Sale of county land may lead to new businesses in Palm City after apartment units blocked

MARTIN COUNTY — A $4 million land purchase last year by the county successfully blocked the construction of 90 apartments in Palm City that some residents opposed. Now the county wants to sell the land, and County Commissioner Edward Ciampi suggested it would be a good place for commerce.

Commissioners on Tuesday voted 3-2 to start the sale process, with Sarah Heard and Stacey Hetherington dissenting. The commission also decided they will restrict what can be done on the 6-acre property if it is sold.

"There is nothing like this in Palm City," Ciampi said of the property, which is located along Southwest Martin Highway at Southwest Newberry Court.

Ciampi wants to recoup at least $3.2 million of the $4 million purchase price and see something built that benefits the Palm City community. Apartments only benefit the people living in them, he said. He would prefer such things as retail, restaurants and/or medical offices.

Heard dissented because of the financing. Taxpayers countywide are paying for the land rather than just Palm City residents, Heard said. The purchase is depleting reserves, Heard added.

Hetherington opposed the use of interdepartmental funding.

Use restrictions

The restrictions Ciampi envisions involve a height limit and how far from a building is from the street. A residential use for the property is off the table for him. The board, he urged, should decide what to exclude from construction rather than what they want at the site.

Commissioners placed no restrictions on the property at Tuesday's meeting. Dozens of people opposed the previous attempt to build the 90 apartments. County staff will come back at a future meeting with recommendations for restrictions.

The Martin County Public Works Department will pay $800,000 for about 1.2 acres to give the county access to make needed improvements to Danforth Creek, which runs through the property.

Past and future

Several people expressed interest in purchasing the remaining 4.8 acres, he said at Tuesday's meeting.

In August 2022, Jamsz Development Co. and BFT Development were looking to build three three-story apartment buildings on the site. Their proposal was met with jeers from about 50 people who attended the Palm City Neighborhood Advisory Committee meeting that month.

Residents were concerned about density, safety and traffic. The land is less than half a mile from Palm City Elementary School, and porches would have been two steps from the sidewalk along Martin Highway.

"I really appreciate that we were able to stop that," Ciampi said Tuesday.

The project would have been incompatible with the immediate area and all of Palm City in general, he said. When commissioners agreed to buy the property last year, Ciampi always intended to put it back out for sale. Using a $4 million property for a dog park was always off the table, and if the county uses it for business, the land generates zero tax revenue, he said.

Some people suggested leaving the land as is, but Ciampi thought that made little fiscal sense, too.

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"We have our opportunity to guide development here," Ciampi said.

The county would be able to choose, under a request for proposal, which bid to take rather than having to take the highest bid, County Attorney Sarah Woods said.

Keith Burbank is TCPalm's watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com or 720-288-6882.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: County land sale may bring new business to Martin Highway in Palm City