The Florida Cabinet will vote Tuesday, Nov. 17, on buying a 30-acre property at the northern tip of Clearwater Beach. The price is $20.5 million and includes a house on the site.
The money would come from Florida Forever, the state’s main program for buying protected land. The item is on the agenda for the Cabinet’s November meeting. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the public agenda documents do not include appraisals of the property.
The parcel has a house of about 3,400 square feet (about 316 m²), built in 1987 and located on the southern part of the site. Buying a house is unusual for state land-acquisition programs. The land includes beach dunes, coastal scrub, coastal grasslands and mangroves. According to a report by state staff, these are habitats increasingly threatened by development.
The purchase would expand Caladesi Island State Park. It would also be the first major coastal acquisition in Pinellas County under Florida Forever. Earlier, in August, the property was offered for $37.5 million, and in June the state environmental agency put it on a list of planned purchases with an estimated price of about $30 million.
Local officials support the purchase. Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector wrote in a letter last November that the deal would allow future generations to learn about and appreciate Florida’s natural environment. Other local leaders in Pinellas County have also expressed support.
Lynetta Griner, a member of the state land board, voiced concern that the presence of the house could raise the price the state pays. At the same meeting, the Cabinet is also expected to consider spending about $220 million to limit development on more than 55,000 acres of agricultural land across the state.
Source: Tampa Bay Times
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