• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

School Sites in County's Sights: Deal in Crestview Area Would Give Okaloosa School District 70 Acres of Growth Possibility

Posted on: Sunday, 21 May 2006, 15:01 CDT

By Amy Leigh Womack, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach

May 21--CRESTVIEW -- Two properties could become new school sites if the Okaloosa County School Board votes to acquire them at its meeting on Monday.

With board approval, Superintendent of Schools Don Gaetz said he will tend to details to buy a 21-acre site near the intersection of Okaloosa Lane and Aplin Road for a little more than $1.17 million and sign a binding contract for a second 19-acre site near the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and Clint Mason Road to be donated to the school district.

The Robert, Donna and Ken Nielsen family owns the 21-acre site.

North Florida Holdings, an Atlanta-based developer, owns the 19-acre site and is willing to donate it to the school district as long as the name of the school built there includes "at Creekside," the name of the planned development.

Both North Florida Holdings and the Nielsen family have signed letters of intent with the school district according to a news release from Gaetz.

Earlier this year, the board arranged for the donation of a 30-acre tract about seven miles east of Crestview on U.S. 90.

Gaetz said the three properties total 70 acres.

When the two donations and the Nielsen land are figured in, he said the cost to taxpayers will be $16,700 an acre.

"I think when you look at 70 acres of prime real estate in the most promising area of Crestview, to obtain 70 acres for $16,700 an acre is a pretty good business decision benefiting taxpayers," Gaetz said.

He said a new elementary school likely will be the first one built to help meet state class size requirements and growth needs.

"It's needed to accommodate the ongoing projection of growth for elementary school age in Crestview," said Gaetz, who added that the school is expected to accommodate 850 to 900 students.

"My plan is to break ground before I leave office on Nov. 7," said Gaetz who is the sole candidate for the state Senate seat now held by Charlie Clary.

He said design plans for Antioch Elementary will serve as a template for the new elementary school.

The Nielsen property could accommodate an elementary school and a middle school, and the other tracts could be home to elementary or secondary schools, Gaetz said.

With the Nielsen and Creekside properties, Gaetz said he will meet his goal of acquiring three locations for new schools in the Crestview area before leaving office.

"I wanted to ensure that growth and new schools in north Okaloosa County would be planned for and accommodated before I left office," Gaetz said. "These three real estate transactions will achieve that goal." Daily News Staff Writer Amy Leigh Womack can be reached at 863-1111, Ext. 445.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Northwest Florida Daily News

More News in this Category