FROM BOONDOGGLE TO BOON

Four years ago, a lot of effort was put into making people believe that the county's purchase of OLF 8 in Beulah was a boondoggle. Today, the county appears to be on the receiving side of a bidding war that could net the taxpayers a profit of more than $20 million while still meeting the goals for the site.

In 2019, some residents in the area demanded the county use the 500 acres for a town center and other amenities. The consultant hired to put together a master plan wanted most of it used for residential and retail, arguing that it would give the county the quickest return on its investment. A developer offered to bail out the county for $16 million.

Four commissioners—Steven Barry, Robert Bender, Jeff Bergosh and Lumon May—held out and stuck with the original intent for the project, which was to create more high-paying jobs. The once-daily local newspaper vilified them, others called for restructuring county government under an all-powerful county mayor and challengers attacked the quartet for short-sightedness during the subsequent election cycles.

All four were re-elected by significant margins, and now the county is entertaining offers north of $38 million for the site.

Twenty-six years ago, Escambia County Commission and the Pensacola Chamber joined forces to find where to build a commerce park. The chamber had an ideal spot— a training field where Navy helicopter pilots practiced night landings in the rural Beulah area off the first I-10 exit into Florida. The drawback was that the county would have to work out a land swap with the Navy for the property, which was unprecedented.

To test their idea, the chamber encouraged the county to buy 68 acres of 4-H land for $1 million to develop the Bell Heritage Oaks Commerce Park next to OLF 8 in 2001. A Navy Federal Credit Union call center would be the park's first tenant, but soon the financial institution saw bigger possibilities at the site and bought the entire park, pledging to hire 1,700 workers in 10 years.

And Navy Federal still wanted to expand more. With the OLF 8 land swap stalled by the Navy's bureaucracy, the chamber, led by banker Blaise Adams, helped the credit union purchase the Langley Bell 4-H Center for $3.6 million. The following year, Navy Federal announced it would increase its labor force to 10,000 employees by 2026. The credit union would receive $26.75 million from the Florida Incentives Quick Action Closing Fund in yearly installments if it met its annual new employment goals.

OLF 8 continued to sit vacate, while subdivisions and retail began to pop up near Navy Federal's Beulah campus. However, the county didn't stop calling the Pentagon. Finally, the Navy announced in 2013 it was ready to talk about swapping OLF 8 for land near Whiting Field. The county bought 601 acres, 11 miles south of Whiting Field, to make the deal happen.

On Jan. 30, 2019, the Navy and county officially completed the land swap for OLF 8— which was about the same time that Hemmer Consulting LLC and 68 Ventures LLC offered to buy 400 acres of OLF 8 for $16 million, leaving only 80 acres for commerce park and 50 for public use.

County Commission Chairman Robert Bender negotiated a mixed-use development plan that satisfied residents and kept job creation at the forefront. The approved OLF 8 Master Plan allocated 271 acres to commerce and industrial uses, 61 acres to residential, 47 acres to residential mixed with retail and office uses and 45 acres to public amenities. Last December, Triumph Gulf Coast gave the county a $14.2 million grant to build infrastructure for the industrial portions of OLF 8 with the condition that funds would be tied to job creation.

While the current county commission is expected to receive several offers for OLF 8, the board wants to ensure the buyer follows the OLF 8 Master Plan and honors the Triumph Gulf Coast grant conditions. Having multiple suitors offering all cash purchases gives the board room to negotiate.

OLF 8 is no longer a boondoggle.

{in} rick@inweekly.net