The Escambia County Commission still can’t decide what to do with OLF 8, a prime piece of real estate in Beulah, but the board appears to be narrowing its choices to two potential buyers – Beulah Town Center/Metro Development Group (Fred Hemmer) and Tri W Development (Chad Henderson).
- After years of discussion, public input, and a master plan created by DPZ, the commissioners agreed last Thursday night to direct county staff to redline both proposals and bring back recommendations at a future meeting.
THE BEULAH COMMUNITY SPEAKS OUT
Before the discussion, two Beulah residents addressed the commissioners. For some reason, both believed the board didn’t support the OLF 8 Master Plan, even though both current and past commissioners have expressed their commitment to it.
- “For years, we’ve been in limbo regarding our commissioner’s dedication to uphold the OLF 8 master plan,” John Moore told the board. “This was a compromise between you and us. During the August 2024 primary, D1 rallied around a somewhat unknown candidate and an absolute surprise to the entire local establishment. Steve Stroberger soundly routed the developer-sponsored two-term incumbent, Jeff Bergosh.”
Moore emphasized that Beulah residents never opposed mixed development on OLF 8. “Time and again over many years, our community has participated in seminars, meetings, charettes, surveys, town halls, etc., and voiced our desire for a livable, walkable town center atmosphere that we have been deprived of as we watch our area being overbuilt, overdeveloped, and crushed by the weight of thousands of new citizens and little infrastructure improvement.”
Theresa Blackwell, who helped form the Beulah Coalition with Navy Federal, told commissioners she’d been evaluating which developer would better follow the master plan.
- “My priority has been all along who’s going to adhere to the master plan,” Blackwell said. “That is what will give us the opportunity to have not just a really nice place, but a place that stands out in the state that could really draw in high-level light industrial.”
After remaining neutral between the two developers, Blackwell finally stated she was “leaning towards” Beulah Town Center.
DEVELOPERS MAKE THEIR CASE
Chad Horn, a principal in Beulah Town Center along with Metro Development, told commissioners he’s invested millions in Escambia County during the past 15 years.
- “My partner Metro Development is the largest builder of master-planned mixed-use communities in the southeastern US and one of the largest in the US,” Horn said. “Metro is built and is currently building communities, some of which are multiple times the size of OLF 8.”
Horn assured the board they have “the financial capacity not only to purchase the land but to put in the development and build a legacy community we can all be proud of.”
Bill Mitchem, representing Tri W Development and Chad Henderson, explained they had submitted a purchase agreement to the county attorney expecting feedback.
- “We left the meeting with the understanding that we were going to get some feedback either in the form of a red line or some comments so that we could react to it,” Mitchem said. “The form of the agreement that’s in the agenda package from our group was not necessarily the final form of the agreement.”
Mitchem told commissioners they could respond to any county feedback within a week.
COMMISSIONER FRUSTRATIONS MOUNT
Commissioners expressed frustration with the drawn-out process and conflicting proposals.
- Commissioner Lumon May said, “You cannot negotiate in a public meeting. That’s unfair to anybody. That’s unfair to us. And I’m not going to negotiate anymore in a public meeting.”
May advocated for setting minimum requirements, including a price floor of $43-50 million, then letting staff evaluate the proposals and make recommendations.
“Send it back to the professionals, whoever gets it, let them get it and let staff who we entrust, who make more money than I make, who have the experience of doing it to do it,” May said.
Commissioner Steve Stroberger, who represents Beulah in District 1, urged his colleagues to trust his judgment after extensive research.
- “It’ll probably be the most important decision that I’ll be part of while I’m on this commission, at least for four years,” Stroberger said.
Stroberger revealed that a Santa Rosa County official told him that “they are begging for this same group, Metro, to come to Santa Rosa to develop.”
Commissioner Steven Barry questioned whether either offer had acceptable terms, regardless of price.
- “These offers could be for a hundred million dollars. If we’re just giving someone an option on the property for an undefined period of time, it doesn’t matter how much if the terms aren’t acceptable to at least three of us,” Barry said.
Barry emphasized he was concerned about “entering into a contract that has such bad terms that we end up the butt of the jokes… three years from now nothing’s happened, and we can’t force our counterparty to close.”
VERIFICATION OF FUNDS BECOMES ISSUE
May raised concerns about verifying the financial capacity of potential buyers.
- “Someone can say they got 50 million and they got $5, how do we know?” May said. “I mean, I bid at projects, public projects before – they make me put up the money when I get it back.”
May pointed out that even small county contracts require financial verification: “People bid on a janitorial contract, and they have to put up a thousand, $5,000 that they take 90 days to get back.”
- Commission Chair Mike Kohler mentioned that a previous offer for $50 million from Ryan Bell fell through when the buyer couldn’t verify finances.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR OLF 8?
After extensive debate, the commission unanimously approved Stroberger’s motion to direct county staff to redline both purchase agreements with no specific timeframe for feedback.
Barry suggested not making OLF 8 a standing agenda item, saying, “We don’t have to discuss failures regularly. If it just fails, it fails.”
The commissioners acknowledged market conditions for development aren’t ideal currently, but emphasized the county isn’t in a desperate position to sell.
- “We don’t have debt on the property,” Barry noted. “We’re not… a distressed seller.”
Mayfair resident Eric Sharpen expressed frustration with the prolonged process, telling commissioners, “Until y’all close the offers, this is never going to stop. Somebody will come in, offer a few more million dollars, then they’ll be considered… Four years from now, y’all still be here discussing it.”
- The next discussion on OLF 8 could come at the April 3 commission meeting, though the board didn’t commit to a specific date for staff to return with recommendations.
Photo: Licensed under the Unsplash+ License