The ball is rolling.
Naples City Manager Bill Moss told a group of public relations and marketing professionals Thursday that he met with local developer Jack Antaramian earlier that morning to discuss purchasing the 22 acres of land on Goodlette-Frank Road and Fifth Avenue South.
Antaramian was planning to build a mixed-use community called Renaissance Village on the property. While the property is not currently on the market, Antaramian has authorized his staff to look into the possibility of selling “all or a substantial part of the 22 acres which comprise Renaissance Village to the city of Naples for fair market value,” according to an e-mail sent to Naples City Council on Wednesday from John Passidomo, Antaramian’s attorney.
Moss told members of the Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising Professionals of Collier County that opportunities like this rarely come along.
“Let’s keep watching this,” he said.
Naples Mayor Bill Barnett spoke to Antaramian two months ago about whether the city could purchase the 22-acre property. He said he later spoke to Passidomo, who told Barnett he would discuss the possibility with Antaramian.
Around the same time, Councilwoman Teresa Heitmann said she was approached by several community members who asked whether the city was considering buying the property.
The property has an appraised taxable value of $17.9 million. Antaramian Development purchased the 15.7-acre property at Grand Central Station from the NCH Healthcare System for $25 million in spring 2005, and added adjacent parcels to complete the project’s 22 acres.
The city would need to put the request to buy the property to voters. A referendum is necessary any time a bond is needed that would be paid back with a property tax.
Council would need to make a decision about whether to pursue the purchase by Aug. 26 to get the issue on the November ballot.
Moss said Thursday he doesn’t think any decisions will be made in time to get the issue on the November ballot.
Source: Naplesnews.comView
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