Nonprofit buys C.R.E.W. site, sells to state for environmental protection

BUYER: Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida, Tallahassee
SELLER: The Trust for Public Land

BUYER: The Trust for Public Land, Tallahassee
SELLER: Jeffrey Gargiulo, as trustee under trust agreement
PROPERTY: 17311 Immokalee Road, Naples
PRICE: $9.77 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.01 million, May 1990
TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Tallahassee Title Group, Tallahassee

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
The Trust for Public Land purchased 619.93 acres of land near the Bird Rookery Swamp for $9.77 million. The trust then immediately resold the former agricultural property to the state of Florida for the same price.

The price equated to $15,752 per acre.

The property, which was previously owned by the well-known Gargiulo tomato farming family, is located in the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (C.R.E.W.) and next to a canal. It will be combined with other C.R.E.W. land to prevent flooding and improve the water quality in and around Naples Bay. The area will also allow for public passive recreation.

“This has been on the state acquisition list for Florida Forever for 20 years,” says Doug Hattaway, senior project manager for The Trust for Public Land. “So when it came up for sale, the state gave us a call.”

Hattaway says the nonprofit land conservation organization can in many cases close purchases faster than the state and deal with landowners resistant to the bureaucratic process of selling to the state.
Randy Thibaut and William Rollins Jr. of Land Solutions Inc. represented the seller.