New Sugar deal: 72.5k acres, $533 million
by Michael C. Bender | April 1st, 2009
Gov. Charlie Crist holds a press conference in front of a ginormous (his word) backdrop of the Everglades that the Department of Environmental Protection printed for the occasion. He's flanked by Highwayman paintings that normally hang in his office. (Bender | Post)
Listen to the press conference here
(Questions for Crist start at the 16:40 mark.)
New deal with U.S. Sugar:
• The price: $533 million, down from $1.34 billion
• The land: 72,500 acres south and west of Lake Okeechobee, down from 180,000 acres
• Other terms: The state has 10 years to decide whether to buy the remaining 107,500 acres. Through 2012, the state can match anyone else’s offer to purchase U.S. Sugar land between the Miami Canal and U.S. 27.
• Closing Date: Sept. 25
Reactions:
State Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid: “It’s a much better deal. It gives the company time to decide what their direction is and residents time to plan. It was the not knowing that was the scariest thing for the residents.”
Florida Crystals Vice President Gaston Cantens: “The issue is whether or not the governor is going to be able to get the flow-way. How will he acquire it? We own the land he needs for the flow-way. … It doesn’t appear they will have the money to buy more.”
Everglades Foundation senior scientist Tom Van Lent: “This is a real opportunity to make progress toward restoration of the estuaries, Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades. … Maybe it does delay it by a few years, but overall, I think it’s a much bigger step toward restoring the estuaries and the Everglades than if we don’t.”
Florida Environmental Protection Department Secretary Mike Sole: “It keeps the vision, but kind of puts it more on the current economic scale of where we’re really at.”
South Florida Water Management Director Carol Wehle: “I am very comfortable that this is a deal – even if the economy continues to go negative for a year or two – that the water management district can afford.”
Clewiston Mayor Mali Chamness: “It will still give us the worst-case scenario. Any land being taken out of production still means job loss. That is our number one concern.”
Tags: Everglades, U.S. Sugar
Where's the money? Use The Post's interactive database of who wants and who's getting federal dollars.
Use these interactive graphics to find and contact Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast legislators.
April 1st, 2009 at 2:25 pm
In a real world how much would 180,000 acres be worth for non development?Can we use the term eminent domain and pay a fair price instead of OVERPAYING?Thanks,charlie
April 1st, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Crist what a piece of Shi* paying his friends back the scu*ba*.
They got the land for free, they destroyed the land, now they sell worthless swamp for millions.
Let’s Hang the Gov. and all the Kings men.
That is why our stat government today announced that it is changing its emblem from an Orange to a CONDOM, because it more accurately reflects the State government’s political stance. A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of security while you’re actually being screwed!
April 1st, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Keep focused on Coker’s thoughts…”moving operations to other land in the area…”
Five times the purchase price is the pollution that the DEP , for over 10 years, has refused to fine this company for (see peer.org, florida news).
How does paying more PER ACRE with no reparations for pollution do ANYTHING for Florida?
We can eminent domain, seeing there are endangered species on the property. The endandgered species act has that provision. In the meantime, make sure Disneyworld is allowed to dump their “Kingdom waste” into the Lake O., and make sure the Billion dollar CSX deal goes through. Disney needs the bullet train to their enterprise..
And all the while, the rest of the middle class folk still cant pay our taxes and insurance is scarce.
April 1st, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Despite the evils of the Sugar Devil in the past, the purchase is the right thing to do in order to restore much of the River of Grass and protect the estuaries from most of the horrible degradation they endure in wet years.
Eminent domain may sound good but it’s not practical in many ways, including time and money and years of more delays.
The public good from the purchase far, far outweighs the unfortunate rewards captured by the sugar barons. Let’s move on with it.
The buy will look like an incredible bargain in not so many years.