PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Ponte Vedra Corporation, a subsidiary of Gate Petroleum Company, owner of the 100-acre outpost property told St. Johns County Commissioners it would be willing to hold off developing the land for a three-year period to allow time for public entities or private preservation groups to secure funding and purchase the property.
For years, PVC has contended that it has certain development rights for the Outpost property but is willing to sell the land for a reasonable value to a public entity or private preservation group. As the County’s hearing on the company’s Comprehensive Plan Amendment application transmittal approaches, discussions of the potential for an entity to purchase the land and keep it in its current state have resurfaced.
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PVC has proposed an amendment to its previously approved settlement agreement with St. Johns County to formalize the three-year-stay period.
“The company said its goal has been to ensure that its private property rights and investment are protected,” said Drew Frick, president of Gate Lands. “We know that there is a desire by some to keep our property in its current state. Our proposal to delay any development on the property for three years allows those parties time to secure funding and purchase the land. If the funds can be raised to purchase the Outpost property, both those wanting to keep the property as-is and PVC would achieve positive results from this process.”
PVC proposes that the terms would include, but not be limited to, granting the County the right to purchase the Outpost property before the expiration or termination of the three-year stay for a value determined through a mutually agreeable process.
As part of the process, PVC, as a good faith seller, will work with the county to identify and move toward securing funding from public entities or private preservation groups. The three-year stay would commence following the approval of the terms of the amended settlement agreement and the commission’s vote to adopt the pending Comprehensive Plan Amendment application.