Ocoee leaders vote to sell 1.91-acre land parcel

A year after the city of Ocoee purchased property on Hackney Prairie Road for stormwater mitigation, city leaders have voted to resell a portion of it.

During the Feb. 18 commission meeting, Ocoee leaders voted to sell 1.91 acres of the property, located at 8815 Hackney Prairie Road.

According to city documents, Ocoee purchased the property May 7 for $490,000. City staff determined approximately one acre of that property should be used for stormwater drainage, but the remaining 1.91 acres could be sold or used for a different purpose.

“Several months ago the city purchased the property at Hackney Prairie Road,” said City Attorney Scott Cookson. “It was determined that a portion of the property was needed to fix some drainage in the area and the rest of the property would not be used for the retention. City staff feels we can sell the remaining piece of property. We received an offer from a potential buyer for $360,000, we’ve entered into a contract with that buyer, and before the closing on the sale of that property, we have to have a public hearing.” 

Commissioner George Oliver III asked what the fair market value was on the 1.91 acres that were to be sold. Assistant City Manager Craig Shadrix said he did not have a specific number on hand, but the city felt the buyer’s offer was a fair deal.

“We received an appraisal for the overall piece when we purchased it, and I don’t have that specific information either … in discussions, and I do recall, we did an appraisal of the land and we felt like this was a fair deal for the amount of acreage that they’re purchasing,” Shadrix said.

City Manager Robert Frank said he believes the original appraisal the city received when it first purchased the land was between $460,000 and $490,000, so they paid within appraisal range.

“Part of the impetus for doing that was we knew we could get in there and carve out what we needed to do the stormwater improvements for much cheaper than some of the other options that we have,” Frank said. “Reprofiling the pond or something like that could have easily cost us a half million to a million dollars, so when we came up with this idea just to get some additional land — knowing it would probably cost us between $100,000 and $150,000 — I think that it just seemed so logical to do that. …There was no question, this was the most economic way to solve the problem.”

“I think, like I said, we’re going to get $360,000 back out of our $490,000, and the $130,000 was what we spent to get the stormwater fixed for the city because it was also causing some problems out there with flooding with the neighborhoods,” Mayor Rusty Johnson said.

City leaders voted 4-1 to sell the land, with Oliver dissenting.