Escambia County has received a $40 million bid for all of OLF 8. County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh says the Tampa-based Eisenhower Property Group proposal has many of the same issues as the D.R. Horton proposal because it asks for several variances and digresses from the master plan developed by DPZ.
Commissioner Bergosh believes the county should move ahead with infrastructure on the 250 acres set aside for economic development.
“Let’s move forward with the 250 acres. Let’s get the plan going with Triumph. Let’s get the jobs going,” he said on my radio this morning. “We’ve got this offer, it’s a lot of money, but meanwhile, I almost feel handcuffed to some of these things that folks are demanding. So I want to move forward with the jobs, and we can leave the lower portion of the field (for commercial and residential development).”
Why this matters:
In December, Triumph Gulf Coast approved funding up to $14.2 million to build a road and other infrastructure at OLF 8 on Nine Mile Road in the Beulah community.
- Escambia County must deliver the 338 jobs to the site or face claw blacks from Triumph Gulf Coast.
Dig Deeper:
D.R. Horton had offered $42 million for the entire property, 540 acres, but dropped their offer to $24.1 million for 297 acres when the County Commission said it would retain 250 acres for job creation. D.R. Horton proposed to use 99 acres for commercial use including restaurants, retail, offices, medical and a town center. Their plan also shows 170 acres with 1,133 residential units, including 360 townhomes and 336 apartments.
The Eisenhower Property Group proposal covers the 540 acres and does not mention the DPZ master plan.