Broward County commissioners failed to initiate bidding for 22 acres of undeveloped land in Pompano Beach, prolonging a decade-old dispute regarding trash disposal and potentially putting the county in breach of a settlement agreement.
Commissioners voted 7-2 Tuesday against adopting a resolution to move forward with selling the vacant “Alpha 250 Property,” which doesn’t have a street address. It sits on Blount Road, north of West Copans Road.
The resolution stated that Broward County is required to auction off the property as part of a 2015 settlement agreement resolving litigation between the county and 18 municipalities. The municipalities sued in 2013 over how to divide up the assets from the county’s former solid-waste disposal system after a 1986 agreement expired.
Under the settlement, Broward County has until Oct. 11 to start the bidding process for Alpha 250, with the proceeds of the eventual sale distributed to the municipalities, county documents show.
Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen said during the meeting that Coconut Creek asked him to delay the sale, which has already been postponed several times in amendments to the settlement agreement.
“Allowing this land to be sold and developed for something unrelated to the garbage crisis removes an opportunity forever,” Coconut Creek Mayor Jeffrey Wasserman wrote in a letter to the mayors of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Miramar, Sunrise and Weston, who are allowed input during the auction process.
“Land is valuable,” Bogen said. “We could be using land for something we decide instead of selling it to somebody.”
The land, zoned general industrial, has a market value of $11.5 million, according to the Broward County property appraiser.
Bogen said Coconut Creek asked why Broward County wasn’t exploring workforce and affordable housing for the property.
Commissioner Lamar Fisher said Pompano Beach expressed interest in buying the property, saying the city wants to “control the property of their own destiny.”
Broward County Attorney Annika Ashton, who had recommended the motion be passed, said a deadline extension requires approval from every city in the settlement. She said she didn’t know what the consequences would be for a breach in the settlement agreement but that it could either be a cash payment or a court order requiring Broward County to perform its obligations.
The next regular commission meeting is scheduled for Oct. 20.
The Alpha 250 property sits within an industrial corridor that’s seen major deals and developments in recent years. Last year, Foundry Commercial and Wheelock Capital paid $66 million for the nearby Festival Marketplace, which they’re turning into Festival Logistics Park, a 474,000-square-foot complex slated for completion this year.
Also last year, a fund backed by Morgan Stanley sold the Bridge Point Powerline road industrial park for $124.5 million, nearly double the price of the previous trade in 2019.
Pompano Beach is experiencing a surge in development elsewhere in the city as branded condos, downtown revitalization projects and massive apartment complexes hit the city’s pipeline. Notable projects include the Ritz-Carlton Residences, the W Pompano Hotel and Residences and The Pomp.
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