In January 2019, Escambia County acquired the 636-acre OLF-8 property through a land swap with the U.S. Navy. To facilitate this exchange, the county purchased land in Santa Rosa County for over $17 million.
- The acquisition resulted from a decision made by the Escambia Board of County Commissioners in 2016, which authorized spending to complete the land swap after the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015, which authorized the land exchange. The deal was done to attract light-industrial businesses to Escambia County that would pay wages higher than the norm for the county.
Navy Federal pressured the commissioners to sell 100 acres for $4.2 million, but the credit union also committed to creating 300 more jobs. Weeks after the county acquired OLF-8, Developer Fred Hemmer tried to buy 530 acres for $18 million. Fortunately, the commissioners refused the low offer of $33,962 per acre.
As of this month, Hemmer’s latest offer is $78,703 per acre.
TO DIG DEEPER: Read “The Great OLF-8 Debate.”
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