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WPEC-TV CBS12 News :: News - Waste Watch

Palm Beach County surplus land could give county coffers a boost

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. -- Several thousand acres of land owned by Palm Beach County is sitting idle, in some cases unused for years. The question tonight is why does the county hold on to the property while it's facing yet another budget shortfall?

The biggest surplus property is the old Mecca Farms site purchased for $60 million to house the Scripps Research Institute. But then leaders changed gears and put Scripps in Jupiter.

Tuesday commissioners learned the South Florida Water Management District will make an offer for the 1,900 acres.

From the middle of nowhere, to the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, land, big chunks and tiny slivers, thousands of parcels are all owned by Palm Beach County. However, they are no longer needed or never used.

Christina Morrison/Realtors Commercial Alliance: I think the county's finally realizing they've been holding this land for so long. They're not using it.  Let's put it to some productive use.

Christina Morrison of the Realtors Commercial Alliance speaks to county commissioners at a workshop on dealing with all the county's surplus land.

Christina Morrison: Just a little sliver of property can generate a lot of money for the different entities, the cities, the county, schools, things like that if it's put back on the tax rolls and put back in private hands.

But it's not that easy. County staffers say they've tried to get rid of many of the parcels but their location or shape make them undesirable. And then other properties the county might have a use for someday.

Bob Weisman/County Administrator: When the county buys land, it's usually for some purpose.  You don't always want to sell or give it away until you know you're not going to really need it.

Morrison's realtors group asks commissioners to let them help market the land the county does want to sell. Until now county staffers tried to sell surplus parcels on their own.

Christina Morrison: As I noted in my presentation, we're not hearing about it. And we're the people that are bringing the businesses and buyers to the county. So if we don't know about it, we can't help them sell it.

Commissioners were receptive to the involvement of the realtors group. Unfortunately while the residential real estate market is starting to come back, one of the realtors told commissioners he expects the commercial property market to stay depressed for some time. So not the best time to unload the surplus property.

But again, the big news related to the Mecca Farms property. The Water District plans to make an offer for the 1,900  acres land swaps and some cash.

The county administrator tells us the Mecca property costs the county $4 to $5 million a year in maintenance and debt service.Palm Beach County surplus land could give county coffers a boost

Tuesday, May 22 2012, 08:27 PM EDT

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