Escambia County has three big offers for the more than 540 acres of property known as Navy Outlying Field 8 in Beulah, or OLF 8. Commissioners will hear presentations from the three developers offering to buy the property during the board’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Thursday morning.
The county currently has three offers to consider for all 540-plus acres. Beulah Town Center LLC is offering $42.5 million for the property, Beulah Ranch LLC is offering to buy it for $30 million, and Tri-W Development LLC is offering $40 million for an option to purchase the property.
The property has been for sale for about two years now and the county has received more than a dozen offers for either all or part of the property. Escambia Board Chair Mike Kohler is ready to move forward with a developer. Although he sees pros and cons with each offer, he says they are all “good” and he wants to have a public discussion on the proposal with the goal of having the board decide soon.
“I’m not going to get in a bidding war. These guys wouldn’t keep coming back to the world unless they’re going to make a lot of money out there,” said Kohler. “We want to get a good deal, but it’s time for us to move on from that, I think. We’re never going to get anything done if we don’t move on it. It’s time to move forward on it.”
Beulah Town Center’s Offer
Beulah Town Center LLC has made several offers to the county for either all or part of OLF 8 over the past year. Developer Fred Hemmer says like previous offers, this latest offer of $42.5 million hinges on Escambia County rezoning the property because he says current zoning is problematic for any developer trying to follow the DPZ Master Plan for the area.
The DPZ Master Plan includes a mix of commercial and residential development and a town center with amenities within walking distance like shops, restaurants and other services. When the county adopted the plan, a zoning overlay was created for it.
Hemmer says if the county accepts Beulah Town Center’s offer, he and his partners would need six months to do their due diligence in assessing the property and creating a site plan that, barring any unforeseen issues, would determine if they can move forward with the deal.
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“We won’t go with significant hard money until we have an approved site plan,” Hemmer said. “We will spend $100,000 or $200,000 during the due diligence phase. We’re just not willing to do that until we know we have a contract. We’re trying to keep as close as we can to the DPZ Master Plan, but there are some things that have to be modified, and the county knows that. Hopefully we’re in agreement with the county and we get them to make those changes.”
Beulah Town Center is partnering with Metro Development Group, a company that says it specializes in residential land development and master planned communities throughout Central Florida.
Hemmer says Metro Development will present their vision for OLF 8 during Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting and it’s something he believes Beulah residents “will be excited” to hear.
Beulah Ranch’s Offer
Also, presenting will be Beulah Ranch LLC, represented by Pensacola real estate broker, Ryan Bell. The company is offering $30 million for the property, but Bell says they are willing to negotiate.
Bell, whose family has long had roots in Pensacola and ties to the Beulah community, envisions a development that also closely follows the DPZ Master Plan with its town center and mix of residential and commercial development. He also wants to pay homage to Beulah’s equestrian history.
“I absolutely love the town center, that’s why I themed it Beulah Ranch,” Bell said. “I love the equestrian roots of Beulah. When I was going to high school at Tate, my friend’s dad had Beulah Land Barbecue, and I’d love to bring businesses like that back to the area. So more like a ‘Yellowstone’ is where we’re getting our inspiration, a more modern, Western feel.”
Bell says the DPZ Master Plan is a “beautiful design,” but will agrees it will need to be enhanced. He also wants to create a service road for large or industrial trucks servicing the “light industrial” portion of the property. Bell says it has been considered and it would keep the larger vehicles off Frank Reeder Road. If the county is willing to foot all or part of the bill to build the new road, he said that could raise or lower the offers the developers are making by several million dollars.
Bell says he has also been reaching out to private Fortune 100 individuals who are interested in bringing businesses to OLF 8, like a small manufacturing plant or pharmaceutical or financial businesses. He supports attracting businesses that are similar to Navy Federal Credit Union in that they bring investment dollars to the community and raise the quality of living and amenities.
Beulah Ranch LLC is also offering $100,000 in earnest money and Bell says if the county accepts the deal, they would be ready to close in eight months.
“I am super passionate and have the ability to close in the eight months and have all or at least a lot of my design work done to where we can get started and have homes, restaurants, shops, jobs going up after that eight-month time period,” Bell said. “There are close to 50,000 people that now reside in and around Beulah. That is the same as the city limits of Pensacola. It’s time for them to get the amenities that they need to support 50,000 people.”
Tri-W Development’s option to purchase offer
Escambia County Commissioners will also hear details on Tri-W Development LLC’s offer to purchase the property for $40 million, but with an option to buy it at some point over the next 20 months.
Tri-W Development is a subsidiary of Jim Wilson and Associates LLC, a Montgomery, Alabama-based commercial real estate development company who is partnering with Chad Henderson, founder and chief executive officer of Catalyst Healthcare Real Estate, and former Pensacola mayor and real estate developer Ashton Hayward to buy and develop OLF 8.
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In October, commissioners asked staff to begin negotiating a purchase contract with the company when they first offered $36 million for the OLF 8 property, but no deal has been made.
Under the latest option to purchase agreement, at the end of the 20 months Tri-W Development could walk away from the property after having only paid the county $150,000.
The developers said they hope to “develop the property as a mixed-use development consisting of residential, retail and light industrial uses pursuant to a project development plan prepared or to be prepared by purchaser, which may be modified in any and all respects by purchaser in its sole discretion.”
Should a deal go through, the company also agreed to donate 15-25 acres of OLF 8 land for an elementary school.
When’s the meeting?
The discussion on OLF 8 is the only item on the Committee of the Whole agenda. The meeting is scheduled to start shortly after Agenda Review at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 221 Palafox Place.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia County considers three big bids for OLF 8. What’s in the offers