What's the Value of OLF 8 in Beulah, Part II

Above:  a portion of our most recent appraisal on 102 acres of the 636 acre OLF 8 site has been presented to the Escambia BCC

I did part one of this post last March.  I was right then, and the naysayers were dead wrong--and many of us knew it all along.

Today we got the proof.

Last March, as we pushed forward with completing the land transfer deal with the Navy for OLF 8, four of the five commissioners wisely voted to stay the course.  Utilizing only the sales data available at that time, and the most recent appraisals available for the property at that time, even the most casual observer just 10 months ago could clearly see that the value of the 636 acres of OLF 8 would at a minimum exceed the $17.5 Million taxpayers through the BCC expended to acquire this property.

It was really easy to see.  Except for those who would not accept reality.

So these naysayers pushed back.

One famously stated that the property "Was only worth $4.75 Million!" --which was ridiculously stupid and way, way, way off the mark.  Not surprisingly, others naively parroted that badly mistaken talking point.  But they were wrong then, and definitely proven so unequivocally now.

Today we received our first new appraisal on a portion of our soon-to-be acquired OLF 8 property.

As can be seen in the picture above, the appraisal for just this 102 acre part of the 636 acre property is $4.5 Million, or $45,000.00 per acre.  If that value holds true for the entire 636 acre tract, we will be looking at more than $28 Million in value--a value more than $10 Million dollars above our acquisition costs of $17.5 Million.

The moral of the story is this:  Just because somebody says something--even if they say it convincingly and with a straight face--does not make it true.

Luckily, the four of us had it right and pushed forward with the correct action, and now all the taxpayers in Escambia will reap the eventual benefit!