March 29, 2024

Development: School of Thought- Northeast- Dec. 2003

Bob Snell | 12/1/2003
Twenty years ago, Herb Peyton made an offer the state couldn't refuse. He sold an 11,000-acre strip of barrier island in Ponte Vedra Beach to the public for $50 million, and one of northeast Florida's premier natural attractions, Guana River State Park and Wildlife Management Area, was born.

Recently, the Gate Petroleum founder proposed another land deal. This time, state officials, including Gov. Jeb Bush, have declined -- at least for now.

At the urging of some of his Ponte Vedra Beach neighbors, Peyton has agreed to relinquish development rights to 100 acres he owns near the park if state officials allow St. Johns County to build a high school within the park's boundaries.

The Peyton deal is the latest strategy by the Ponte Vedra High School Coalition, which insists the wildlife management area is the only suitable location for a new school. Few large parcels remain in this ritzy seaside community, whose booming population has pushed the area's only high school to capacity. A county site-selection committee is looking at three locations, including a small 30-acre parcel off of A1A and a parking lot near the Tournament Players Club owned by the PGA Tour (a reluctant seller).

Coalition members contend the Guana parcel (an abandoned pine farm in the northern corner of the wildlife management area) has little environmental value. The land is already surrounded by subdivisions and soon will abut a Publix shopping center.

"It is not pristine land, and it's only 100 acres in a very big place," says coalition member Amy Rankin.

Guana managers say the proposed school site is part of a thriving ecosystem and is important to the integrity of the wildlife corridor.

"When the state buys land for conservation purposes, it makes a commitment to the public," says park manager Randy Hester. "Building anything at that site would destroy that commitment."

What bothers locals more is the precedent the high school could set. At several heated meetings, residents have said they fear the school will open the door to future development in Guana.

Still, school advocates note some hypocrisy in the state's position. While officials have so far rejected a park-for-school deal, they haven't ruled out abandoning a 25-acre strip of Guana to widen busy County Road 210 in Ponte Vedra Beach.

"It's a very political issue," says Rankin, "and people in the bureaucracy are not going out on a limb until they can decide which way the wind is blowing."

IN THE NEWS

Callahan -- Following an investigation into widespread financial mismanagement, state officials have asked the town to return nearly $1 million in grant money it acquired for several projects. In April, a former town zoning and building administrator was charged with four counts of grand theft in connection with the case.

Chiefland -- Hospice of North Central Florida will spend $2.5 million to buy and renovate the former Country Oaks assisted living facility, converting the building into offices and a care center.

Clay County -- County officials purchased the 255-acre Moccasin Slough conservation area with nearly $3 million in grants from Florida Communities Trust. The land is located on Fleming Island between U.S. 17 and the St. Johns River.

Fernandina Beach -- Nassau County commissioners rejected a land-use change that would have allowed developers to build a controversial 226-home subdivision on Crane Island. Without the change, only 22 homes are permitted on the 113-acre site.

Escapade Casino will dock a 185-foot dinner cruise ship and casino at the Fernandina Harbor Marina, with daily cruises beginning in February.

Zassi Medical Evolutions, a medical equipment company, won permission from the British Standards Institution to sell its Bowel Management System in Europe. The machine collects waste in severely ill patients ["Rootless Business," March 2000, www.FloridaTrend.com].

Gainesville -- The state Department of Environmental Protection has ordered the University of Florida to investigate possible contamination beneath two landfills the school operated decades ago. Under terms of a draft consent order, the university must measure and map pollution in ground and surface water and identify risks to humans and the environment.

Jacksonville -- The intersection of Baymeadows Road and I-95 will soon be home to a $6-million Adamec Harley-Davidson/Buell motorcycle dealership.

The Jacksonville Jaguars paid a Minneapolis hotel security officer $30,000 to settle a sex discrimination complaint. Kathryn Gruenhagen said team officials demanded she be removed from her December 2001 assignment because the Jaguars wanted only male security guards on their floor.

With Gov. Jeb Bush in attendance, aircraft supplier Kaman Aerospace Corp. opened a 248,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing plant at Imeson Industrial Park on the city's Northside. The company has 158 employees and says it will hire 300 more in coming years.

Wayne and Delores Weaver, owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars, donated $3 million to the Jacksonville Zoo to help finance construction of a 4.5-acre park called Range of the Jaguar, part of the zoo's $30-million capital campaign.

Jacksonville University President David Harlow says a $1-million donation that never materialized is largely to blame for the school's $1.2-million budget deficit, which has led to some staff cuts. Harlow told trustees the unnamed donor promised $1 million but has so far only contributed $100,000.

The city's burgeoning cruise industry will create an estimated 715 area jobs and add $36.4 million annually to the northeast Florida economy by 2005, according to the Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council.

Jacksonville Beach -- Venerable Beach Marine on the Intracoastal Waterway will become a yacht club with a 550-unit condominium complex, 20,000-sq.-ft. restaurant and clubhouse.

Micanopy -- Town commissioners agreed to forgo their salaries (worth a combined $14,700) so the money can be spent on recreation projects and other more immediate needs.

Palatka -- Consultants say a public housing high-rise complex needs at least $3 million in renovations to bring it up to code and improve the quality of life for residents. The city wants to demolish the riverfront apartments as part of a redevelopment plan, but federal housing officials have balked until an assessment of the building is complete.

State environmental officials want to build a 46-mile rail trail park between Palatka and Lake Butler. The $11.6-million project could begin in two years, when federal grant money becomes available.

Ponte Vedra Beach -- Cygnet Private Bank raised $9.5 million in its initial stock offering, $2 million more than regulators require to capitalize a new bank. Cygnet issued 957,500 shares of common stock to 56 stockholders.

Yulee -- Twenty African antelopes, members of a near-extinct species, are under quarantine at the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, waiting to be flown to Kenya next month. The bongos were raised in zoos across the U.S. and will be sent to breed at the Mount Kenya Game Ranch.

Housing
HEADED FOR A BANNER YEAR

JACKSONVILLE -- The Northeast Florida Builders Association says the city is again poised to set a record for single-family residential construction permits. If the old mark of 10,600 permits is surpassed, it will be the third straight year the city has set a record.

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