LYNN HAVEN — The city of Lynn Haven has first rights to about 150 acres of bay-front property after a City Commission vote Thursday morning.
U.S. Air Force officials offered control over 144 acres of a largely undeveloped peninsula surrounded by North Bay waters, and city commissioners unanimously accepted. Lynn Haven officials now have the authority to negotiate development plans for the land, formerly known as the Lynn Haven Fuel Depot, or negotiate the purchase of the land for about $3 million near this year’s end.
During discussions, City Manager Joel Schubert emphasized the demand for raw, waterfront property.
“It’s a huge opportunity because there are not many properties out there like this,” Schubert said. “Spending $2 to $3 million on a fully remediated property of 144 acres — I think people would be standing in line.”
The decision does not obligate commissioners to buy the property nor would they have to secure a developer. However, by not seizing the offer, the city would have had no control over what could be developed on the land and possibly not generate property taxes.
“It’s a win-win for the city,” said Mayor Walter Kelley. “We’re making sure we get the property developed in the appropriate way and we’re getting it back on the tax rolls.”
Several environmental tests will be conducted before the property contractually can be turned over to a developer or the city. The Air Force is completing soil and groundwater sampling and limited remediation to satisfy Florida Department of Environmental Protection requirements.
The land acted as a military fuel depot from the 1940s until the 1990s and has since remained in limbo as contracts on the land stalled out.
Tyndall Development Partners, a subsidiary of the military base contractor Hunt Inc., offered to build a $3 million military construction project elsewhere in exchange for the property. But before the agreement was finalized, a law allowing the Air Force to trade land for the equivalent value in military construction expired in 2010.
Rather than let the construction of a military base expire as well, the Air Force proposed a property-for-property exchange and reacquired the fuel depot, according to city records.
The Air Force’s offer included 50 acres of railroad right of way, which commissioners expressed an interest in designating as a Rails-to-Trails project if the city acquired ownership.
City officials expect the latest value of the land to fall somewhere between $2 and $3 million, and can begin negotiationswith the Air Force to buy the land following Thursday’s decision. It can’t actually be bought, though, until environmental issues are rectified. The earliest the Air Force expects that to happen is December.
If the commission facilitates a deal between the Air Force and a developer, the city would not have an obligation to contribute any funds and could stipulate a repayment of $80,000 spent on engineering and legal fees in recent years.