Winter Park names buyer for Comstock Avenue property

Winter Park has found its highest and best offer.

A buyer was named for a city-owned piece of property along Comstock Avenue during Monday’s City Commission meeting – ending an ongoing dispute of fairness and proper procedure of how the city sells land.

Winter Park Redevelopment Agency LTD was awarded the contract for sale by a vote of 3-2 after giving the highest offer at $481,000.

The vote ended an ongoing controversy over how the sale of the land was handled.

Winter Park Redevelopment Agency LTD and Rowland & Company LLC had both submitted offers last month to purchase the land and construct townhomes on the property. 

But before the City Commission had the chance to vote on an offer on April 24, a dispute was made. 

Attorney Rosemary Hayes, speaking on behalf of Rowland & Company, said that Dan Bellows of Winter Park Redevelopment Agency LTD had reportedly submitted an offer of “$450,000 and/or a thousand dollars more should anybody else bid.” 

Rowland & Company LLC had submitted an offer of $455,000, but Bellows’ earlier offer put him at $456,000. 

It’s unfair to use that kind of bid to acquire the property, Hayes said. 

“To say ‘I’ll pay $1,000 more than anyone else,’ well that means I can win any bid that you guys have here,” Hayes said. 

“We all know that’s grossly unfair.” 

The Winter Park City Commission voted during their last meeting to have CBRE, the city’s appointed broker, handle the sale of a property at 301 W. Comstock Ave.

It would give the city a fresh start in the sale, and parties were asked to give their best and final offer through CBRE.

Winter Park Redevelopment Agency’s final offer was $13,500 above Rowland & Company’s final offer.

But City Commissioners held different viewpoints on what should be done with the property.

Commissioner Greg Seidel said the city shouldn’t be selling the property to begin with, instead believing it should be made into park space.

Commissioner Carolyn Cooper agreed, adding that the property should serve a public purpose.

“I don’t want us to just sell for the highest price,” Cooper said. “If we’re not getting some sort of public benefit for getting rid of property, I’m just not sure how much sense it makes.”

Commissioner Peter Weldon reasoned that the sale of the property makes sense. It would give the city funds to help improve or create another public benefit, and that the lot isn’t suited for something like a park anyway, he said.

“In this case, it’s an awkward sized lot that backs up to the railroad tracks,” Weldon said. “It may not have any real residential or social purpose we can add to the city. I would rather take the funds and consider other acquisitions and/or improvements to our existing parks and new parks….”

The sale of the property will come back before the City Commission as an official ordinance at a future meeting.

In Other News

Winter Park City Commissioners unanimously approved a letter to Gov. Rick Scott requesting that he veto a telecommunications infrastructure bill, which ties the hands of cities and counties when it comes to the installation of wireless network poles for cell phones. City Manager Randy Knight said that the Commission wants to maintain the aesthetics of city streets and hopes to avoid ugly poles with “refrigerators” on them. The bill could also undo work that the city has done over several years to underground its powerlines – an endeavor not only for aesthetic purposes but for the health of street trees.