What is the Best Way to Develop OLF 8?

Before I was elected to my current office, the existing Escambia Board of County Commissioners made a critical vote in 2016.  

This unanimous vote on June 2^nd of 2016 authorized spending to complete a land swap with the United States Navy which would ultimately result in the Board of County Commissioners receiving the 636-acre site in Beulah known as OLF 8 later this year. 

This vote precipitated Escambia county’s total spending of $17.3 Million dollars to acquire OLF 8.  

This is a lot of money and I inherited this issue when I joined the board less than two years ago—But I’m up for the challenge to make this project work for everybody; I’ve lived right across the street from this property for the last 14 years, I have skin in the game, and I want what is best for Escambia County! 

 This is the #1 economic development project identified by the County’s Restore Act Committee, and a lot of people have worked very hard to bring this project to where it is today.

Earlier this year, however, some residents began to submit alternative ideas for this 636-acre parcel. Some folks fleeing from the urban sprawl of South Florida are proposing residential development (Apartments, Condos, subdivisions) on the OLF 8 site in a way that re-creates the exact thing they are fleeing-- right here in Beulah.

I don’t know anyone that wants to build a “City of Beulah” -- the constituents I have spoken with DO NOT want more apartments and high density residential construction out here on the helicopter field.

Some critics say the county “spent too much and that the property is only worth $4.75 Million.”
 

This is inaccurate.   The Brantley Appraisal of May, 2016, listed the value of the OLF 8 property at $17.8 Million.

 

But the true value of the land swap continues to be in what the county could do with this property to create jobs and attractive amenities for the area.

Our triumph gulf coast application, for which we stand to receive $30 Million dollars, is centered on creating 1,000 good-paying jobs with this property as well as quality of life improvements like walking, running and biking tracks—which would benefit the entire county and region.

 

Or, we can just cancel the grant application and sell the property to the highest bidder (perhaps $20 Million dollars) who might promise good amenities; but history has proven they will build cookie-cutter home subdivisions, high-density, low income apartments with things like vape shops and tattoo parlors. 

My neighbors do not want 7,000 more residents with extra traffic and low-end retail.

Beulah already has too much residential construction underway...Amazingly, some want to cram even more on OLF 8.

 

No, they would much rather have upscale employers like Navy Federal increase the workforce with 1,000 more good jobs.

I know there are many who lament that Beulah has become a suburb.  I have family members who have lived in Beulah since the 1960’s on several acres of land and wanted nothing more than the green areas to remain and have no subdivisions.  Unfortunately, populations grow, people move outside the city and places change.

And Beulah has changed.

The area in and around the proposed Beulah Interchange now has roughly 7,000 residential units recently completed, currently in construction, in planning, or going through development review; our roads and infrastructure simply cannot handle any more of this residential construction…

We need a master plan for OLF 8 that captures the maximum amount of value for this land for residents via amenities and community enhancements while simultaneously staying within the guidelines of our Triumph grant request.

We must be good financial stewards of this county-owned resource—staying in the running for our $30 Million-dollar grant while intelligently developing OLF 8 is how we demonstrate this.