D.R. Horton lowered its offer for the Outlying Landing Field 8 (OLF-8) property from $42 million to $24.1 million.
Why? The homebuilder’s original offer was for 540 acres near the Navy Federal Credit Union campus in Beulah. However, the Escambia County Commission retained 241 acres for economic development and job growth as per its commitment to Triumph Gulf Coast.
- D.R. Horton’s plan includes 99 acres for commercial use including restaurants, retail, offices, medial and town center and 170 acres for 1,133 residential units, including 360 townhomes and 336 apartments.
Dig Deeper: Last December, Triumph Gulf Coast approved funding up to $14.2 million to build a road and other infrastructure for a commerce park at OLF 8, with Escambia County fronting the first $3 million of the $14.2 million. The county must own the land on which the infrastructure is built. Triumph will reimburse the county the $3 million once construction begins for the first job-creating tenant. The county is committed to delivering a minimum of 338 jobs to avoid a clawback clause.
Commissioner Jeff Bergosh is confident the county will attract companies to the site.
“There is a tremendous, tremendous need for large parcels for distribution and manufacturing near the Alabama border on the Interstate, that’s where OLF 8 is going to be key. We’re going to be able to place some businesses in there very, very quickly. Folks are going to be blown away by how quickly we do it.”
