring. Appears that bigger houses and a nicer sub division is better than the Horton alternative.

Anonymous said...

120 day vs 6 month or even a year inspection period ensures things move quicker

Mel Pino said...

Wonderful! Hopefully there will be more offers as well. But this should allay fears that somehow this property is going to drop drastically in value, and give weight to the very vocal comments made by the Board that some people refused to hear. Crickets from that crowd, of course. Theresa has got to check with her handlers and see which direction to go, I suppose.

And congratulations on making it one more day without winding up under a house!

(Horrible.)

Anonymous said...

I don’t quite understand your sarcasm here. What exactly do you think of the offer here? Yay? Nay? Neutral?

Mel Pino said...

8:36, sorry--just read my comment and I see now it was confusing. The paragraph is what I actually think of the offer. The sarcasm was about that horrible comment that got tossed off from the podium at the last meeting about people discussing commissioners ending up under houses. Some of the diehards who are the last people to be able to stomach coming down with Theresa are exhibiting signs of crossing the line into cracked-brain.

Offers are great, period, as indication of continued interest in the land, and anything to help lessen the DR Horton hold is positive, IMO. That said, the offer as it stands is obviously a no-go free for all, and the language would not appear to be coming from buyers who would brook any resistance to doing whatever the heck they want with it. So hopefully it won't be the last, and will provide the Board with a little more room for comfort on not feeling tied down to a single offer. I think sometimes people forget that their job is this is not to appease people in Beulah, but to act in a responsible fiduciary capacity for the citizens of Escambia. This takes a little weight off that responsibility and will hopefully allow them to feel less locked in on DR Horton.

Also, Rick Outzen put out another blog yesterday and for what it's worth my response was "YES YES YES!" It makes so much sense to really get that land for jobs off the table so residential builders can cool their jets and focus on what's actually available rather than what all more they can get:

https://ricksblog.biz/bergosh-wants-escambia-county-to-move-ahead-on-olf-8-infrastructure/

Mel Pino said...

The FIRST paragraph is straight things. Good grief.

Anonymous said...

navy fed is having a tough time bringing people back. I'm not sure if a big corporate campus is necessarily economically feasible. the highest and best use for what its worth could be residential. that being said if we make residential the main course, with a few sprinkles of small appetizers like offices, medical spaces, retail, restaurants, and a final amuse-bouche would be the parks and greenways to tie everything together with a bow. the anchor here might be the residential to then bring the jobs, I just don't see it until the interchange exit is built. maybe build a core town center, with yes, nice homes similar to nature trail, and slowly build around it to build a buzz regarding the land and community. this commercial centric job mind set might work if we give in to the incentive that it is a nice place to live first.