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| The county has the opportunity to realize a nearly $20 Million Dollar profit if a deal that has been put forward for the purchase of OLF-8 is approved by the board of county commissioners and actually closes. |
The board has received an offer to negotiate / letter of intent for the purchase of the entire OLF-8 property from Escambia County for $33 Million Dollars Cash.
The offer letter was distributed to me an my counterparts this morning.
from the letter:
"The general terms and conditions upon which Purchaser proposes to purchase “The Property” are as follows:
1. Purchase Price. The Purchase Price shall be $33,000,000.00 at a single closing.
2. Terms. The Purchase Price will be paid in cash at closing.
3. Earnest Money. Within Thirty (30) days after effective date of the Definitive Agreement, Purchaser shall deposit Earnest Money in the amount of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) into an escrow account. A portion(s) of the earnest money will become non-refundable during the Inspection Period based on predetermined milestone(s) established during the negotiation and execution of the Definitive Agreement."
The agreement goes on to state the following:
"....Purchaser recognizes that Escambia County intends to utilize funds from the Triumph Grant for certain improvements associated with the OLF-8 project. Purchaser intends to cooperate with Escambia County in meeting the requirements contained in Grant Award Agreement. From and after the execution of this letter, Seller agrees to negotiate exclusively with Purchaser and to refrain from offering or negotiating with any other party for the sale, lease or other disposal of the Property directly or indirectly from the date hereof until the earlier of the closing of the sale or the termination of this letter of intent or the Definitive Agreement. Seller shall not solicit, initiate, pursue, entertain offers, or otherwise consider or accept any other offers with respect to the Property or enter into any contract of sale, lease or similar agreement with respect thereto pending the earlier of the closing of the sale or the termination of this letter of intent or the Definitive Agreement."
Lots to unpack with this offer in hand, lots to consider. This buyer is a huge national nameed company with significant financial resources. If the deal were to be made, the county would be clearing nearly $20 Million dollars over and above the costs of acquiring OLF 8 -- which would be a tremendous win for the county and the taxpayers. $20 Million buys a LOT of badly needed infrastructure. Lots of it.
We have 10 days to answer this initial letter.
Much more to come on this later in the week....
24 comments:
As a resident of Beulah for going on 10 years, I am concerned about more than just money on OLF 8. That site has a master plan that devotes about one-third of the land to uses for residents including a town center that will serve as more than a retail, mixed-use amenity. It will be the center of our town, the Beulah "downtown" that anchors the surrounding residential and commercial development. Completing the master plan will not just benefit Beulah residents - it will help to attract commercial investors and good jobs. You have repeatedly supported that master plan, calling it a "compromise" that gives us all some of what we want. So if one investor buys the entire property, we need to require them to follow that master plan.
DR Horton.
I would rather see you throw out the master plan and sell to a corporation for economic development.
Great call out. Clearly something Bergosh continues to overlook. Total lack of vision and strategic planning
849 is an idiot. Sounds like the dem running for d4 last year. Or a troll or the brown nose who keeps posting your blog on ECW for attention and complaining.
Actually Blackwell is a constant problem stirring up trouble causing residential development in a swap that was meant for job creation not wall to wall housing.
The master plan has thwarted the intent and purpose of this investment and scared off the type of development Escambia needs and it is not wall to wall overpriced homes.
Theresa-thanks for your input and opinion. 8:49, put down the bong and listen to yourself, man. Get real. This offer, if closed, recognizes the Triumph grant's requiremnents, which means there will be jobs there and the way this economy is teetering and interest rates are climbing--MANY intelligent professionals in this business have stated to me privately that to sell the entire field subject to some reasonable, commonsense negotiated terms makes perfect sense. If it will have jobs, if it will have retail, and if it will have housing--think what that means. Yes--it means it will be a mixed-use development which is what the BCC voted for after hearing from area stakeholders and citizens. This will be something that is negotiated if the board decides to move forward. We have 10 days to decide that, and then upon saying yes (if the board says yes) we will have 30 days to negotiate a definitive agreement. That agreement will incorporate what both parties negotiate--followed by a period of due diligence for the purchaser. The Letter of Intent acknowledges our Triumph Gulf Coast $14.2 Million dollar grant award and specifies it will honor that agreement--which is profound. That grant adds a significant roadway between 9-Mile and Frank Reeder Road as well as utilites and stormwater mitigation. The county is upgrading Frank Reeder, and the state has the Beulah Interchange funded in the 10 year plan. The rest of the agreement will be negotiated between the 5 members of the BCC and the buyer. The bottom line will be it will more than likely be a mixed use development with something for everyone. Believe me, I never wanted ANY residential constructed on that field, but I was out-voted on that and we worked a compromise to come to the master plan we have currently. I understand there are many who wanted nothing to ever be built there, who wanted no jobs created there, and just wanted it to remain an empty field. But with our growth and the want of so many to move here (great climate, tax policy, and governor) that acreage was always going to have something built. If this scenario unfolds and the deal closes, this will mean a "profit" (for lack of a better term) of nearly $20 million on top of the recoup of $18 Million we spent acquiring the property + a $14 Million dollar infusion for infrastructure over the top via our Oil Spill (Triumph) grant for infrastructure on the field. A huge win but certainly not a done deal and many details to work out. But if it closes, that is a LOT of money for infrastructure projects in all 5 districts. LOTS of money for that. Plus, there will still be a jobs creation component (required for the $14 million oil spill grant) so this works in the spirit of the compromise we reached previously, which should be noted.
Very short sighted. Create a sense of place in that area. This is a horrible idea
I completely agree with Theresa B.
Thank you for those further details. In response to what I wrote, all you needed to say is that the master plan will be part of the agreement and it is already in our Land Development Code with the zoning on the field. So any deviation in use would require going through the Planning Board as well as the BCC as it stands. Triumph will not give money to a private entity, so that would have to be worked out to their satisfaction. I don't understand your math of a $20 million gain for the county. We have invested more than $18 million at the last count I know of (for that alone, 33 minus 18 equals 15, not 20). Navy Federal contributed $1.8 million for the master plan. And the $14 million Triumph dollars will benefit the buyer, and come from our region's oil spill dollars - they could go for other infrastructure in the region.
I agree with Theresa. This is about so much more than just the money. How OLF-8 is utilized is crucial to Beulah. As Theresa said, OLF-8 will serve as the anchor to Beulah. We need it to act as our "downtown" to the Beulah residents as the downtown Palafox area does for Pensacola. We need it designed as a place that draws people in and a place where Beulah residents can meet/gather: ie: sit-down family oriented restaurants where family can celebrate birthdays and other important events together (similar to the Wine Bar, Angelinas, Fish house, Jacksons), walking paths, nice stores, a coffee shop, etc. A post office would also be nice. Currently, there seems to be little to no planning to Beulah. Beulah needs to be more than car washes (2 being allowed to be built practically next to each other), gas stations and storage sheds. Think of how different downtown Pensacola would be and the businesses it would attract if it was full of warehouses and manufacturing plants. Those types of business do not bring a community together; they push then out to other areas. Community over cash is what we residents hope for in the planning of OLF-8.
Theresa- We are into OLF-8 for about $18 Million. Then in 2020 we sold 96 acres or so to NFCU in exchange for a further jobs commitment of 300 FTE's at their existing campus, plus parking, stormwater, and athletic facilities/park and recreation area that will be made available to the general public PLUS $4.2 Million. So the math is basic and simple: We were in it for $18Million, minus the $4.2 Million we earned back from the NFCU 96 acre sale, equals $13.8 Million left in the hole on what taxpayers spent on acquiring OLF 8. Now, if we sell the balance for $33 Million, that puts us to the good by $19.2 Million. I'm going to support a plan that respects the compromise we all made, period. Jobs, mixed use, residential, retail. That is what I agreed to, reluctantly, because I didn't want any residential on that field for a variety of reasons and the record is clear on that. Anonymous 10:10--who is to say a sense of place cannot be accomplished if this is sold? It all depends on the details negotiated into the definitive agreement which will happen if the board decides to move forward with negotiating with this buyer. Anonymous 11:39--I want those same sorts of things also, and a Beulah Master Plan is coming at long last. The item will be forthcoming on a board agenda and the work by a citizens panel and including community surveys that had great levels of participation will drive this plan. Citizen input will also be sought for the plan. Lots of delays and it is a long time coming, but it is coming.
Oh, yes, I forgot about the Navy Federal buy. But they will be getting the benefit of the $14 million in Triumph money, and that is money that could build a lot of infrastructure somewhere else in the region.
I would appreciate it if some of the anonymous and unknowns commenting would put their names to their comments. Whatever you have to say carries more weight if your name stands behind it. Anonymous commenting encourages crank potshots since there is no accountability. I have long ago accepted that about 30% will never agree with what you are doing, so I just move on from nasty comments. But at least when Commissioner Bergosh tells me to "put down the bong", he has the courage to put his name to it (however inadvisable in this case). But I would also like to know who in the community is a source of thoughtful, incisive comments.
Theresa, I've been following these comments and holding back from putting my two cents in to let people from Beulah have the floor first. Despite what people claim, I never post anything anonymously, so I assure you whenever I post anywhere on anything that my name will be attached.
Just wanted to point out at this juncture that, if you go back and read more carefully, Commissioner Bergosh didn't respond negatively to your comment, but to the following:
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Great call out. Clearly something Bergosh continues to overlook. Total lack of vision and strategic planning
February 11, 2023 at 8:49 PM
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(Note the "8:49" at the beginning of his remark you refer to.)
As we're in the midst of our own mini OLF8 scenario in Navy Point, and never had any hope of a competent commissioner's leadership for the good on it, I've got some renewed hopes and fears for you guys that are the same ones I've held all along, when I saw you all being manipulated by residential developers holding out the mirage of town centers from the get-go. (What a wonderful thing that would be; unfortunately, it was never going to happen, as nobody wants to build it.)
I'll wait to hear what Commissioner Bergosh has to say tomorrow morning, but believe it or not there are a lot of people rooting for something good up there who always have been a friend to staving off development carnage by blocking Doug from commandeering things for his puppet masters (and there were many of them). A number of people who have been the most active advocates up there for the best possible out of that plat will probably never understand what a favor we actually did for you guys by getting that charlatan removed from the discussions.
Downtown has never been your friend on it, either, unless we see plans for a town center on Old Stinky soon, at which point I will be happy to admit my errors of opinion on ConTown. And you really might want to consider asking Jacqueline to perform the greatest kindness she possibly could towards you all achieving your goal of something special up there, and ask her to stay home.
Nobody--and I mean nobody--at the County who will be involved in any aspect of the decision making process is interested in a word she has to say on this, or anything else. She doesn't have a shred of credibility left at this point with anyone but her echo chamber, so her positioning herself as one of Beulah's spokespeople will only hurt your cause if it happens. The County will have its work cut out holding this builder to better accountability than they have been held in the past, and you guys have a lot of work to do with seeing things across the finish line. That will require your best A game efforts of clarity about what's happening along with positive working relationships with staff and the Board, and not the disinformation malarkey that spews from over there. You've done well to distance yourself from them, so it would be a damn shame to see you making the mistake of poisoning the well by letting them drag you back down into their cauldron again. This is a formidable entity for sure, but with a master plan, a reasonable commissioner, and your eye on the prize, I've still got hope you guys will be really happy with some of the results up there. Many people fighting Doug's malign involvement in this have always agreed that a town center would have been a wonderful thing. It's just that none of the people holding that promise out to you were ever going to make it happen.
ps my comment about not having a competent commissioner at the helm with our situation in Navy Point wasn't directed at the current commissioner, who wasn't in office when the project in the center of our neighborhood got going.
Anyone as in Theresa Blackwell, Jacqueline Rogers and Wendy Underhill contributing to a fund raiser for a county employee to shut down someone they disagree with by supporting a lawsuit to shut down free speech doesn't deserve to be given the leeway for that to happen again. Reference Edler vs Pino. Pretty rich coming from a past journalist.
The BCC will make the decision as to whether to entertain this offer.
I thought the whole point for the swap was to use the property to sell to a business like Amazon or Google or something.
Theresa Blackwell, I wholeheartedly agree about the anonymous comments.
"If you're bold enough to say it, be bold enough to own it."
She just wants to know who agrees with her so she can organize a mob. Then mob the bcc.
SOP.
I can't see Triumph GCI granting money to a private developer. The purpose for that money is for regional significance for economic development.
This company has billions of dollars and in turn plenty of legal representation to get what they want.
So I foresee a catch 22 if after advertising the parcel for sale the bcc discriminates and doesn't sell it to them since they made a decent offer.
I am very disappointed the BCC capitulated to the mob and put the planning overlay to encourage residential developments.
But they did.
And now there is no impact fees policy to charge a Forbes 500 "throw the houses together" company for the impact of build baby build.
Kiss that once in a lifetime chance of regional economic impact envisioned by the land swap good bye.
What a shame.
Thanks a lot NIMBY.
Does DR Horton build commercial properties? I thought the residential portion of the development was more of a concessionary afterthought, but selling to "America's Home Builder" seems like they're flat-out telling us up-front what the purpose is.
I understand the attractiveness of the offer, especially in this economic climate, but keep in mind that DR Horton builds an inferior home. They have such a presence in Escambia county now, and even on the key, they use the cheapest products they can. No impact windows or doors, they don't use real stucco, only concrete skim, pressboard, etc. I'd worry any commercial structure would not be built to last, or enhance the value of the area in any way.
I speak from expereince, our Horton home in Arborgate off River Road was demolished because it was structurally unsound, full of mold and wood rot after 3 years. Same as 15 of our neighbors' homes. The homes that are there now stand on the foundations of the original homes.
Within the last year, they've built 105 Horton homes on the key using the same 3 floorplans that are used in the rest of the county. We're very quickly becoming a cookie-cutter county, with a substandard product. Hoping the BCC does their due diligence on what Horton's intentions are, and are lured exclusively by money. Putting the wrong thing in could devalue the area by much more than the $20 million you're hoping to recoup.
Reason why people post anonymously is because of retribution from the likes of Bergosh
Use the funds as part of the county’s long range strategic plan ! Oops that’s right , there isn’t one
Commissioner, what about the high paying jobs for the community that was the intent of the purchase to begin with? I realize that there was to be some residential after the uproar from some in the area wanting more of a Town Center. However, there was still to be some type of businesses with high pay, high tech on the site as well. I wouldn't want the land to be used entirely for single and multi family homes. Our neighbors to the East and West of us seem to have no problem enticing businesses to invest in their counties, we need this site to fulfill its potential. I remember the argument that Escambia County needs more jobs other than service related jobs. Make sure that component is not forgotten or avoided please.
Michael--Hello-hope all is well! I am not going backward on jobs--I never wanted any housing but was overruled and outvoted so instead we came to a compromise which I fully intend to stick to, to the letter. Jobs, high tech, clean tech jobs that pay well, some retail for the community, and some residential-along with public spaces and green space. That's what I am aiming for now.
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