FOUNTAIN — Plans to build a huge housing development in southern Washington County are in jeopardy, a local expect said.
The proposed 1,883-acre, age-restricted community called “Rhythm” received a green light from the Washington County Board of County Commissioners in February 2012, a three-year land preparation deadline. That original deadline for vertical construction to begin was Feb. 16, 2015.
In January, Rhythm developers claimed their right to extend vertical construction deadlines by six months as provided in an October 2013 executive order issued by Gov. Rick Scott, extending development orders in counties affected by Tropical Storm Karen.
At that time, developers predicted a revised construction schedule, including a new commencement date of Aug. 21, 2015, for construction; July 5, 2024, for build-out; and Dec. 31, 2028, for the final expiration date.
Yet, despite the new August 2015 deadline for construction commencement, local commercial real estate broker Jim Town said it’s not likely the project will come to fruition.
“The development order required that certain acts be completed by the end of the three-year term, as extended, in order for the developer to have actually commenced construction and be allowed to continue for the full 10-year build-out period,” said Town, who helped consult on the project and was instrumental in getting commissioners to approve the development order.
All permits for Phase I — about 250 homes and infrastructure — had to be obtained, in addition to establishing sewer and water systems and roadways.
Conflicts between developers and state agencies are said to have led Rhythm to terminate its deep well and environmental permitting earlier this year. Those permits can take up to a year for approval due to test wells and other procedures, which presumably doesn’t leave adequate time for developers to meet the new deadline, which is less than 11 months away.
The developers could not be reached for comment.
“The sad part to this story is the development would have added $11 million a year to our ad valorem tax base,” Town said. “This would have substantially changed the county’s financial base over the next decade.”
Currently, the county’s ad valorem base is around $8 million.
An economic impact study also predicted the project’s buying power to generate revenues of around $49 million for businesses in Washington County and $105 million for Bay County by the 11th year.
More impact was projected for the next phase as well.
“Over the 10-year build-out period, the money contributed to the economy for construction jobs, materials and new household expenses would have been a total of $1.3 billion, with $411 million for Washington County and $908 million for Bay County,” Town said.
If developers fail to push the permitting process through, the project’s survival would depend on getting a project extension approved by the Board of County Commissioners, or if the order expires, beginning the development request from scratch — a process that took more than five years the first go-around, after several controversial and confrontational public hearings.