The property, known as Jungle Trail Island Club Manor, can be used to create a herbaceous wetlands.
The County Commission approved the $5.9 million purchase Nov. 4.
Voters in 2022 approved borrowing $50 million to purchase and protect environmentally sensitive properties.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The county is poised to spend nearly $6 million of conservation money to buy almost 20 acres off Jungle Trail.
The property — known as Jungle Trail Island Club Manor and located north of the Captain Forster Hammock Preserve — can be used to create a herbaceous wetlands or marshland to help restore the wetlands and possibly eliminate some of the flooding that occurs at Captain Forster, Parks, Recreation and Conservation Assistant Director Wendy Swindell recently told county commissioners.
The County Commission unanimously approved the $5.9 million purchase Nov. 4. The sale agreement for the property is scheduled to be considered Nov. 18.
The property, at one time used for citrus, has been cleared and now consists of grassy areas, Swindell said.
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Currently zoned for residential use, the property was appraised at $5 million and about $5.7 million. The purchase offer is about 3% above the highest appraisal, Swindell said.
The money for the purchase would come from the $50 million voters approved borrowing in a 2022 referendum. The money is earmarked to buy and protect land, particularly along the Indian River Lagoon.
The county follows a step-by-step process to acquire lands using the referendum money. Parcels are first nominated to the Environmental Lands Acquisition Program. A nine-member panel then reviews and ranks them based on each parcel’s environmental aspect, Parks, Recreation and Conservation Director Beth Powell told commissioners Oct. 21.
Colleen Wixon is the education reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers.
